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QUINCY, ILL. -- Local veterans hosted a commemoration service to honor the 60th anniversary of the Korean War's beginning.

While the war started on June 25, 1950, the first action of the war came on the 27th.

The ceremony began at 2:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Adams County Korean War Memorial, at the Illinois Veterans Home, on North 12th street.

Veterans took turns telling their stories of their experiences during the war with their loved ones at their side. More than 70 veterans attended the memorial, all with stories still fresh in their minds.

One veteran had quite the story, having been a P.O.W. for more than two years.

"That night they came and got me, put me in a dungeon for 4 months with a bowl of crackcorn and billet, and a water bowl twice a day," said Korean War Veteran Bill Smith. " At the beginning, I weighed 193 pounds. At the end, we were exchanged twenty to one, and I weighed 82 pounds."

The Korean War began June 25, 1950 and lasted until July 27, 1953.  The United States lost 54,246 soldiers in the war, with 8,177 reported missing and 7,140 captured.  The U.S. wounded totaled 103,284.