Raymond Snow received the Ambassador for Peace Medal during Southwest Florida Honor Flight’s 25th mission to Washington, D.C., more than 70 years after serving in the Korean War. A representative from the South Korean government presented the medal to Snow on the trip.
The award is given to Korean War veterans for their contributions to South Korea’s freedom. Snow said the recognition came as a complete surprise, and he said the moment will stay with him for the rest of his life.
South Korean government tribute
A South Korean government representative delivered a brief message during the presentation: “I am here today with you to deliver thanks to Korean War Veterans for his dedication and sacrifice to your country and to the Republic of Korea,” The Ambassador for Peace Medal and the accompanying proclamation tied Snow’s service to the broader relationship between the United States and South Korea.
The proclamation read during the ceremony said, “We cherish in our hearts the memory of your boundless sacrifices in helping us reestablish our free nation,” which placed Snow’s medal in the context of remembrance rather than ceremony alone. For Snow, the honor connected a wartime memory with a public expression of thanks that arrived decades later.
Raymond Snow’s reaction
Snow said, “Well, it surprised me that people had gone to the effort that they did to put this together.” He added, “Just never occurred to me when I was in Korea that someday somebody would do all of the research and put it together to honor us the way that they’ve done it.”
He also said, “I’m a very emotional person and it’s something I’ll remember the rest of my life and I’ll think about it very often,” and, “I think it’s very commendable that they still respect and honor America for doing what we did for them.”
Korea remembrance
Snow tied the medal to the sacrifice of American troops and the freedom they helped preserve. “Because if we hadn’t have been there to stop the communists, the communists would have taken them over,” he said, linking his own service in Korea to the meaning of the award presented in Washington, D.C.
The recognition now leaves Snow with a medal, a public record of thanks, and a memory shaped by a war that ended more than 70 years ago. The story does not move to another ceremony; it ends with Snow carrying that recognition home.
