THE Greenbank RSL's only Korean veteran still feels the trauma of serving in what he fears has become a "forgotten war".
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Regents Park man Ron Lord was only 19 years old when he joined the army and formed part of a peacekeeping effort in Korea from 1956 to 1957.
The 83-year-old veteran said very little was left standing and children were suffering in the aftermath of the conflict.
"When I left Korea I came back to Australia by boat. I was alright but very unsettled," he said.
"It is a hard thing to grasp when you are only 19. It affected me, I almost became an alcoholic and drinking was my way of hiding how I felt.
"I never realised how bad I was until after I got married."
Four years after returning to Australia, Mr Lord said he visited South Korea and was impressed with their rebuilding efforts.
"I was amazed at how far they had developed with multistorey buildings and technology," he said.
"It was completely different to what I remembered."
Mr Lord later learned he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and joined the Woodridge RSL sub branch for support.
Mr Lord joined the Greenbank RSL in 2006, where he pushed to create an annual Korean Veteran's Day Commemorative Service on July 20 at 11.30am.
This year will mark the 14th service to be held at the Greenbank RSL, which is the only one held in the Logan District.
A group of 50 to 60 South Koreans from the Gold Coast are expected to make the trip to Greenbank for the service.
Mr Lord said he felt a sense of relief after honouring those who served in the Korean conflict.
"I'm just pleased I have been able to do something to remember those who didn't make it back. We lost 340 odd men in Korea and there were about 38,000 that went over there," Mr Lord said.
