Caring for dead soldiers killed in wars has been a critical duty of a modern government to its citizens since the early 20th century. Offering a decent burial to them and honoring their sacrifice are to acknowledge the human cost of wars, boost popular support for ongoing and future wars, as well as encourage younger generations to follow the heoric examples to fight for the interest of their countries. The measures of handling soldiers’ remains are also contingent upon official interpretations of wars and logistic conditions. During the Korean War, the U.S. military ceased to build oversea war cemeteres like it did in previous conflicts. Temporary burial of killed servicemen in battle zones phased out after 1951 and the bodies were immediately …show more content…
In Korea, China also adopted a different policy to its soldiers’ bodies from that in and after its civil war. The state-funded repatriation of the remains or ashes of the People’s Liberation Army soldiers at their families’ request was discontinued during the Korean War. Instead, the repatriation of bodies was limited to high-ranking officers and selected war heroes, though a few equally prominent servicemen like Mao Ze-Dong’s son Mao An-Ying were commemorated in a North Korean cemetery. These new policies were probably a balance between persistent commitment to the defense of North Korea and the need to educate Chinese citizens of the patriotism demonstrated in the Korean War. In both the U.S. and China, the repatriation of soldiers’ remains from Korea in recent years led to new discussion of the individual sacrifice in the Korean War. In contrast, a less significant participant of the Koren War, the British Commonwealth, did not change its policy to handle its dead significantly. Its servicemen were buried in the UN cemetery in South Korea and the graves have been maintained by UN