{"id":2043,"date":"2018-03-16T07:34:57","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T22:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/?p=2043"},"modified":"2018-03-17T14:31:26","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T05:31:26","slug":"forgotten-fighting-irish-korean-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nedforney.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/16\/forgotten-fighting-irish-korean-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Forgotten Fighting Irish of the Korean War"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Irish
\n\tI always look forward to St. Patrick\u2019s Day. My maternal grandfather, Patrick J. Sullivan, did too. His father had come to America from County Kerry, Ireland, at the turn of the 20th century and had settled in Holyoke, Massachusetts, home at that time to one of the largest Irish-American communities outside of Boston. He worked at a local paper mill, married, and had three children. Life was hard for him and his family, but at least he was an American and had opportunities. More importantly, his children had opportunities.\u00a0
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\nAs a young boy, I enjoyed spending time with my grandfather, and I remember how proud he was of his Irish ancestry, his alma mater, The University of Notre Dame, and most importantly, his American citizenship. He loved the US and everything it stood for. From his humble beginnings as an Irish immigrant\u2019s son to becoming a US Public Health Service doctor, traveling the world and learning four languages, he was a true American success story.
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\nThinking about my grandfather and upcoming St. Patrick’s Day celebrations here in Seoul, my wife and I started researching the Irish in Korea, specifically those who fought and died in the Korean War. We discovered that 159 Irishmen sacrificed their lives from 1950-\u201853. After digging a little deeper, we also found out that 28 of them<\/a> were American GI\u2019s.
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\nIn a little-known chapter of Korean War history, 27 US Army soldiers and one US Marine – all Irishmen – went to Korea and never came back. They fought and died as US servicemen, but in a strange twist to their tragic stories, they weren\u2019t US citizens. They were Irish immigrants who had legally come to America just years, sometimes months, earlier in hopes of becoming US citizens. They were motivated and courageous and wanted to be Americans more than anything else. Now was their chance.
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\nAlong with hundreds of other Irish immigrants, they joined or were drafted into the American military. Fighting for America would bring them one step closer to citizenship, they believed.\u00a0
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But it wasn\u2019t that easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nThe laws about becoming a citizen were unclear. Many who returned from the war were told they\u2019d still have to wait five years, just like everyone else, before they could apply for citizenship. It wasn’t fair. They weren’t being recognized for their military service. By the war\u2019s end, however, everything was beginning to change.
\n\u00a0
\nIn late 1953, Congress passed a law stating that active duty members of the military who had served in a war, even a non-declared war like the \u201cpolice action\u201d in Korea, would be granted citizenship in 90 -180 days. But the law wasn\u2019t retroactive. The 28 Irish-born men who had died didn\u2019t qualify. They had sacrificed their lives for America, but their adopted country was refusing to recognize them as US citizens.
\n\u00a0
\nJohn Leahy, an Irishman who had fought in Korea and survived, was furious. In 1976 he began a campaign to bring awareness to his \u201cforgotten\u201d brothers in arms. Twenty-seven years later, in 2003, on a beautiful day in Brooklyn, the 28 men received their posthumous citizenship at the unveiling of an Irish Korean War Memorial at Green-Wood Cemetery<\/a>. John\u2019s dedication to his fallen comrades had finally paid off.
\n\u00a0
\nBefore giving his eulogy for the fallen servicemen, Mr. Leahy told the audience, \u201cToday is possibly the proudest day of my life. . . these 28 have crossed home plate are now in a beautiful clubhouse and have a monument of their own.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nAs we enjoy a few pints of Guinness this weekend, I propose a toast to all the young men from Ireland, regardless of the country they served under, who gave their lives so that Korea could be free. Cheers and God Bless the Irish!
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Marine
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tMarine Pfc. John Patrick White, born in County Kerry, Ireland, and residing in New York City at the outbreak of the Korean War, was taken prisoner by the Chinese in 1952. He died in captivity and his body was never recovered. (thewildgeese.irish)
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\n\t\t\t\t\"US
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tUS Army Corporal Patrick Sheahan, also born in County Kerry and from New York City, was killed in action in 1951. He received the Bronze and Silver Stars for heroism. (praoh.org)
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\n\t\t\t\t\"Irish
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tA close-up of the Irish Korean War Memorial, with the names of the 28 Irishmen from the US who died and posthumously received their US citizenship. (picssr.com)
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\n\t\t\t\t\"Ned
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tNed at the Irish Korean War Memorial, Seoul (Photo credit: Ned Forney)
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\n\t\t\t\t\"Wreath
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tA recently placed wreath at the memorial by Pi Woo-jin, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Korea. (Photo Credit: Ned Forney)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n