MANSFIELD — A U.S. Air Force veteran from Mansfield is being honored for his service and sacrifice, 30 years after his death in South Korea.

Patrick Shannon Estep was a Korean defense era veteran — meaning he served in South Korea after the armistice ending the war.

Estep died unexpectedly on June 12, 1995, in while stationed in Pyongtaek, according to an obituary published in the Mansfield News Journal. He was 24 years old.

Estep’s name was recently carved into the Korean War and defense era Veterans memorial in Mansfield’s Central Park. The Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 51 will host a brief ceremony in Estep’s honor on Sept. 27 at 11 a.m.

Chapter President Dale Walker said as far as he knows, Estep was the first Richland County native to die while serving in Korea during the defense era.

“He was never properly honored,” Walker said.

According to his obituary, Estep was born and spent most of his life in Mansfield. He graduated from Mansfield Senior High in 1989 and worked for the F.E. Myers Co. in Ashland before joining the Air Force in 1991. 

During his time in the Air Force, he received the Air Force Achievement Medal, Outstanding Unit Award, Good Conduct medal and Training Ribbon. 

Estep’s obituary described him as an avid golfer and soccer player for the Liederkrantz. He was survived by his wife and two children.

Walker said the ceremony will also note the installation of 12 new brick pavers in the walkway near the memorial, each of which bears the name of a veteran and/or the family members they left behind.

“There’s still U.S. men and women in harm’s way over there. We need to remember them and their families,” he added. “This will be a day of reflection, a day of honing our veterans and their families.”

Downtown monument was updated last year to include defense era veterans

It’s been more than 70 years since military commanders from the United States, North Korea and China signed a ceasefire agreement to end the Korean War.

But the United States military involvement in South Korea never really ended.

The United States has maintained a peacekeeping force there in cooperation with the South Korean government for decades.

Walker said many defense era veterans faced imminent danger, especially if they were stationed near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a strip of land serving as the buffer zone between North and South Korea.

A defense era veteran himself, Walker and his unit came under fire from North Korean guerrilla fighters in 1967 — four years after the armistice was signed. Four of his fellow veterans were killed and 17 were wounded.

Walker lead the charge to update Mansfield’s Korean War monument to recognize defense era veterans last year.

“A lot of people talk about the Korean War being a forgotten war. But it was it was not forgotten by the families that were affected,” Walker said.

“Technically, the war is not over. It was just a ceasefire agreement in ’53. There was never a peace treaty signed.”