[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING LIEUTENANT GENERAL SUNG EUN KIM (RET.)

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 2004

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the 
Congressional Record the following statement signed by the 
Massachusetts Congressional Delegation as well as our dear friend and 
colleague, U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Rangel served in the U.S. Army from 
1948 to 1952, during which time he fought in Korea and was awarded the 
Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to personally thank my colleagues for 
signing this letter to Lieutenant General Sung Eun Kim (Ret.).

                                Congress of the United States,

                                    Washington, DC, March 5, 2004.
       Lieutenant General Sung Eun Kim (Ret.) served as the 4th 
     Commandant of the Republic of Korea Marines Corps (ROKMC) and 
     as ROK Minister of National Defense from 1963 to 1968. In 
     General Kim, the United States has a true friend.
       General Kim is a patriot who cares dearly for freedom and 
     has a strong personal affinity for America. He also is an 
     ardent supporter of the Korean War Memorial of Central 
     Massachusetts, having made a significant contribution toward 
     its construction and then encouraged many other ROKMC 
     Commandants and other military leaders to join him in support 
     of the Memorial, which stands as a symbol of Freedom.
       The alliance between the ROK Marine Corps and the U.S. 
     Marine Corps was forged in the fires of the Korean War, where 
     Commandant General Kim and his ROK Marines fought shoulder-
     to-shoulder with U.S. Marines to repel brutal Communist 
     aggression. According to historian Lieutenant Colonel James 
     Durand, USMC, ``. . .  in the history of the ROK Marine 
     Corps, General Kim is certainly in a class by himself. 
     General Kim led ROK Marines in more battles than any other 
     commander, including the amphibious landing at Tong Yong, 
     which resulted in the first unit-wide promotions of the 
     Korean War.''
       In a letter to Korean War Memorial Chairman Francis Carroll 
     of Worcester, Massachusetts, General Kim wrote, ``I want to 
     thank the American people for all the sacrifices they have 
     made for Korea. Had the United States not come to our aid 53 
     years ago, I would surely not be alive today to write this 
     letter . . . I know that South Korea would not be the 
     prosperous, democratic nation it is today without the 
     military, economic, and political assistance America has 
     given us over the past half century.''
       Thank you General Kim, the ROK Marine Corps, and the people 
     of the Republic of Korea for your friendship. We salute you.
           Sincerely,
         Charles B. Rangel, Edward J. Markey, James P. McGovern, 
           Barney Frank, Richard E. Neal, Martin T. Meehan, 
           William D. Delahunt, Stephen F. Lynch, John W. Olver, 
           John F. Tierney, Michael E. Capuano.

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