Planned cemetery will have space for Vietnamese, Korean allies

A cemetery Orange County officials want to build using sprawling land on Anaheim s eastern end could make history, with space included for those who fought alongside American forces in Vietnam and Korea. The soldiers who supported the U.S. military were struggling for freedom and emocracy, and they should be afforded respect, said county Supervisor Andrew Do, who led supervisors Tuesday in designating 10 percent of the future cemetery toward a final resting place for members of the military or government of allied forces. It was more of a universal conflictagainst communism, Do said. We fought together, not just as Americans and Vietnamese but as fellow compatriots. The county is transferring 283 acres near the junction of the 91 and 241 freeways to the Orange County Cemetery District; it will be the fourth cemetery in the district and will alleviate a pressing shortage of public burial space. A section of the cemetery already was planned for American militaryveteranny military cemetery in the countrythat honors allied troops, so Orange County s could be the first. This cemetery will greatly commemorate the Korea-U.S. relationship and will be a comfort to our Korean veterans, said James Lee, president of the Korean Veterans Association s Southwest Region. He was speaking in Korean. We are proud to lay to rest in the United States as a Korean veteran. Orange County is home to more than 750 Korean veterans who fought in the Korean or Vietnam wars, Lee said. Some have considered returning to South Korea to be buried in the country s national cemeteries, but many want to stay here close to their families. Th