16 Korean War vets, including 97-year-old Pinoy, honored

SEOUL – Staying true to its vow to never forget who came to its aid at a time of deep turmoil, the South Korean government is honoring over a dozen foreign Korean War veterans here this week with a vacation fit for heroes who courageously fought with them more than seven decades ago.

Korean War veterans from 16 countries arrived in Seoul last week for a vacation and a chance to revisit a land they once helped defend and experience the gratitude of a government and its people for the sacrifices they made to attain peace.

Retired Staff Sergeant Benjamin Quiros, 97, was among those invited to this year’s third batch of invitees for the Revisit Korea Program of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA).

The STAR met with the Filipino Korean War veteran who happily narrated his life as a soldier and how times have changed since the Korean War that started in 1950 and “ended” three years later with the signing of the Armistice Agreement in July 1953.

“They say I’m a hero!” he joked in Filipino in an interview at the War Memorial of Korea, where he posed for a photo with his fellow veterans from 15 other nations who came to aid South Korea more than 70 years ago.

Quiros, accompanied by his daughter Maria, is being treated to an all-expense-paid vacation in South Korea to enjoy the fruits of the peace that he helped achieve as a platoon leader of the Reconnaissance Company of the 20th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

He was only 22 years old when he was sent to Korea in 1950, along with soldiers of 22 other countries who sent troops under the United Nations Forces.

“Ever since I became a veteran, it’s been good that I’ve lived, there is privilege,” Quiros said, noting that most of his fellow veterans are now in wheelchairs.

He thought there are two to three other Filipino veterans who are still alive, “but can no longer get up.”

For his age, Quiros is very strong and only needs some assistance in walking around the War Memorial in Seoul that features actual tanks, aircraft, vehicles and even a ship that was used during the Korean War.

At a huge plaza outside the entrance, the memorial features the towering flags of all the nations who helped defend South Korea during the war, and in words etched at the base of the pole of the Philippine flag, the Philippines is hailed for being the first Asian country to send its troops.

“We have not forgotten them,” a huge banner reads at the vast museum that Quiros visited for the very first time.

After the war, he said the Philippines gave them educational benefits, which he did not actually avail of since he was already studying engineering in Mapua back then and eventually graduated in 1965, before he worked in patents and later worked as a civilian in Vietnam where he was able to save enough money because of good pay.

Quiros and his immediate family now spend most of their time in the United States, but come home to the Philippines once in a while to stay in their home in Quezon City as he continues to enjoy pension benefits from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.

Quiros and his daughter also visited the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan where he paid his respects to those who fought and died during the Korean War, including unnamed Filipino soldiers who are nevertheless honored for their courage and heroism.