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Friday, February 23, 2018, 12:00
Vonn scatters grandfather's ashes near downhill course
By Associated Press
Friday, February 23, 2018, 12:00 By Associated Press

United States' Lindsey Vonn walks through the mixed zone after the women's combined at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Feb 22, 2018. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)

JEONGSEON, South Korea — Lindsey Vonn came to the Republic of Korea (ROK) with the goal of taking home an Olympic medal and leaving behind something even more special.

She did both.

The American ski great said Thursday she recently scattered some of the ashes of her grandfather, who served during the Korean War, on a rock near the mountain where the downhill races were run.

"I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always," said Vonn, who shared her story with The Associated Press and the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

The ROK is also referred to as South Korea.

Vonn said she sprayed parts of Don Kildow's ashes "just a few days ago" on a rock that she was told was special when she visited the ROK last year to be named a Pyeongchang Olympic ambassador. She described the location as "right by the men's downhill start."

Vonn burst into tears when she was asked about her grandfather during a news conference in Pyeongchang this month before the Olympics. He lived in Milton, Wisconsin, and died in November.

Members of the Yongsan Club wait for United States' Lindsey Vonn at a hotel meeting room before presenting her with a letter of appreciation for her grandfather's service during the Korean War in Jeongseon, South Korea, Feb 22, 2018. (FELIPE DANA / AP)

"I miss him so much," she said. "He's been such a big part of my life. And I really had hoped that he would be alive to see me (at this year's Olympics). But I know he's watching, and I know that he's going to help me and I'm going to win for him."

Vonn won a bronze medal in the downhill , but skied out of Thursday's slalom leg of the Alpine combined in what was likely her last Olympic race. Later in the day, a group of elderly ROK men gave her family some gifts and a letter of thanks to mark her grandfather's service during the 1950-53 Korean War.

ALSO READ: Vonn 3rd in last Olympic DH; her pal Goggia of Italy wins

"To be able to race for him in these Olympics was very special for me. And I tried everything I could to win for him," Vonn said. "I got a bronze, which, you know, to me was very special. And I think he would be proud of that."

During Thursday's brief meeting with seven elderly ROK men, Vonn nodded a greeting several times and repeated "thank you so much" to them. In their letter of appreciation, the ROK men said they expressed their thanks for what they call her grandfather's contribution for the freedom of the ROK. They also gave her traditional Korean fashion accessories and gloves.

Kildow served two years in the ROK in the Army Corps of Engineers in areas near Jeongseon, one of the three Olympic venues. He never had a chance to return to the ROK, but he had talked about the country in a "very favorable" way, according to his son, Alan Kildow, who attended Thursday's event with his two other daughters.

Alan Kildow broke into tears while talking about his father's memories of the ROK during the war. He said he separately scattered parts of his father's ashes in the country.

READ MORE: Vonn trying not to think of downhill as her last at Olympics

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in the women's combined slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Feb 22, 2018. (ALESSANDRO TROVATI / AP)

After the Olympics, Vonn plans to go home to get ready for the World Cup finals. She said she's "enjoying the last remaining days of the Olympics" with her family.

At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Vonn won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G. She missed the 2014 Sochi Games because of injury.

The elderly ROK men are from a fraternal society in Seoul called Yongsan Club, named after a neighborhood in the capital where the US military command is headquartered.

About 37,000 US troops were killed during the war, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, technically leaving the Korean Peninsula in a state of war. The United States still stations about 28,000 soldiers in the ROK to deter potential aggression from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Its military presence and cultural influence have been a long-running source of anti-American sentiments among many ROK people who want greater footing in relations with Washington.

The Yongsan Club members were about 7 or 8 years old during the war but still vividly recall the devastation, saying the ROK could not have defended itself without the American-led UN forces.

"We were starving and we truly suffered lots of difficulties," club member Kim Soung-soo said. "Given that South Korea's economic prosperity wouldn't be possible without the support from the United States and other UN member states, we determined we must hold this kind of event to express our gratitude toward them."


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