Family members of Olywn Green, the late widow of Lt. Col. Charles Green, an Australian veteran of the Korean War, attend a burial ceremony for her at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Sept. 21. Yonhap
The late wife of an Australian veteran killed during the 1950-53 Korean War was laid to rest in the southeastern city of Busan alongside her husband on her 100th birthday Thursday.
A burial ceremony for Olywn Green, the late widow of Lt. Col. Charles Green, took place at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and was attended by family members, including the late couple's only daughter, Anthea.
Also present were senior military and foreign officials, including Seoul's Vice Veterans Minister Yoon Jong-jin and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, Australian Ambassador to Seoul Catherine Raper, U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, chief of the Australian Army.
Green, who died in Australia in 2019 at the age of 96, had expressed a wish to be buried with her husband, who was laid to rest in Busan. But her wish had been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Korea's veterans ministry.
Lt. Col. Green took part in the Korean War as the commander of the Royal Australian Regiment's 3rd Battalion in September 1950. He was killed in November that year at the age of 30 due to a shrapnel wound in his stomach after shelling by enemy forces.
This photo, provided by the Korean Army, shows its chief of staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, laying flowers at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Sept. 21, during a burial ceremony for Olywn Green, the late widow of Lt. Col. Charles Green, an Australian veteran of the Korean War. Yonhap
His wife never remarried and published a biography on his life in 1993 based on personal and historical records. She received the Member of the Order of Australia Medal in 2006 in recognition of her work.
Anthea told Yonhap News Agency she feels honored to carry out her mother's lifelong wish of being buried alongside her husband in Korea, adding the outpour of support by Koreans for her late father was a source of strength for her late mother.
Seoul's Army chief expressed deep gratitude for the support and devotion of the Australian armed forces during the Korean War, while his Australian counterpart hoped for ties between the two countries to extend to strengthened cooperation between their armies.
Australia was among the 22 countries that sent troops or gave medical aid to Korea under the U.N. flag during the Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
Canberra dispatched a total of 17,164 service members during the war, with 339 of them being killed in action, according to Korean data.
A total of 2,320 troops, including 281 Australians, are currently buried at the memorial cemetery in Busan, according to its website. (Yonhap)
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