By Honorary Reporter Amy G. Partain from U.S.

Photo = Amy G. Partain

This priceless photo of my Uncle Billie now hangs inside my home. (Amy G. Partain)

While growing up, I spent two weeks every summer with my grandparents. Those summer days gave me some of my fondest memories, including that of a photo of a handsome soldier hanging in the hallway of my grandparents' house.

From a young age, I was fascinated by this photo. I guess I eventually asked who the guy was, though I don't remember that conversation. All I know is that I was captivated by Uncle Billie. He was my grandfather's half-brother who died at age 20 while fighting for the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

The photo was water damaged and housed in what was once an ornate frame with military insignia. Not until I grew up did I learn more about Uncle Billie. While working on a heritage project in 2001, I learned more about his death. He was killed in action on Sept. 10, 1950, meaning this year marks the 70th anniversary of his demise.

Uncle Billie was a corporal in the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army that landed in July 1950 on Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. His unit carried out the war's first amphibious landing that helped repel the North Korean invasion at the Busan perimeter. This defense lasted from Aug. 4 to Sept. 16 that same year, and my uncle was killed during this operation.

Official army records show that on the day he died, his regiment was near the Geumhogang River northeast of an airfield in Daegu. My relatives said Uncle Billie was driving a jeep when a sniper shot him in the head. He was one of 770 killed from his division, with another 2,613 wounded and 62 captured.

I asked about Uncle Billie again to a relative. She said he often stayed at my grandparents' house because life at his home was chaotic with lots of siblings running around. My grandparents married in 1946 and had their first child, my mother, in 1947, so he found their home more peaceful.

My conversation with my grandmother led to the photo, and I asked why she allowed water to damage it. She told me how she got the photo. After his death, my grandfather was doing electrical work at a house once owned by the family of my uncle's wife. It was empty at the time, so my grandmother looked around before opening a closet door and finding the photo. She found the photo water damaged and housed in a deteriorating frame.

Grandma said that when Uncle Billie joined the military, two copies of this photo were made; one went to his mother and the other to his wife. When Grandma saw that it was left behind, presumably by his wife, she took it and displayed it prominently in her home as a tribute to a sweet man who died too young.

Until 2006, when I started the process to adopt my son from Korea, Uncle Billie was my sole connection to the country. Now his photo means far more to me than it did when I was young. The history of the two Koreas and their separation is hard and tragic, yet U.N. soldiers like Uncle Billie and those of South Korea who fought side by side allowed the country to eventually become what it is today. I have a deep sense of gratitude toward those soldiers and the sacrifices they made.

The water-damaged photo now hangs in the hallway of my home. It's touching to think that last year, when we visited Daegu, I was in the same area where Uncle Billie spent the last days of his life -- exactly 69 years later. This connection with him is something I never expected when I admired that handsome soldier in the photo as a child. I never could've imagined that Korean culture would become part of my life and who I am.

Many say a person never dies as long as he or she is remembered by others. Uncle Billie died 20 years before I was born, but 70 years after his death, he continues to live on in my memories thanks to my grandmother sharing with me his life.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.