Tears of the General
Few days ago, the famous Korean General Myung-Shin Chae had passed away. He was a devout Christian and so it was more proper to say that he has passed away.
According to the newspaper article, in his will, the general requested that he would be buried in a small grave for a regular soldier which was 6ft.2 as suppose to a larger grave of 48ft.2 of land which was reserved for generals. He wanted to be buried along with his soldiers that were forsaken during the Vietnamese War.
Why would he leave a will like that? Despite being a well-liked and famous as a general in command, taking in command of the Tiger Infantry Division during the Vietnamese War, he wanted to be buried with his soldiers because he simply loved and cared for them. During the times when he visited Korea, he would visit the graves of the fallen soldiers and would pay respects and weep.
During the years of 1967,68 I was also sent to Vietnam to join the war. A short time later, I had joined in a joint operation, “Operation Hong Gil Dong” to find and destroy the Viet Cong. After fully arming with gears, we boarded a helicopter, going to an uncharted area of the jungle, and had fought there for about a week.
One afternoon, an army helicopter suddenly flew in from nowhere with loud noise, and after giving a large turbulent wind to the area around, it landed. General Chae had entered into a tent to see the situation in the war, and after that he was giving out commands to officers nearby. I remember seeing him clearly. Because the command center was of open area, there was a huge tent set up, but the canvas was opened because of the immense heat.
A short time later, he shook hands with several of the officers and soldiers there and got into the helicopter and took off.
The enemies were the Viet Cong. They were the best of guerilla tactics. There was no way to find out where the attacks may strike. It was a huge risk for the general to fly in like that low to visit our location. One of the observer officers in our company was flying with a small plane (L-19) to survey the enemy movement and was nearly killed in action.
After being rescued, he had received many surgeries. Knowing that, but still why?
It was probably from the tough but loving manner of leading his soldiers on, encouraging the ones under his command as a truly great general. I had sworn to fight like a loyal soldier to the end of the war, seeing that the general even risked his life to visit the ones fighting on the spot.
During the time when I was supposed to be discharged honorably, the lieutenant colonel said to wait and stay a bit longer, so I had stayed for 6 more months and missed the day of returning. I had passed the 30 month mark and stayed in Vietnam for 36 months. I was trained in ChunCheon in the province of Kangwon, and sent via Busan in an army transport ship to Vietnam (US Navy). I still remember when the train was taking off, numerous civilians prayed to us, to bid us farewell and a safe return. I had met with my family while the train was stopped near Seoul. As a soldier, I had chosen to be more manly and opted to go to Vietnam instead. I remember seeing my family’s white face and heading down to Busan. Knowing that I would probably never return, (while seeing the distance of the Korea, watching my home country grow smaller and smaller,) I folded my mind of returning home and went to the unknown, a week later to arrive in NhaTrang, Vietnam.
After coming back from the war, I was back in Busan. But because of the natural feature difference, and the zone difference, I had gotten very sick for a week. Thankfully, one of the friends I had made in the ship’s home was here, I was able to get back from their family’s help. After getting on the train to Seoul, I finally met with my dear family. The next day, I had visited the DongJak-dong’s national cemetary. I wanted to visit those who had passed away during the war. Many of the youths have died and become cold bodies and buried here, I was speechless. I had just paid my respect to those fallen.
After the war in Vietnam was over, General Chae had become the commanding officer of the 2nd Corps. Many people in Korea thought he would become highly ranked in short time. It was because he had the knowledge, strength, and the courage. He was able to show the power of the Korean military. Everyone in Korea had respected him. However, he was stripped of the command, and had become a Lieutenant General in the 2nd Corps instead. The reason was, when President ChungHee Park said he wished to extend his power for long time, when General Chae (one of the members of the May 16th coup) recommended that he should retire from the politics since the coup was a success. Because of his comment, he was blocked from being the 1st Corps commander, or the minister of defense. His straight-forwardness and his boldness to speak out like that, even risking the ranks of his, made me bow my head in respect. After that, he had his hand in politics for short time, but he would rather serve than be served, he made an organization for the Vietnamese War veterans to serve and care for them.
The general had risked everything during the Vietnamese War as a dispatched general, and to care for his soldiers like his sons, paying respected to those fallen during the war and weeping at there, stripping off all the power and influence he had, becoming a plain old man in the picture of his funeral, shows that General ChaeMyung Shin was truthfully.
Even with small power, many would try to get more, and corrupting the power as they have, and seeing the congress fight over something small makes me worry.
Seeing that the general wishes to be buried with his fellow soldiers of the war makes me feel cool like a fresh spring, serving and loving his country till the end. I pray and wish the general be blessed as he had left a huge impact in the history!
(November 30, 2013)
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Hero 
Tears of the General