ROY — A Utah Marine veteran who fought in the "Forgotten War" said Friday the sacrifices American soldiers made in combat may be worth it if North and South Korea find peace.
When leaders of the two nations embraced Friday and agreed to work toward ending the Korean War this year, the significance was not lost on John Cole.
"I'm hoping now there will be enough level heads to recognize the need for unification. It may not happen in my lifetime. But if it happens, maybe it's all worthwhile," he said at his home in Roy. "I hope that something can be done to turn the corner for this thing, so that there are no more arguments about, 'You fire yours, and I'll fire mine,' type thing. Because nobody wins."
Cole, 91, has three Purple Hearts from the Korean War and also fought in World War II. He received a medal honoring his service from the South Korean government, and has worked to bring the same recognition to other Korean War veterans.
He has arranged for some of them to receive medals at the Utah Capitol, with help from the Korean consulate in San Francisco and the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs.
In 2016, the ceremony brought tears to the eyes of those who were honored.
And Cole isn't stopping there. He also is seeking to raise money to honor more Utah purple hearts at the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home, he said.
Despite all of his effort, he continues to feel that many Americans don't understand all that Korean War veterans fought for.
"I wish the people here in the United States knew more about what took place in North Korea," he said Friday. He donned his Marine uniform, adorned with medals, to demonstrate the Korean War Veteran Ambassador for Peace medal that was given to him by South Korean leaders.
He acknowledges that it took time — about 50 years — before he was ready to recount his own experiences in combat.
In the battle of Chosin Reservoir, which was fought high in the mountains of North Korea, he recalled, the 1st Marine Division and U.S. army soldiers found themselves outnumbered in freezing temperatures.
"They had one of the coldest winters in 100 years," he said. "Everything was frozen: Your food, your water, your weapons."
On one night, he recounted, Chinese soldiers swarmed his comrades' foxhole. He fought for his life, killing three enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, but not before a bullet from a rifle tore through his arm.
Cole was wounded three times, but he said he doesn't remember the pain because the cold was so severe.
He survived, becoming one of the "chosen few," a title sometimes ascribed to those who lived through the battle. Cole said he used to have bad dreams about that night, but "I've buried all of that."
The prospect of peace has led him to reflect on his comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice, he said.
"If it will do away with communism, and that mindset, it would be a huge thing. That's why I say, I hope. I hope it's true. I hope it happens," he said. "It would be so great if what we did would wind up with the whole peninsula of Korea being Korea again."