Ethiopia unveils memorial wall for Korean War elite troops
The wall honors 122 soldiers of the Kagnew Battalion, a unit that won all 253 battles it fought during the 1950-53 war.
A memorial wall honoring 122 fallen members of an Ethiopian unit that fought in the Korean War was unveiled in Ethiopia on Wednesday, South Korea's national news agency Yonhap reported.
The wall displays the names of veterans who served in the Kagnew Battalion, an elite force made up of Ethiopian Royal Guards, and it stands at a cathedral in Ethiopia, the veterans ministry said, (Yonhap News Agency)
The battalion took part in 253 battles during the 1950-53 war and won every one of them, the ministry said, (Yonhap News Agency)
The soldiers who died in those battles numbered 122, and their names now appear on the memorial.
The ministry and HD Construction Equipment Co. set up the monument under an agreement reached in May to build such facilities for Korean War veterans who fought alongside U.N. forces.
HD Construction Equipment fully funded the wall, which shows Ethiopian forces marching behind a lion, with the name tags of all 122 veterans on its sides.
South Korean and Ethiopian officials, along with veterans and bereaved family members, attended the unveiling ceremony, the ministry said.
Ethiopia is the only African nation that sent ground troops to fight for South Korea during the three-year conflict, Yonhap reported.
The Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953, and the United Nations command included troops from many countries that fought alongside South Korea.
