The Significance of Service BY T. J. KIM ‘22 The beauty in a portrait is in simplicity. Two materials, brushes and paint, display the story of a person’s life. One simple pose represents the entirety of accomplishments that someone achieved. The portrait of U.S. Marine 1st Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez hangs in my father’s office and, Lt. Lopez not being a widely known figure, I was intrigued to learn who he was. Baldomero Lopez lead his platoon during the amphibious assault at the Incheon Landing during the Korean War. His platoon boat hit the seawall at Incheon, and he began to climb, using a ladder. As he got to the top, enemy fire sprayed everywhere. He then pulled the pin of a grenade and prepared to throw it, but he was shot in that arm, causing him to drop the grenade into the boat where his platoon waited. Lopez, being too severely injured to pick up the grenade to throw it, chose to sacrifice his own life to protect his Marines. He crawled towards the grenade, swept it under his body, and absorbed the full impact of the explosion. Little did I know at the time that that story would shape not only my view on leadership but also my own personal views on the world. The power of service to others goes far beyond the action being done. Service affects generations of people. Service inspires. Service brings humans together. Service creates opportunities for others, such as mine. Through continuing to hear stories of the Korean War and my history, I learned that I was never supposed to be here. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and started the Korean War. In two months, the North Koreans marched all the way through South Korea leaving the city of Pusan. There, United Nations and South Korean forces
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formed a 140-mile line around Pusan, creating the Pusan Perimeter. Together, they fought a month-long battle before pushing the North Koreans out. Over 4,500 Americans died in the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, and 12,000 were wounded. That battle is personally significant to me because my grandfather was born two months after that very battle in that very city. If those 4,500 American soldiers had not protected Pusan with their lives, then North Korea would have controlled the whole of the Korean Peninsula. If that were the case, my grandfather would have grown up in Communist North Korea. My whole family would have too, including me. Instead of attending a prestigious school with a world of possibilities in front of me, I would have been a brainwashed, malnourished teenager in a home without water or electricity and living in constant fear of being sent to an imprisonment camp. No freedom is free. Those soldiers impacted not only my family but also the country of Korea as a whole. Their service gave an innumerable number of opportunities to an uncountable number of people. Humans have the incredible power to change and influence the lives of others. Everyone is in the position they are in, in part because of help from others. We all get to have our experiences because of those people, and we can all pay it forward by changing the lives of those around us. Humans were made for connection, and that is why I believe that the meaning of life is to serve. Leaders bring people together to foster that service-oriented connection while belonging to that community as well and acting in the same manner. People may not remember what you accomplished, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
