Personal Experience in Excavating Remains of Fallen Soldiers on Memorial Day

June 6th is a day to commemorate the Korean War.  

The war began on June 25th at 4 AM, and many fallen soldiers still lie buried in the mountains of Korea.  

Every year, the Ministry of National Defense strives to excavate the remains of soldiers left in the mountains and deliver the good news to their bereaved families.

On June 25th at 4 AM, North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea

The Korean War broke out in 1950 when North Korea invaded the South.

June 6th is a day to commemorate the Korean War. 

The war began on June 25th at 4 AM, and many fallen soldiers still lie buried in the mountains of Korea. 

 The total area of the Republic of Korea is 223,404 km². In that small land, over 1 million casualties occurred, and it is known as the war with the most countries participating as a single coalition force. 

Every year, the Ministry of National Defense strives to excavate the remains of soldiers left in the mountains and deliver the good news to their bereaved families.

June 6th is a day to commemorate the Korean War. The war began on June 25th at 4 AM, and many fallen soldiers still lie buried in the mountains of Korea. 

 The total area of the Republic of Korea is 223,404 km². In that small land, over 1 million casualties occurred, and it is known as the war with the most countries participating as a single coalition force.  

Every year, the Ministry of National Defense strives to excavate the remains of soldiers left in the mountains and deliver the good news to their bereaved families.

A scene from the movie Taegukgi

How We Search for Fallen Soldiers

Photo source - Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification YouTube channel

Photo source - Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification YouTube channel

 

First, a team of skilled professionals (mainly consisting of university students majoring in archeology) searches for old battle sites to find places to excavate.  

They use metal detectors to locate ammunition and fragments, and if the scale is large and the density is high, the area is designated as an excavation point.

At that time, in 2012, I was serving in an artillery brigade, and since an excavation point was designated near our military unit, we supported them for about a month.

Photo source - Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification YouTube channel

We woke up every morning at 6 AM and took a car to the assembly point.  Around 8 AM, we arrived at the mountain, and from there, we had to climb the mountain for about two more hours.  

We often left the hiking trail and climbed steep hills toward the old battle sites.  Since defensive battles were mostly fought on high mountain tops, the points where we excavated the remains were also at the peaks of the mountains.  

The path to the summit was very dangerous and hot, but when we reached the top, we were greeted by cool breezes and a wide-open view.

The area assigned to each company was roughly the size of one or two large school playgrounds.  

We started the work by cutting down all the trees and removing weeds in the designated area.  

The insects in the mountains are very fierce. I often found many ants there, and unlike the ants seen in the city, the ants in the mountains did not run away at all and charged toward us.

After all the trees and grass were removed, we carefully dug the area to a depth of about 50 cm.  

Each person lined up at intervals of about 2 meters and proceeded to dig their assigned portion of the ground while climbing to the top of the mountain. 

 Can you imagine? In an area of just one playground size, there were at least thousands of bullet casings, mortar shells, and torn fragments.  

We found unused mortar shells and grenades there, and despite being very old, they still looked like they could function. 

 Someone took out the gunpowder from an unused bullet and lit it on fire. It burned up in an instant.

 It was a very arduous task, but it was easier than removing the trees at first.  

Since the soil in the mountains was mostly very soft and the weather was warm, digging with a shovel was not difficult.  

Cut communication lines and various props used in the 1950s were found there. 

 I didn't manage to excavate any remains, but about 20 remains were excavated by our company.  

Those who excavated the remains were given a reward vacation of about 3 nights and 4 days.

When I saw the remains excavated just 10 meters away from me, I was speechless at the horror.  

The dead soldier was buried hugging his knees as if in despair. Thanks to his sacrifice, South Korea survived and is developing brilliantly. 

We still don't know who he is... we only hope that his identity will be confirmed and he will return to his family.  

I found a bayonet for a Mosin-Nagant rifle there.  It was probably used by North Korean or Chinese soldiers.  

Among the bodies we excavated, there must have been corpses of North Korean or Chinese soldiers.

The excavated remains are sent to the forensic lab for genetic testing.  

Based on the DNA of the bereaved families who have already provided samples, the families of the excavated remains are found. 

Remains with DNA that does not match are stored for the long term.

At that time, Korea was very poor, and since the war broke out suddenly, many underage volunteer soldiers had to participate in the war.  

Additionally, soldiers were not provided with sufficient equipment, so a significant number of them did not have identification tags.  

Therefore, finding the families of those who died in the war remains a very difficult task. 

 Their days stopped forever at that place, but thanks to them, our country has been able to grow brilliantly over the past 70 years and become a developed country.  

We spend June 6th with a grateful heart for them. With the hope that there will be no more wars.