A Family Legacy of Service Comes Full Circle in Korea

By Claire McMakin, Banking Officer, Communications Assistant 

To most visitors at the War Memorial of Korea, the worn, bloodstained Korean flag is a powerful artifact from the Korean War. To my family, it is part of our story. 

My great-grandfather, Robert Sloate, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He later retired as a master sergeant, received a Purple Heart and was recognized by the Republic of South Korea as a “Korean War Hero.” 

During the war, Robert came to the aid of a wounded South Korean soldier and helped save his life. As a token of gratitude, the soldier gave him the Korean flag he had been carrying in his chest pocket. 

For decades, my great-grandfather held on to the flag while trying to find the soldier or his family. He hoped to return it to the person who had entrusted it to him, but the soldier was never identified. In 2009, Robert turned the flag over to representatives of the Korean government so the search could continue. It eventually found a permanent home at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. 

Although Robert was never able to reunite the flag with its original owner, he made sure its story was not forgotten. 

He also shared that story with our family. 

One of my favorite family photographs was taken in 2014. In it, Robert is sitting beside my younger brother, Ben, who was 13 at the time. Robert is showing him his medals and a photograph of the flag. Ben had always looked up to our great-grandfather, and hearing about his service inspired Ben to dream of joining the military himself. 

At 18, Ben made that dream a reality. 

Now 25, he has been deployed to South Korea since January, participating in joint training with the South Korean military and serving at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. His assignment placed him in the same country where our great-grandfather had served more than 70 years earlier. 

As Ben’s deployment neared its end, he visited the War Memorial of Korea to see whether he could find the flag Robert had returned so many years ago. 

He found it. 

The museum’s director met with Ben and documented his connection to Robert. Museum staff were especially moved to learn that one of Robert’s descendants was now serving in South Korea and at the DMZ. 

For our family, Ben’s visit was more than a trip to a museum. It brought together two generations of service through one extraordinary artifact. The flag that a wounded soldier once carried, that our great-grandfather protected for decades and that now preserves their story had become a meeting point between past and present. 

Veterans Day asks us to pause and honor all those who have worn our nation’s uniform. For me, it is also a reminder that the impact of service does not end when a deployment or military career does. It lives on in the people veterans help, the stories they share and the generations they inspire. 

Robert’s story began with an act of courage and compassion toward another soldier. Decades later, Ben stood before the flag that preserved that moment while continuing our family’s legacy of service. 

This Veterans Day, I am especially grateful for them both—and for every veteran whose service continues to shape the lives of others long after they return home.