Australian wife of Korean War veteran to be buried beside husband

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that it will bury the Australian wife of an Australian Korean War veteran next to her husband at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

The burial ceremony, which the Australian Embassy in Seoul will hold the next day, came four years after Olwyn Green died at 96, leaving behind her wishes that she be reunited with her husband, Lt. Col. Charles Green. The COVID-19 pandemic had prompted the wait.

Green, commanding officer of the 3rd battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, died four months after the war broke out on Oct. 30, 1950, at the age of 31. The conflict ended with an armistice in July 27, 1953. He was posthumously awarded a US Silver Star in 1951. Australia fought for the US-led UN forces, which helped South Korea push back against North Korea’s attack.

Green, the Australian Imperial Force’s youngest battalion commander in World War II, was earlier given a Distinguished Service Order by Britain in 1947 for his role.

His wife, Olwyn, also was recognized for her efforts to raise awareness of both wars in 1993, when she published a memoir about her husband, put together by her correspondence with her husband and interviews with other veterans.