BANGOR – For many, June 25 is more than just nine days before the Fourth of July – it is a time to remember those who were lost in the Korean War and celebrate those who are still alive.

Nearly two dozen Korean War veterans and their families and friends were at the Maine Korean War Memorial in Bangor on Tuesday morning.

“Freedom isn’t free,” Yong Cha Jones, a Korean native, said. “You have to fight to get it.”

Jones was 10 years old when the Korean People’s Democratic Republic (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on June 25, 1950, and vividly recalls when members of the U.S. Marine Corps arrived near her former home at Red Beach, on the north side of Inchon, on Sept. 15, 1950.

“If it wasn’t for those men,” Jones said while fighting back tears and pointing at the war memorial, “Korea would not have played a World Cup soccer game today. Korea would not be free and beautiful.”

Jones hugged many of the veterans in attendance and repeatedly thanked them for giving her country freedom.

The meeting served as a chance for those involved in the war to reflect on what happened.

“It’s hard to talk to somebody who wasn’t there because they won’t understand – they can’t,” said Fred Hardin, a former Army engineer stationed in Korea. “A lot of times you feel better getting stuff out, though a lot of the time you’d rather remember the good things and forget the others.”

Veterans in attendance observed several moments of silence as they saluted the memorial during the prerecorded sounds of the U.S. and Korean national anthems.

Twelve names were added to the memorial on Memorial Day this year, and many attendees specifically recognized those people while hoping that more names soon would be added.

With more than 8,000 soldiers still considered missing in action, veterans hope that one day their military brethren will be recovered, said Ed Davis, president of the local Burton Good Sergeant chapter of the Maine Korean War Veterans Association.

One man happened upon Tuesday’s ceremony entirely by accident.

Richard Voisine, a Vietnam veteran from Fort Kent, had been driving through Bangor when a Department of Transportation detour forced him to drive past the memorial on Mount Hope Avenue.

After inspecting the memorial, Voisine was surprised to find his uncle’s name, Army Cpl. Richard Voisine, on the wall.

“I didn’t even know where the memorial was before today,” Voisine said. “This is just unreal.”

The veterans may journey to the memorial July 27 to honor the 1953 ending of the war or to see each other again, because both are equally important, Davis said.

“This is a close group of people and hopefully more veterans in Maine will join us,” he said. “There’s a natural bond between those of us who experienced this.”