South Korean war veteran Harry Pooley speaks about the price of freedom leading up to Anzac Day

South Korean war veteran Harry Pooley recalls the horror of conflict as diggers prepare to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day in April.

Harry Pooley with a mate during last year’s ANCAZ Day march.

It is often referred to as the Forgotten War but for the men and women who served in the Korean War from 1950-1953, and the people of South Korea it is anything but.

As a 21-year-old Harry Pooley answered the United Nations call to protect the people of the Republic of South Korea from the threat they were facing from the north.

“I feel as though I did something, along with many others within the UN Peace keeping force to ensure that despite that cruel, hard war they were able to become the prosperous nation they are today,” Mr Pooley said.

Having returned now twice at the invitation of the South Korean veterans, 84-year-old Mr Pooley still vividly feels the nation’s suffering.

While the horror of the loss of soldiers in the field remains, it is the image of a little girl in the rubbish in Pusan that he will never forget.

“Her home was a cardboard box, her clothing was a small pair of pants and on her back was a baby boy about 13-months-old in a little singlet. She had an old ration can she was eating from,” he recalled.

“I remember saying to another soldier I hope I never see a sight like that in Australia, and it made it all the more clear why we were there, in a far away place hardly any of us had heard much of.”

Harry Pooley with a mate during last year’s ANCAZ Day march.

Mr Pooley said the war always reminded him of the cost of freedom.

“Freedom is not an entitlement as we often think here in Australia, it is something that is paid for in the dead, wounded and scars that are carried by civilians and soldiers,” he said.

“I am so very proud of the friendship that exists between us and the people of South Korea.”

To commemorate 100 years since the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, and recognise the sacrifices of those men and women who have served our country since World War I, Quest Community Newspapers will publish one story each day online in the lead-up to Anzac Day.

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Mr Pooley said he liked to think of the good achieved and of the friendships from his infantry days that remain strong still today.

“And I often think of the wonderful elderly Koreans in their long white dresses and black top hats which is a mark of respect and remembrance to the long suffering of their nation,” he said.

“Each time I have returned I am utterly amazed and delighted at the remarkable recovery and sincerity of these wonderful people.”

As part of the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day, Quest Community Newspapers is running 100 stories in the 100 days prior to next month’s milestone.