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Marking the 55th anniversary of the Incheon Landing on Thursday afternoon in Freedom Park, Incheon, where the statue of U.S. general Douglas MacArthur stands, Marine Corps veterans resolved in a rally to safeguard the "national security and the MacArthur statue to the last man." No clashes took place Thursday because organizations advocating the removal of the statue did not counter.
Marine Corps Veterans Association president Kim Myung-hwan told the rally attended by more than 3,000 veterans and others from across the country, "We cannot remain silent on calls for the removal of the MacArthur statue. Now Marine Corps veterans have to step forward."
"The General MacArthur statue is an expression of our gratitude to the countries that participated in the Korean War," said former defense minister Kim Sung-eun. "The reality is indeed so upsetting that it impels us to hold such a rally."
Clad in Marine Corps uniforms and wearing red caps, the veterans waved Korean and American national flags and shouted such slogans as "Right!" and "Let's Safeguard the Korea-U.S. alliance," while listening to speeches. The rally site was filled with placards, some of which read, "Let's decisively cope with anti-American and pro-North Korean forces that turn the cold shoulder to our national interests," and, "Let's leave to our posterity the fatherland we have defended with blood and sweat."
The Marine Corps Veterans Association announced a MacArthur statue safeguarding program calling for its members to patrol the statue on a rotation basis and organize a task force aimed at preventing attempts to damage the statue.
At another ceremony celebrating the same occasion at the Incheon Landing Memorial in the morning, Incheon mayor Ahn Sang-soo said, "Assertions to remove the MacArthur statue are of help at all to the unification and prosperity of the nation." The 2.65 million Incheon citizens will defend the MacArthur statue, added Ahn.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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