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National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day falls on Tuesday, July 27, 2027. That is 273 days away.

National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day honors the men and women of the United States armed forces who served in the Korean War. It also marks the armistice agreement that brought the fighting to a halt.

The war was fought on the Korean Peninsula. American troops served alongside South Korean forces and soldiers from many other nations under the United Nations Command. The conditions were often brutal, from steep mountain terrain to bitter winter cold. Many who served did not come home, and many others are still listed as missing.

The armistice was signed at Panmunjom. It stopped the combat and set up a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, but it was not a peace treaty. In a formal sense, the war never officially ended. That unfinished quality is part of why the conflict is sometimes called the Forgotten War, and why veterans and their families have long asked that it be remembered.

The day is usually marked quietly. Flags fly at memorials, local veterans groups hold ceremonies, and families share the stories of those who served. In Washington, the Korean War Veterans Memorial shows a column of soldiers in ponchos moving through a field, their faces reflected in a granite wall.

The veterans of this war are now elderly, and each year fewer of them are able to tell their own stories.

Ways to honor this day

• Display an American flag at your home.
• Attend a local memorial ceremony or veterans event.
• Write a note of thanks to a Korean War veteran.
• Record or listen to a veteran's oral history.
• Visit a local war memorial and pause for reflection.

Dates

All national days on July 27

Categories: Commemorative daysHistory days