Bob McGeorge, with the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 121, salutes as Young-Ju Bae, originally from Seoul, South Korea, and now living in Blue Ash, sings the National Anthem at the dedication of the new Korean War Memorial in Reading Sunday afternoon. (Enquirer photo/GLENN HARTONG)

"The people who served were ordinary people, living their lives in peace when they were sent halfway around the world to fight for freedom," said Bob McGeorge of White Oak. About 200 veterans and members of Cincinnati's Korean community crowded into the quarter-acre, brick-paved park for the ceremony. "May God bless them and all who are serving today."

The 4-foot-high granite marker was the brainchild of McGeorge and fellow members of Chapter 121 of the Korean War Veterans Association.

The members of Chapter 121 worked for more than 18 months to raise the $5,000 needed to erect the monument, contacting friends and local businesses for small contributions. But, they say, it was not until the Korean community got involved that the money began flowing. "Without them, we wouldn't be here today," McGeorge said.

Bae Suk Lee, a retired anesthesiologist from Evendale and a Korean who served alongside U.S. troops in the war that lasted from 1950 to 1953, said his own contribution - and his efforts to raise money from other Korean people - was his way of thanking the Americans who fought the communists who overran his country.

"In medicine, we have a saying - G.O.K. - that stands for 'God Only Knows,'" Lee said. "God only knows what would have happened to my people if not for these men."

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot told the crowd that "unfortunately, the Korean War is one that many Americans know little about."

"When these men went abroad to fight, communism and Marxism were on the march and the world could have gone either way," Chabot said. "These veterans helped preserve freedom."

Young-Ju Bae, a Korean-American from Blue Ash, sang the Korean national anthem and "The Star-Spangled Banner." She hadn't been on the program but volunteered to sing when she came with fellow members of the Korean United Methodist Church in Norwood. After the ceremony, veterans and their spouses praised her singing.

"This was the least I could do," Bae told one veteran. "And I thank you, too."

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