President's letter 60 years after war

Toowoomba resident Arnold Jordan with a Hawker Sea Fury on board the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney during his time in the Korean War.

Callum Johnson

ALMOST 60 years after he served in the Korean War, Toowoomba veteran Arnold Jordan received a strange envelope from the office of the President of South Korea.

Opening the unexpected piece of mail was quite touching for the ex-mechanic as it contained a personal thank-you from the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, for his services in the Korean War during 1951-1952.

“It was very emotional,” Mr Jordan said.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I saw the envelope was from the office of the President of South Korea; I had no idea a thank-you letter was coming.”

Mr Jordan was one of 100,000 veterans who received a letter from President Myung-Bak thanking them for their help and remembering the “Forgotten War”.

“There aren’t many of us left,” Mr Jordan said.

“There are only around half-a-dozen Korean War veterans left in Toowoomba and most of us are over 80-years old.”

President Myung-Bak stated in his letter: “We Koreans made a promise to build a strong and prosperous country that upholds peace and freedom so that the sacrifices that you made would not have been in vain.

“Korea today is .... actively promoting peace and stability.

“We are proud of what we managed to accomplish and we wish to dedicate these achievements to you.”

During his six-to-seven months in Korea, Mr Jordan serviced aircraft and helped to maintain vehicles in minus 30 degree weather.