Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reflect on the courageous efforts Canadians made in the Korean War. This past Remembrance Day, I accompanied six distinguished Canadian Korean War veterans as they returned to Korea, almost 60 years after the armistice was signed in 1953.
I was mesmerized by their tales as they recalled some of their experiences from so long ago. Shanties and bombed out roads have been replaced by high-rise business and residential areas. Modern transit systems, bridges and infrastructure make South Korea one of the most advanced societies in the world today.
We visited the Korean national war museum, which now contains a portrait painted by Ted Zuber, a Korean veteran, the only non-Korean artifact on display. The United Nations cemetery, where many of our fallen soldiers rest, is meticulously maintained. So revered are these heroes that no building can be built that would cast a shadow on those graves.
It was an honour for me to be there with Jim Duncan, Gary Miller, John Bishop, Don Carmichael, Don Dalke and Philip Daniel. They and all Korean war veterans should know how very proud we are of all of them.