Keith Wolahan, ‘Living in a nation that’s worth fighting for’ The Korean War and the ANZAC Legacy

The Korean War is in many respects the war that never ended. This year marks 70 years since the signing of the Armistice Agreement which ended the three-year conflict in which 339 Australians lost their lives serving as part of a United Nations force which defended South Korea from an invasion from the Communist North. The conflict was the first clear flare up of the Cold War in the Asia-Pacific and the first to which the Menzies Government committed Australian ground troops. While the armistice served as an acknowledgement of a hard-fought stalemate in which the border between the two Koreas ended up in virtually the same place it had been at the outbreak of hostilities, the respective sides have never signed a full peace treaty, and tensions between North Korea and the West remain high to this day. In many respects the conflict is a lesson that history never ends, and that the maintenance of international peace and security is a constant work in progress. 

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Keith Wolahan MP, Australian Army veteran and the Member for Menzies, about the Korean War and its contemporary legacy. 

Keith Wolahan is the federal member for the seat of Menzies. Prior to being elected to Parliament at the 2022 election, Keith served in the Australian Army, completing part-time officer training at Duntroon, reaching the rank of Captain. He qualified as a commando, serving several periods of full-time service within Special Operations Command, including one tour of Timor-Leste (2007) and three combat tours in Afghanistan (2008, 2009/10, 2014). In the 2011 Australia Day Honours, he was decorated with a Commendation for Distinguished Service for performance of duty in action as a platoon commander.