PAIKHAK, South Korea — A group of Canadians, including dozens of veterans, made a pilgrimage Saturday to the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean peninsula to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and to remember those killed in the 1950-53 conflict.

Led by Veterans Affairs Minister Rey Pagtakhan, the contingent of veterans, 13 youth delegates and several MPs travelled to the DMZ that divides North and South Korea to view the site where some of the 516 Canadians lost in the war had died.

"It is to show our gratitude to the contribution made to the war effort 50 years ago and celebrate our belief in the strength and value of the UN, and to say thank you to the Korean government and people for their commitment to keeping the memory of the Korean War alive," Pagtakhan told The Canadian Press.

But he said the 10-day pilgrimage was not only intended to honour Canadians killed in Korea, but also to bolster the men and women in today's armed forces.

"One thing is to assure the Korean war veterans we remember their sacrifice," he said, "and one offshoot is that the current members of the Canadian forces see our support."

About 27,000 Canadians joined troops from 15 other countries under a UN flag to defend South Korea against the Chinese-backed North in what is often called Canada's "Forgotten War."

As part of a weekend of low-key events to mark the half-century anniversary of the July 27, 1953, armistice that ended the three-year conflict, the Canadians visited Sang-Seung Observation Post _ a functioning South Korean army lookout point _ and Paikhak Middle and No-gok Primary schools, both of which were established after war's end by the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade.

From the Observation Post, the group was able to look out on Hill 355, where Canadian troops took heavy casualties during fierce fighting in October 1952.

The sojourn to Korea reunited Blair Clancy of Miramichi, N.B., and Lee Faulkner of Qualicum Beach, B.C., now both 70, who hadn't seen each other in almost 50 years.

"I trained him on that hill, gave him a machine-gun he didn't want," Faulkner, a section commander with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the conflict, said of Clancy as he gazed over the site. "I taught him what he needed to know between ducking."

On Oct. 23, 1952, during a joint Chinese-North Korean attack, Clancy of the Royal Canadian Regiment was severely injured after he was riddled by six bullets and thirty pieces of shrapnel.

"Every step I take reminds me. I should have laid down the first time I was hit," said Clancy, who spent that night pinned under a dying comrade and could only be moved off the hill the next morning once he had been checked for booby-traps.

The two men saw each other one more time during the war when Clancy was in hospital in Japan, during a year of treatment for his injuries. The next time they spoke was two weeks ago, while preparing for the trip, in a phone call both men described as "emotional."

For some of the veterans, seeing the country again provided a sense of closure; for others, it stirred feelings of satisfaction at seeing how they had played a part in helping to shape a prosperous and democratic South Korea.

"It's ... certainly rewarding to see the progress that the country has made," said Dave Davidson, 70, of Kitchener, Ont., president of the Korea Veterans Association.

One observation mentioned repeatedly by the former combatants was how green and tree-covered the Koreas have become: the last time most of them saw the peninsula, it was a mixture of ruined cities and heavily shelled countryside with just a bit of grass.

"No foliage, trees in the summer, firewood in the winter," recalled Robert Dunham, 71, of Riverview, N.B.

For the youth delegates, the trip to South Korea has meant an opportunity to learn from and pay homage to the veterans.

"Its been an absolute honour, its been surreal," said Allison Jones, 18, of Edmonton. "Just the opportunity to meet them and hear their stories and to be friends with them, that's my favourite."

Jones, one of 13 young people from each of Canada's provinces and territories, said she plans to relate those stories to "a whole province of teenagers" after she gets back home, as does 17-year-old Jhillian Adams of Yellowknife.

"It's important I go back and talk to kids and show them pictures," Adams said. "It will show them the human dimension."