By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE’S Allan Murray was 19 when he entered the Korean War.
Originally a member of the British Army, Mr Murray was attached to the United Nations (UN) forces during the war, when he was assigned to be a bodyguard to the UN’s four-star general.
“He was a terrific bloke,” he recalls, though he said that entering the war as a teenager was a daunting prospect.
Mr Murray was one of 14 soldiers assigned to protect the general during the three-year conflict, and his stint in the war lasted for around nine months.
He said that, despite the ups and downs of the war, which raged from 1950 until a ceasefire in 1953, there was great camaraderie between the allied troops sent into the fray.
“Once you’ve settled yourself down and you’ve realised that when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to, you just pray that everything will work out and you’ll make some fantastic mates,” Mr Murray said.
And make mates he did – Mr Murray said that he remained friends with one of his comrades from the war, with around 60 years of friendship between them.
The Korean War had no official conclusion – hostilities ended with an armistice agreement between North and South Korea – and Mr Murray said that was an upsetting fact.
“It hasn’t finished – it’s not finished at all,” he said.
“It’s only a ceasefire.”
He said he marked the official signing of the ceasefire agreement – 27 July – every year, and regularly participated in Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services.
Mr Murray said that, in comparison to other wars that took place around the world, the Korean War received very little public coverage, and some might not be aware of the circumstances under which it took place.
Health permitting, Mr Murray hopes to take part in this year’s Anzac Day Dawn Service in Healesville.
