Former Marine Lieutenant Pete McCloskey, who was wounded twice in the Korean War, was awarded a Peace Prize by the Korean No Gun Ri Peace Commission in Seoul, Korea. McCloskey was given the award for an historical essay he had written about the massacre at a railroad bridge near the small village of No Gun Ri and a similar massacre sixty years earlier in 1890 at Wounded Knee, where over 200 women, children and old men were pursued and killed. A recipient of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism, the Silver Star for bravery in combat and two Purple Hearts, McCloskey was a platoon leader and company commander. He retired from the Marine Reserves with a rank of Colonel.
Six years ago, the South Korean National Assembly created the No Gun Ri Peace Commission to commemorate the massacre of civilian refugees. Korean vets and local Korean-Americans have formed an Association to build a U.S./Korean/UN Peace Monument at the San Francisco Presidio. McCloskey is the President of the Association.
