"Senior, I Will Not Forget"…Memorial Ceremony for Major Yoon Young-ha of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu]Ahead of the West Sea Defense Day (March 26), the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced that a memorial event for the late Major Yoon Young-ha, a hero of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, will be held on the 10th.

The memorial event, scheduled for 3 p.m. at Songdo High School in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, was planned with the purpose of remembering 'dedication to the country,' and is expected to be attended by Hwang Ki-chul, head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, bereaved families, and the Commander of the Incheon Maritime Defense Command.

Students from Songdo High School's 'Navy Junior ROTC' will also be present. The Navy Junior ROTC was first established nationwide in 2015 on the occasion of the 13th anniversary memorial service for Major Yoon Young-ha.

The event will proceed in the order of the national ceremony, flower offering and silent tribute, memorial speeches, presentation of the 'House of National Merit' nameplate and consolation gifts, and reading of letters by junior students.

Major Yoon, who was commissioned as the 50th graduate following his father Yoon Doo-ho, a graduate of the 18th class of the Korea Naval Academy, served as the commander of the high-speed patrol boat Chamsuri-357 and defended the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea. On the morning of June 29, 2002, around 10 a.m., he was killed in action during a fierce battle against a surprise attack by a North Korean patrol boat that crossed the NLL.

In this battle, named the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, Major Yoon Young-ha and six crew members were killed, and 19 were injured. It is reported that the North Korean forces suffered about 30 casualties.

June 29, the day Major Yoon was killed, is also the same date 32 years earlier when his father, Yoon, then a patrol boat commander of the Navy’s 12th Maritime Security Unit, repelled a 4-ton North Korean armed spy ship that infiltrated near Yeongheungdo, south of Incheon.

Previously, the government honored the father and son for their loyalty to the country across generations by posthumously awarding the Inheon Order of Military Merit to the father and the Chungmu Order of Military Merit to Major Yoon.

At the memorial event, Director Hwang plans to present the 'House of National Merit' nameplate to the honorable family who have loyally served the nation across generations.

Meanwhile, 'West Sea Defense Day' is a legally designated memorial day established to honor the patriotic spirits who sacrificed their lives defending the West Sea during the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, the Cheonan sinking, and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.