The Cemetery covers over 35 acres and was established by the United Nations Command on January 18, 1951, when interments were begun. Remains were transferred from six other cemeteries located at Gaeseong, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Miryang, and Masan. The dedication ceremony was held on April 5, 1951. The Korean government granted the land to the United Nations without charge, in perpetuity, as a permanent tribute to all those who gave up their lives in resisting aggression in Korea and in upholding the cause of peace and freedom from 1950-53. The Cemetery contains the bodies of 2,300 men from Australia (281), Canada (378), France (44), the Netherlands (117), New Zealand (34), Norway (1), South Korea (36), South Africa (11), Turkey (462), the United Kingdom (885), and the United States of America (36), as well as unknown allied soldiers (4) and non-belligerents (11). During 1951 to 1954, remains of about 11,000 men of the UN Forces were gathered here, and remains of soldiers from Belgium, Colombia, Ethiopia, Greece, India, the Philippines, and Thailand (as well as the majority of those from the U.S.A., France, and Norway) were repatriated to their home countries.
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