Veterans of the Korean War finally will have a permanent place to be remembered on the Kansas University campus.

A $50,000 gift from the International Communication Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Seoul, South Korea, completed fund-raising for the memorial.

“After being over there and seeing what the countryside was like and the mountains they had to fight in … it’s long overdue,” said Vern Russell, past commander of Alford-Clarke Post No. 852 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Lawrence.

Russell said there were about 5,000 men in Douglas County and the surrounding area who at some time in their military careers served in Korea, himself included. He said the memorial would be special to all veterans.

“A lot of the veterans around here aren’t able to travel to D.C. to see (the national Korean War memorial), so this will give them a chance to see that they’re remembered without having to travel too far.”

The foundation’s donation now gives KU almost $120,000 to use toward the memorial. Previous donors include Yong L. Kim ($30,000) of Leawood, the KU Korean Assn. ($10,000), and $15,000 from representatives of five South Korean corporations.

“Koreans of my generation who have experienced the tragedies of the Korean War will never forget and will always remember the precious sacrifices by the Americans who fought for freedom and defense of our country,” said Jong Woo Han, a Seoul resident who earned a master’s degree in economics from KU in 1959 and helped secure the latest gift.

Between 1950 and 1953, about 60 KU alumni, faculty members and students served in the Korean War and died in military service. About 25,000 American soldiers died and more than 100,000 were injured in Korea. Two million Koreans were killed.

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Plans for the KU memorial were developed in 1990 but were delayed when the school’s administration vetoed the planning committee’s preferred construction site. Eventually, there was turnover among the committee members and the project fell by the wayside for nearly a decade.

Construction on the Korean War memorial will begin in June. It will be built on the hill above Potter Lake along Memorial Drive. The memorial will resemble a brick patio and will include a tablet describing the war.

It will be the fourth war memorial on the KU campus. Other memorials on campus are the Kansas Union and Memorial Stadium, which honor World War I victims; the Campanile, which honors World War II victims; and the Vietnam War Memorial.