Me next to the monument. This gives you an idea of its size. Read the full text of the monument.

This is Kim Duk Hyung and I standing in front of Mr. Kim's little pharmacy in Namhae city. The memorial hall is next door on the left. (April 1996).

Years later, in 1989, Mr. Kim established a memorial hall in the town of Namhae, where annual memorial services for the dead airmen are held in the early afternoon of October 26th. Mr. Kim's dedication to the foreign airmen has made him somewhat of an oddity in his own community. Kim Duk Hyung has visited the United States at least twice, visiting family members of the crew, and receiving coverage in U.S. newspapers. On November 14, 1986, Mr. Kim received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award at the Pentagon, accompanied by family members of Joe Orenbuch, the navigator of the B-24. He got this high honor nearly 40 years after he had risked his life to preserve the remains of the American bomber crew. Mr. Kim had previously received various awards and citations from U.S. military organizations and civilian associations.

At the annual memorial service in 1997, Army Captain Michael Fitzgerald, nephew of Co-Pilot Nick Simonich, presented Mr. Kim with Nick's Purple Heart as a gesture of their family's gratitude...

This is Kim Duk Hyung receiving the Distinguished Civilian Service Award back in '86.

Kim Duk Hyung is 84 years old by now. He still runs his small pharmacy in Namhae, just South of the city bus terminal. I have visited Mr. Kim and his son in 1996. Mr. Kim is a very kind and gentle person, and he and his family had shown me a great deal of hospitality during my visit in Namhae.

It is hoped that those who visit this site and read this story take a moment to reflect upon those ordinary people who have made extraordinary sacrifices for our sake, and the sake of others.

This site is dedicated to Kim Duk Hyung and to memory of the airmen who were lost on that August day, so many years ago.

This author of this site owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bill Allen, brother-in-law of the late Lt. Ed Mills Jr.. Mr. Allen's enormous help in providing me information about this story made this site possible.

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