Thomas Daschle: “over the weekend, South Dakota honored a debt long overdue. With the dedication of the South Dakota Korean War Memorial…”

“over the weekend, South Dakota honored a debt long overdue. With the dedication of the South Dakota Korean War Memorial on the capitol grounds in Pierre, our State paid tribute to the extraordinary heroism of those men and women who defended freedom and democracy on the Korean peninsula. More than 1.8 million Americans fought in the Korean war, facing some of the fiercest fighting the world has ever seen. More than 36,500 soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice in this effort, including nearly 200 South Dakotans. Another 103,000 Americans were wounded. The cause for which they fought, and the freedom they won, is clear today for all to see. On the south side of the 38th parallel lives a prosperous, free nation, fully welcomed into the family of nations. On the north side, 22 million Koreans live under tyranny and in hunger. The regime is rightly condemned for its abuse of its own citizens and their fundamental rights, and is an international outcast due to its spreading of missile technology and weapons-of-mass-destruction technology throughout the world. The map shows nothing more than a line separating the two. But in a real sense, what separates North from South Korea is the heroism of the American soldiers who fought there.”