The conflict is often referred to as "The Forgotten War" because its veterans received little recognition, unlike those who served in World War II.
Bob Hawes remembers stepping into "no man's land" in October 1952 to warn his fellow Army combat engineers about a Chinese patrol barreling down on them, right before artillery shells pelted the area.
No man's land was the valley separating U.S. and Chinese troops near Triangle Hill, where one of the bloodiest battles of the Korean War was fought.
Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, which killed 36,574 U.S. troops and wounded another 103,000. The conflict is often referred to as "The Forgotten War" because its veterans received little recognition, unlike those who served in World War II.
But the sacrifices of the service members who fought there should never be diminished, say local veterans, who will recognize the anniversary Saturday at ceremonies locally and in Washington, D.C.
For Hawes, the war that began when North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950 could never be forgotten. He recalled the day when he warned the small group of fellow soldiers that a Chinese patrol was only a few hundred feet away. Artillery shells began to pound the area and most of the soldiers fled, leaving only Hawes and a lieutenant — every man for himself.
"I started to run back to our lines, and as I'm running all of the sudden I felt it was like somebody hit me in the back with a baseball bat, and I'm down on the ground and I'm crawling," he said.
Hawes survived, thanks to his flack jacket. "I got hit in the back with a piece of shrapnel that tore through a few layers of the jacket," he said.
The 79-year old South Daytona resident helped carry the dead and wounded off Triangle Hill, where 374 Americans lost their lives and 1,074 were wounded.
"There's not a day, not a night, when I get in my bed and I'm ready to go to bed, I'm back in Korea," he said.
The 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice between the United States, South Korea, North Korea and China will be commemorated locally during ceremonies at 10 a.m. in Deltona at the Veterans Memorial Park and at 2 p.m. in a park across from the New Smyrna Beach Museum of History.
"The thing that people don't realize is that the Korean War was very, very instrumental in stopping the spread of communism throughout the Far East," said Ed Stepnowski, 83, a South Daytona resident who served as a combat intelligence solider in Korea from 1951-53.
Another local veteran, Bob Balzer, said he joined the reserves after serving in World War II and was called back to active duty once the Korean War began. Balzer's daughter was only about 18 months old, and his wife was pregnant with their son when he was shipped to Korea in September 1950.
"When I finally was discharged my son thought my dad was his father and it took a month for us to resolve this problem," said the 85-year-old DeLand resident.
Balzer said he lost a close friend in the Korean War — Jesse Harlow, who joined the Navy with him in 1944 and later switched to the Army. It made visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., several years ago especially emotional.
"As past state president of the Korean War Veterans Association, I can tell you that the veterans, men and women, of that war gave 100 percent and can be proud to have saved the nation of South Korea," he said.
Despite health problems, Daytona Beach Marine Corps veteran Tommie Mabe, 84, traveled to Washington, D.C., for events Saturday observing the 60th anniversary of the armistice. Mabe served 23 years with the Marine Corps — in Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia during the 1950s and 1960s.
"I'd like to pay respects to the people we lost, to be there to represent the boy that can't be there," he said.
He called the commemoration "a once-in-a-lifetime event." The events include a ceremony Saturday at the Korean War Veterans Memorial where veterans will be honored. President Barack Obama will be among the dignitaries addressing the group.
Hawes said the Korean people have never forgotten the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers during the war. Hawes said he still sees their gratitude 60 years later when they see him proudly wearing a cap identifying himself as a veteran.
"I don't wear it because of this, but you go into a restaurant and you sit down and have a meal, if there's a Korean person in that restaurant, he's going to come over and pay for your meal," he said. "The very least they'll do is come over and shake your hand said say, 'thank you for freeing my country.' "
Local ceremonies Saturday will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice:
— 10 a.m. in Deltona at the Veterans Memorial Park, 1921 Evard Ave. For more info, call 386-956-5830.
— 2 p.m. in New Smyrna Beach across from the Museum of History, 120 Sams Ave. For more info, call 386-323-6401.