The U.S. 40th Infantry Division which fought in the Korean War has vowed to fight again anytime to safeguard South Korea's freedom.

The division's Deputy Commanding General Michael Leeney spoke at a ceremony hosted by the South Korean consulate general in Los Angeles on Friday to mark the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.

Leeney said his division will be the first to join the fight if needed to defend South Korea just as it did during the war.

The 40th Infantry Division is a modular division of the U.S. Army headquartered in Los Alamitos, California. When the Korean War broke out, it was called into active federal service in 1952 in alternating shifts with the 24th Infantry Division.

It participated in the battles of Sandbag Castle and Heartbreak Ridge and suffered over a thousand casualties.

Consul general Park Kyung-Jae said that South Korea rose from the ashes of war and achieved remarkable economic growth and a prosperous free democracy.

In the ceremony, peace medals were conferred to two American Korean War veterans while 14 ethnic Korean veterans received prime ministerial medals of gratitude.

Local politicians also attended the event and promised to pursue legislative action to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.