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By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Lt. Gen. Edwin P. Smith, representing the U.S. Pacific Command,
lays a wreath commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Korean
War at ceremonies at the National Memorial Cemetery of the
Pacific at Punchbowl yesterday.

Isle vet pays
tribute to special,
lost buddy

'I never would have left him
if I knew he was alive,' says
a Kaneohe man of his friend

By Pat Gee
Star-Bulletin

The Korean War battle at Tae Jon almost 50 years ago haunts Harrison Lee.

His buddy Buzz Bussiere lay wounded, shot in the head, in a foxhole next to Lee, and North Korean soldiers overran the position. The Kaneohe man left Bussiere behind, assuming he was dead; Lee was to have been the best man at the New Yorker's wedding.

But Bussiere was not dead, was captured and died as a prisoner-of-war from exposure to frigid conditions, Lee said.

"I was devastated. I might have been captured with him, but I never would have left him if I knew he was alive," said Lee, now 70.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Gov. Ben Cayetano and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie invite
Agnes Kim, of the Medal of Honor families, to sit in the shade.

Yesterday morning, Lee was among government dignitaries, friends and relatives and soldiers who fought in what has been dubbed "The Forgotten War," at ceremonies at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where officials paid the Korean War veterans a long-deserved tribute.

The war's 50th anniversary commemoration marked the beginning of ceremonies to be held for the next three years to make sure no one forgets the deeds of those soldiers.

South Korean Consul General Ji Doo Lee said the Korean War has been "remembered as the Forgotten War, but not today. We must never forget the high price you paid. We must remember freedom is not free."

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Many floral arrangements were presented
for the "Forgotten War" ceremonies.

Keynote speaker Gov. Ben Cayetano said that "historians are wrong. I assure you we have not forgotten" the men who sacrificed their lives.

Hawaii suffered the highest number of casualties per capita in the nation; 456 men died, and more than 3,000 were wounded.

Hawaii's soldiers earned two Medals of Honor, 34 Distinguished Service Crosses, 404 Silver Stars and 1,390 Bronze Stars, Cayetano said.

Former prisoner-of-war Nick Nishimoto said "we suffered miserably" with no food, no medical care and no warm clothing in weather that was 40 degrees below zero. "The only reason we survived was we were packed in like sardines ... we were lucky to come back alive."

Marine veterans group Chosin Few is planning a service in December to commemorate the Chosin battle.

Events are being organized by the State of Hawaii's 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Korean War Commission. Visit its Web Site at http://www.dod.state.hi.us/korean50