PLEASANT PRAIRIE — A glorious day — more typical of June than just before the snow flies — was packed with emotion as some 200 people attended a Veterans Day ceremony in Prairie Springs Park.

The Sunday event featured the dedication of a Korean War memorial and installation of an American flag that flew over Iraq.

Ryan Miller, 21, a one-time village employee who is serving in Iraq, sent the flag to his parents, Walter and Hope Miller.

The Millers presented the flag to Village President John Steinbrink during the ceremony, at the park’s veterans memorial.

After the existing American flag was lowered and removed, the flag that blew in the winds of Iraq was raised in its place — all in silence.

It was an emotional moment for the Pleasant Prairie couple, whose eyes filled with tears as the flag was raised.

And they were not alone.

“Ryan has 68 more days, and he gets to come home,” Hope said. “We’re very proud of him.”

Said Walter: “When you hear the national anthem and see the American flag going up, it all means something different now that you have a son over there.”

The Korean War memorial, a plaque affixed to a boulder, was installed last month by the the Korean War Veterans Association Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter 227.

The group has 25 members from Kenosha County and has placed four similar memorials in Racine and Milwaukee counties, said Jim Becker, secretary and treasurer.

“We still have 37,000 soldiers in South Korea,” Becker said. “This memorial is dedicated to everybody who has ever served for the fight for freedom in Korea.”

The Korean War is often called “the forgotten war,” Becker said, and those words appear at the plaque’s top.

At the bottom are the words, “You are not forgotten.”

This is the first war commemorated at the park’s veterans memorial, which honors those who served in all five U.S. military branches, said John Steinbrink Jr., the village’s public works director.

“We have room and placement for other ones,” he said. “We would expect that as time goes by that will expand.”

It was a special day for Eugene Kemen, a Kenosha resident who fought in central North Korea during the war.

Displayed on a picnic table in front of him were numerous photos he took of bunkers, tanks and fellow soldiers while he served as a tank gunner in 1952.

“The North Koreans would send out patrols two or three times a week and try to take our tanks out,” he said. “We had a lot of firefights.... This memorial means a great deal to me. People remember World War II and Vietnam, but they never remember Korea. And that hurts.”

Frank Faculjak, of Racine, also a Korean War veteran, said, “This is an important day because it makes me proud of what I did for my country back then. We’re getting recognition, at last.”