Sixty-five years after the Korean war, a pair of 83-year-old veterans are boots down on their old battlegrounds — watching the Olympics.
Pals John “Jack” Keep and Lewis “Lew” Ewing, both of Virginia, braved a grueling day of travel and South Korea’s bitter, sub-freezing weather to make their journey to the Games, a family member confirmed to The Post.
“I’m too old to get giddy about things anymore,” Keep, a former petty officer with the Navy, told CNBC before setting out.
“But it will be quite a thrill.”
Ewing is equally delighted — whether he gets to watch curling or the Super G.
“I’ve never seen an Olympics firsthand,” the former Army helicopter crew chief told the network. “I’m just ready for whatever they give us the opportunity to see.”
With North and South Korea marching under the same flag at the opening ceremony last week, the Olympics give the two vets hope for an eventual peace, they said.
“You know you can’t trust the North Koreans, but I think we all hope that there will be some loosening of relationships where they get to talking,” said Keep. “And maybe make it possible once again for families to visit across the line and things like that.”
Nearly 34,000 US forces perished by the time fighting ended in July, 1953. Another 7,747 Americans remain classified as missing in action.
South Koreans still show continued appreciation to US vets — and the two Virginians are grateful in return.
“It means a lot to us,” Keep said. “Because when we came home from Korea, nobody knew where we were, or cared.”
Keep was just 17 when he enlisted in the Navy. Two years later, he was assigned as a petty officer to a ship that patrolled the North Korean coast, he said.
Meanwhile, Ewing, an Army corporal, was stationed at Chuncheon as a helicopter crew chief, he told the outlet.
“When we left Korea in the 1950s, the city of Seoul was total devastation, just nothing but rubble,” Ewing said.
Both men have since made return trips to the South.
“Today, Seoul is like any metropolitan city in the United States,” Ewing said.
“It shows you how hardworking and energetic the Korean people are and how they really won’t give up.”