Fallen Heroes
The old soldiers moved in while their enemy was at breakfast. About 40
men, all South Korean veterans of the Vietnam War, massed at the KAL
Hotel on the island of Cheju in February to ambush a crusading graduate
student who calls them "madmen and barbarians." In a series of controversial
articles, Koo Soo Jung had alleged that her countrymen massacred thousands
of civilians in Vietnam--a claim that challenges the veterans' status as
heroes in South Korea. When vets learned that Koo would be speaking at a
human-rights conference, they mobilized. First they lobbied organizers to
exclude her. When that didn't work, they stormed the hotel to disrupt the
gathering. As Koo made her presentation, they jostled with the organizers
for almost an hour outside the hall. In the end, they sent a representative
to present their own view. "How dare they criticize us?" one former soldier
shouted. "We fought for our lives."... http://www.newsweek.com/fallen-heroes-157597
