North Carolina has dozens of war memorials. They commemorate veterans who served in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World Wars and Vietnam War. And now North Carolina has a memorial dedicated to the men and women who served in the Korean War.
The memorial stands in a park in Mint Hill. It has that memorial grandeur to it. There are four granite columns with benches and a fountain arranged in the shape of the South Korean flag.
“The Korean War should not be a forgotten war and we wanted a decent memorial somewhere for people to come and visit and understand the Korean War was a war,” says Korean War veteran and retired Air Force Colonel Bill Reid.
He says it’s North Carolina’s only memorial dedicated solely to Korean War veterans.
Reid and a few other veterans spent several years trying to get the memorial built. They had to find somewhere to build it and raise $900,000 for the construction. Reid says it was worth it as reminder of the 800 North Carolina men and women who died in the war and to honor veterans like himself who never felt their service was properly recognized.
The veterans chose Mint Hill because the town was eager to have the memorial. Mint Hill provided the space in a park just off I-485 and also chipped in $120,000. The South Korean government pitched in another $56,000 and the rest of the costs were covered by families of veterans and some local businesses.
