Korean War Legacy Project

Henri Socquet

Bio

Henri Socquet served in the Korean War as a sergeant for the medical team. Before arriving in Korea, he had heard very little about it, but was ready to sacrifice for his service. He explains that they spent very little time in Pusan and Seoul before taking a truck to the front lines. While on the front lines, he helped save several dozen troops, including a man he met many years later at a meeting for veterans. Henri Socquet is proud of his service, believing that he made a small contribution to the overall development of the Korean economy and democracy.

Video Clips

Not Time to Think

Henri Socquet describes how the fighting went on for months, mostly at night. He served as a sergeant with the medical aid troops during that time, but also contributed to combat. He explains that during moments like that, you don’t really have time to think about what is going on, but can only focus on the objective of saving people.

Tags: Front lines

Share this Clip +


Share YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YzkH6mbXds&start=560&end=664

Share from this page:
https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/henri-socquet#clip-1

Embed:

Hard to Forget

When asked if he was still bothered by the scenes of death, Henri Socquet responds with “absolutely.” However, he recently was at meeting of Korean War veterans and met a man who had been injured by a grenade while in combat and Henri Socquet had helped save. He remembers the night that this happened as well as many other times since they are hard to forget.

Tags: Fear,Front lines,Living conditions,Personal Loss

Share this Clip +


Share YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YzkH6mbXds&start=950&end=1131

Share from this page:
https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/henri-socquet#clip-2

Embed:

A Small Contribution

Henri Socquet is proud of the contribution that he made to the Korean War. He says that it was important to stop communism in East Asia at a time when Belgium even had a communist movement. While he has not been back to Korea, he states that the Korean Embassy invites the veterans to dinner as a thank you for their service.

Tags: Modern Korea,Pride

Share this Clip +


Share YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YzkH6mbXds&start=1668&end=1786

Share from this page:
https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/henri-socquet#clip-3

Embed: