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Korean war vet finally reunited with badly burned woman

In an emotional reunion on Monday a U.S. Korean War Veteran finally came face to face with a girl with severe burns who he helped and rescued in 1953.

Retired airman Richard Cadwallader, 82, warmly embraced Kim Yeon-soon, now 72, who for decades he had only remembered as 'burned girl.'

The pair discussed their mutual respect and exchanged gifts during the meeting at a hotel in Seoul.


Hello again: Richard Cadwallader, 82, and Kim Yeon-soon, 72, reunite 60 years after the U.S. veteran helped save the life of the Korean woman





Respect: Richard Cadwallader answers reporters' questions as Kim Yeon-soon looks on

As reported by Stars and Stripes, Cadwallader has maintained a lifelong admiration for Kim after she was brought to his base by her mother in December 1953.

After an accident with an oil lamp the 12-year-old girl had agonizingthird-degree burns from her chin to her waist. Kim's mother carried her daughter for over five miles to an isolated U.S. base on the edge of the Yellow Sea.

Kim told Stars and Stripes that she remembers her mother screaming 'Save my daughter!' at the entrance to the camp.


According to Susan Kee, who is writing a book about the experiences of Korean War veterans, neighbors in the girl's village had a applied a sticky, tar-like substance to her injuries but it had adhered to the burns.


Cadwallader, of Scottsdale, Arizona, remembers looking on in admiration as she stoically endured the painful process.



Casualty of war: A U.S. medical orderly tends to an injured civilian in Incheon in 1950 during the Korean War



Gifts: Kim Yeon-soon bows to Richard Cadwallader just after presenting him a Hanbok, which is traditional Korean dress



Agonizing burns: The scars on Kim Yeon-soon's face are clearly still visible but she believes that the actions of Richard Cadwallader saved her life

'The process was slow and agonizingly painful. She endured extreme pain in silence and without any tears,' he told Kee.

Cadwallader remembers that he did all he could to help Kim's recovery, and the girl made several return trips to the base for medical attention, but he knew she needed more serious treatment.

The airman managed to convince a visiting helicopter pilot to make a stop at burns unit in Pusan. Then he took a mad dash through the muddy Korean countryside in a Jeep to retrieve the girl and her mother.

The rescue party returned just in time to get the two woman on the choppers and to the real medical attention that Kim needed.

At the meeting between Cadwallader and Kim on Monday he said: 'I can’t tell you what a brave young lady this woman was 60 years ago, in terms of recovering from her burns. They were very, very severe.


'She and her mother were two examples of the most courageous people I’ve ever known, so this is a monumental day for me,' the veteran added.



Joy: At the reunion Kim said, 'I could never have imagined that I would have the opportunity to see him again. I¿m very excited and very happy'


Kim said, 'I could never have imagined that I would have the opportunity to see him again. I’m very excited and very happy.'

According to the Stars and Stripes, on another occasion Kim claimed: 'If it were not for the U.S. troops … I might have died. Richard helped save my life. He was heaven-sent.'

Other than a brief chance meeting just before Cadwallader left Asia where Kim waved at him from a vehicle and gestured that her wounds were healing well, the pair have not seen each other since the day that the girl was airlifted to treatment.

Then on Monday, with help from Kee and South Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the reunion happened.

Both Cadwallader and Kim said they had often wondered how life had turned out for each other. Both went on to marry and Kim had three children, while Cadwallader had two.

The U.S. veteran explained how he told his own family tales of a brave Korean girl.



Help: Cadwallader said, 'It¿s just a marvelous, marvelous experience, and I¿m so appreciative of what the Korean government has done to bring us back together again'

On Monday, Cadwallader gave Kim a watch to symbolize the time they spent together, while Kim gave the veteran and his wife hanboks, traditional Korean clothing.

'I’m feeling very excited, very proud [and] very happy for Miss Kim,' Cadwallader told reporters. 'It’s just a marvelous, marvelous experience, and I’m so appreciative of what the Korean government has done to bring us back together again.

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