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The Korean War is sometimes referred to as the “Forgotten War,” due to the lack of public attention it often receives. But the people of South Korea have no intention of forgetting, and continue to honor American veterans who helped maintain their republic’s independence.
Former U.S. Army Cpl. Dan Rodriguez, who now lives in Pleasanton, became one of those honored veterans earlier this month when he was presented with the Korean War Ambassador for Peace Medal during a ceremony at his Stoneridge Creek senior community.
“It’s overwhelming. I mean I don’t feel like I did anything special over there, but it’s nice, it’s a really pretty medal,” Rodriguez said at the May 8 event. “I appreciate the fact that the Korean government appreciates what we did over there.”
Approximately 50 people attended the ceremony to watch Rodriguez receive the medal, which is made out of barbed wire collected from the demilitarized border between North and South Korea — one of the most heavily militarized regions in the world.
“We are so grateful to American Korean War veterans. Korea has become prosperous now because of their sacrifices,” Consul General Park Joon-yong, from the Republic of Korea’s San Francisco Consulate, said while presenting the medal to Rodriguez. “It is very important (we) keep close relationships with U.S Korean War veterans.”
The Ambassador for Peace Medal is an expression of appreciation from the Korean government to the men and women who served in the Korean War. The commemorative medal is given to American veterans while honoring them for defending South Korea, in order to help grow the already close relationships the two countries have.
“I am very proud. This is a big to-do, it’s quite the ceremony. I don’t know if they were expecting this big of a crowd. They probably just thought they would show up and drop (the medal) off,” Dan’s wife Lynn Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez received basic training at Fort Ord in Monterey before shipping off to Korea in 1951. He would serve there for a year as an army cook at the 35th Regiment headquarters, which followed just two miles behind the front lines.
“We were behind the lines so a little closer to trouble, but it wasn’t terribly bad,” Rodriguez said, reflecting on his time there. “There were some times we got kind of weary but most of the time the real party was up front.”
After the war, Rodriguez returned to his pre-military job at the post office and took advantage of the GI Bill, going to school to study accounting.
“After two years a friend of mine at the post office talked me into switching to optometry, so I switched and then I dropped out and got married and just lived a regular life after that,” he said.