7Salutes the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement at the veterans war memorial

WASHINGTON (7News) — Under a blazing sun Thursday, sat American and South Korean War veterans listening to speakers that were honoring the efforts and sacrifices they made 70 years ago.

On July 27, 1953, leaders from the U.S. and South Korea sat down with North Korean and Chinese leaders and signed the Korean War Armistice.

Neither side would claim victory, it just signaled an end to the shooting and the killing.

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Now all these years later, a ceremony was held at the Korean War Memorial on the National Mall.

Many describe the Korean War as the Forgotten War, but retired General John Tilelli who now is the chairman of the Korean War Memorial Foundation said it is anything but forgotten.

“It’s not a forgotten war because the Korean people remember the sacrifices of the veterans that found and died for their families," said Tilelli.

At the memorial, you will find the names of those killed during the three years of fighting, including 36,000 Americans and 7,000 South Koreans who fought side by side with U.S. forces.

“Every time I come up here, I get emotional when I walk around the mall and look at the names of these young men," Tilelli said. "They paid a big price, and sad to think these young men never will grow old or be with their families.”

One of the speakers at the ceremony was a South Korean minister who flew all the way to D.C. just to be here and say thank you.

“As we gather here at this sacred memorial and look back on the last 70 years, we remember the hundreds that fought to preserve our liberty,” said Minister Eom Dong-hwan, ROK Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

When you walk through the memorial and see all the names of those that were killed you begin to understand the impact. For every name, there is a family that has suffered a loss. Some argue this isn’t the sum total of war, rather it was the price of freedom.