On July 27, the 45th anniversary of the signing of the cease-fire ending the Korean War, men who fought with the5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team gathered in Arlington National Cemetery for the dedication of a living memorial to their unit and fallen comrades.

"The dedication of this living memorial begins recognition of those valiant soldiers who 48 years ago were truly key members of the defensive bulwark that initially stood between a crushing battlefield defeat of the Eighth U.S. Army along the Pusan Perimeter and ultimate success on the Korean Peninsula three years later," said Lt. Gen. (ret.) Richard F. Timmons.

His father, Capt. Robert Timmons, was killed in action as commander of Company A, 5th RCT in Korea. The son was later to command the Eighth U.S. Army in Korea and serve as chief of staff for the United Nations/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea.

"This select fraternity is a unique brotherhood. Each member here was bound for a brief moment in time in common and selfless service -- to each other, to his unit, and to his country -- under the revered colors of the 5th Regimental Combat Team," said Timmons.

"Today, at this moment, the souls of thousands of your comrades are now at peace and will rest more easily tonight, and the hearts of many others will gladden at what you have achieved today," he said.

Deploying from their home station of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, the men of the 5th arrived in the Republic of Korea in August 1950, with some companies entering combat the next day.

During the course of the war, the 5th would be attached to every U.S. division in the theater, including the Marines, according to Dr. Robert B. Johnston, who served as a Browning Automatic Rifleman in Co. E, from 1950 to 1951, then again from 1952 to 1953.

"Everybody in the divisions knew who we were. They'd call on us when they needed a unit to fill a hole or get a job done," he said.

Getting the job done was not without a cost to the unit, though. According to Timmons, the men of the 5th RCT suffered 867 killed in action, 3,188 wounded, 16 missing in action and 151 taken as prisoners of war.

There was great heroism in the unit too, according to Timmons. He said the 5th RCT earned three Korean Presidential Unit Citations and two U.S. Presidential Unit Citations. Two members of the regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor.

"From the torrid summer climate to the bitter cold winters of that barren and treeless landscape, and always faced by a dedicated enemy bent on your destruction, the men of the regiment prevailed and emerged as the premier fighting RCT of the conflict," Timmons said.

"Individually and collectively you ultimately drew upon previously untapped sources of strength and dominated the battlefield," he added.

"This is a proud outfit, a great unit, one of the first to fight communism," said Thomas E. Soles, who served as a wire radio operator in Co. G, from 1952 to 1953.

"Our motto was, 'I'll try sir,' and this unit could handle every job it was assigned, and that was because of the leaders. This was a well-trained unit. I'm real proud to have been in the 5th RTC," he said. "The Korean War was a war fought so that we didn't allow communism to take over a little country," he added. "We fought there so that they could stay free, and in the end so that America could stay free."