An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | Aug. 2, 2018

General Brooks Remarks, United Nations Command Repatriation Ceremony

United Nations Command

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- GOOD EVENING. I AM GENERAL VINCENT K. BROOKS, THE COMMANDER OF UNITED NATIONS COMMAND.

I WELCOME THE MANY DISTINGUISHED GUESTS WHO HAVE JOINED THE COMMAND IN PROPERLY HONORING THE REMAINS OF FALLEN WARRIORS FROM THE KOREAN WAR AS WE SEND THEM AWAY FROM THIS ANCIENT LAND ONWARD TO THE IDENTIFICATION LABORATORIES IN THE UNITED STATES WHERE THEY CAN BE POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AND RETURNED, FINALLY, TO THEIR COUNTRYMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO NEVER FORGOT THEM OR THE WAR THAT CLAIMED THEM.

TO THE DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA GOVERNMENT WHO ARE PRESENT, AND LED BY MINISTER OF DEFENSE SONG, YOUNG MOO --; TO THE EXCELLENCIES OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS AND THE ATTACHE CORPS REPRESENTING EACH UNITED NATIONS MEMBER WHO SENT FORCES TO AID THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA UNDER THE UNITED NATIONS FLAG; AND TO THE FORCES OF MULTIPLE COUNTRIES WHO SERVE HERE TODAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENCE AND PARTICIPATION.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AT A TIME LIKE THIS, IN SUCH A SOLEMN OBSERVANCE, THE TIME FOR WORDS SHOULD BE KEPT SHORT, AND THE TIME FOR SOLEMN OBSERVATION OF MILITARY TRADITION TO HONOR FALLEN COMRADES MUST BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF OUR ATTENTION.

WITH THAT IN MIND, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO RECOGNIZE WHAT IT IS WE ARE DOING TODAY.

ENCOURAGED BY RECENT COOPERATION WITH NORTH KOREA ON THIS HUMANITARIAN EFFORT THAT ENABLED THE TRANSFER OF 55 SETS OF REMAINS ON THE 27TH OF JULY, LAST FRIDAY, WE HAVE GATHERED – AS THE SUCCESSORS OF UNITED NATIONS COMMAND IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, AND AS THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE NOBLE SACRIFICES OF THOSE WHO FOR A SHORT WHILE LONGER WILL REMAIN NAMELESS-YET IN OUR PRESENCE – TO RENDER OUR FINAL SALUTES TO THEM. TO LAY WREATHS IN THE NAMES OF OUR COUNTRIES WHO FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE, AND WHO DIED SIDE BY SIDE. AND TO BE REMINDED ONCE AGAIN OF OUR SOLEMN OBLIGATION TO BRING EVERYONE OF THEM, THE MISSING, THE PRISONER OF WAR, BACK HOME TO THEIR COUNTRIES AND THEIR FAMILIES.

FOR THE WARRIOR, THIS IS A CHERISHED DUTY, A COMMITMENT MADE TO ONE ANOTHER BEFORE GOING INTO BATTLE AND PASSED ON FROM ONE GENERATION OF WARRIORS TO THE NEXT.

AND FOR ALL IN ATTENDANCE, THIS IS A SOLEMN REMINDER THAT OUR WORK IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL ALL HAVE BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO SO.

WE ASSEMBLE IN THIS PLACE -- THE UN FLAG BEFORE US, THE FLAGS OF THE SENDING STATES BENEATH IT, AND BEHIND US -- THE FLAGS OF THE UNITED STATES AS LEAD NATION, AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AS PRIMARY FORCE PROVIDER AND BENEFICIARY OF THE GALLANT SACRIFICE. AND THESE 55 SETS OF REMAINS IN OUR MIDST.

HONORED COLLEAGUES OF UNITED NATIONS COMMAND, IN A FEW MOMENTS WE WILL PROCEED WITH WREATH LAYING AND MILITARY HONORS, FOLLOWED BY THE MOVEMENT OF EACH SET OF REMAINS FROM HERE TO THE TWO MILITARY TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT THAT WILL BRING THEM ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE END OF THEIR JOURNEY.

I WANT TO THANK THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION ACCOUNTING AGENCY, THE U.S. DEPARTMENTS OF STATE AND DEFENSE, AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA GOVERNMENT FOR ENABLING THIS EVENT, AND TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE TODAY AND YOUR SUPPORT EVERYDAY.

THANK YOU, AND MAY GOD BLESS THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO LAY BEFORE US, AND PROVIDE COMFORT TO THOSE WHO YET AWAIT THE RETURN OF THEIR BELOVED AND MISSING WARRIOR.
CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
362,554
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Statement from President Biden on Addressing National Security Risks to the U.S. Auto Industry
March 1, 2024 - American automakers and auto workers are the best in the world. The iconic Big Three and American auto workers are leading the world in quality and innovation. A dynamic auto industry is vital to the U.S. economy...

Lancer Brigade takes part in Exercise Cobra Gold 2024
March 1, 2024 - Hundreds of soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Lancer Brigade,” 7th Infantry Division, arrived in the Kingdom of Thailand to participate in the 43rd iteration of Exercise Cobra Gold 2024...

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Shin Wonsik
Feb. 29, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

Special Agents attend the 3rd Korea-US Fair Trade Criminal Enforcement Workshop
Representatives from the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Far East Fraud Resident Unit and the U.S. Department of Justice attended the 3rd Korea-U.S. Workshop on Antitrust Criminal Enforcement in Seoul, Republic of Korea, February 26, 2024.
Feb. 29, 2024 - Representatives from the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Far East Fraud Resident Unit attended the 3rd Korea-U.S. Workshop on Antitrust Criminal Enforcement in Seoul, Republic of Korea, February 26,...

Marine Aircraft Group 12 concludes Cope North 24
U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232 performs preflight inspections on an F/A-18C Hornet aircraft at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Jan. 30, 2024. Nicknamed the “Red Devils,” VMFA-232 traveled from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan to Guam as a part of their Aviation Training Relocation Program deployment to train multilaterally with allies and partners, and enhance the squadron’s combat readiness. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David Getz)
Feb. 28, 2024 - Marines with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, completed Cope North 24, a three-week-long multinational aviation training exercise, alongside joint, partner, and allied forces in Guam and the Northern...