Rob Cohen to Direct Most Expensive Korean Film Ever

Reuters: Rob Cohen to Direct Most Expensive Korean Film Ever
1950," a film set in the Korean War with a budget of $100 million. CJ E&M Pictures of Korea and Grapevine Entertainment are producing it along with Brett Donowho and executive producer Paul Hudson.

It's based on the dispatches of Marguerite Higgins, then the Tokyo bureau chief for the New York Herald Tribune. Higgins was initially barred from covering the conflict by the US Army because she was a woman, but General Douglas MacArthur later gave her permission in a significant moment for female journalists.

It follows Higgins’ journey across the Korean peninsula with a platoon of marines, ending with the mass evacuation on Christmas Eve of nearly 200,000 South Korean civilians escaping the oncoming Chinese and North Korean armies.

Production is slated to begin in May of 2012 with a release date the following Spring.

Tioga to honor 13 Korean War dead

From StarGazette: Tioga to honor 13 Korean War dead
OWEGO -- Tioga County will honor the 13 men who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Korean War.

Wednesday marks National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, the 58th anniversary of the signing of the Military Armistice Agreement at Panmunjom.

"It is a day to honor our service members who fought and died for freedom and democracy in the Korean War," said Jim Raftis, an organizer of a remembrance ceremony scheduled for noon in front of the Korean War Memorial and the Tioga County Veterans Memorial near the county courthouse.

Names engraved on the Korean War Memorial are: Pvt. Norman E. Briggs, Pfc. Robert L. Burke, Pfc. David W. Card, Pfc. Franklin Holdridge, Pfc. John H. Lisenby, Airman 1st Class John W. Maslin, Pfc. Raymond Uriah Short and Pfc. Raymond E. Weaver.

New honored names to be added are: Pfc. Gene E. Barton, Pvt. Richard Galpin, Cpl. Richard Henderson, Sgt. Leonard C. Hull and Cpl. James Henry Martin.

The ceremony will include the presentation of colors, national anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, invocation and benediction. There will also be a brief history of the Korean War and roll call of the 13 fallen.

Keynote speaker will be decorated Korean War veteran Joseph W. Ceurter of Berkshire, who is in the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame, Raftis said. Ceurter was a first sergeant in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. His military honors include two Silver Stars, two Bronze Star Medals and five Purple Hearts.

A wreath will be laid to remember the fallen heroes and deceased Korean War veterans.

In total, 54,246 American servicemen and women lost their lives in the three year years of fighting, Raftis said.

American flags will be lowered to half-staff in commemoration of the sacrifice of these and all veterans and their families.

The Owego Veterans Memorial Committee is inviting Korean War Gold Star Families and surviving Korean War veterans and their families. Also welcome are veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq, Desert Storm, Vietnam, World War II and other duty stations, and their families, Raftis said.

Support to Korean War veterans from the public is encouraged, he said.

Those who attend the remembrance ceremony are asked to bring a lawn chair.

Korean War veteran finally receives medals

Vindy.com: Korean War veteran finally receives medals
AUSTINTOWN

Sunday was a special day for Donald Lariccia.

That’s because more than a half-century after he’d earned them, the Austintown man finally received a cluster of medals for his service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. They were presented to him at his Oak Trace home by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, whose appearance was a surprise for Lariccia.

“Man oh man,” the affable 79-year-old honoree said of his reaction to seeing the congressman walk into his home. “I was surprised out of my boots.”

And to top it off, he was surrounded by his family, which he unflinchingly said is the true source of his pride.

If he was starstruck at having the congressman in his home, Lariccia didn’t show it. Before long, Ryan had his suit jacket off, sleeves rolled up, and his tie loosened, and the two were talking like old buddies about the bounty of Cleveland Browns memorabilia proudly displayed in the finished basement of Lariccia’s home.

Oh, and of course about the life-sized cutout of bikini-clad Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard posing for a Budweiser ad. It’s one of the few things in the man cave not associated with the Browns and, more specifically, Boardman native Bernie Kosar.

The event was planned by Lariccia’s granddaughter, Ashley Kanotz, 28, who lives in Cincinnati where she is pursuing a doctorate degree in political science at the University of Cincinnati. She kept the whole thing a secret until the last minute.

“He is very personable, but he does not like attention focused on him,” Kanotz said.

Lariccia was part of the 179th Infantry Regiment while on active duty during the war from 1952 to 1954, attaining the rank of corporal. During his tour of duty, he earned the Korean Service Ribbon with the Bronze Service Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge First Award, the United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

But when he was discharged, he left the Army with only his discharge documents in hand — and no medals. He could have received them while he was still in Korea but would have had to stay there longer to wait on them, and he was anxious to get home. He expected that the medals would be sent to him shortly.

“He had no idea it was going to take so long to get them,” Kanotz said, noting that Lariccia tried several times over the years to obtain his service medals, to no avail.

Korean memorial proposed in D.C.

Korean Joongang Daily: Korean memorial proposed in D.C.


WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of U.S. congressmen is pushing for a gigantic glass wall in Washington inscribed with the names of soldiers who died during the Korean War.

Rep. Ralph Hall, Republican of Texas, and four other congressmen recently submitted a bill on setting up the Wall of Remembrance to mark the Korean War Armistice Day on July 27.

The four are Sam Johnson, Republican of Texas, Howard Coble, Republican of North Carolina, John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, and John Dingell, Democrat of Michigan.

The bill, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, calls for private sector contributions to erect a huge glass-made wall along the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington.

It would have a list of names of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 conflict along with the missing in action, casualties and prisoners of war, as well as Koreans who fought with the Americans as KATUSA, or Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army.

“More than 8,000 members of the KATUSA gave their lives for their country and ours,” Hall said.

Wisconsin: Ceremony marks anniversary of Korean War ending

The Times Leader: Ceremony marks anniversary of Korean War ending
The 58th anniversary of the end of the Korean War will be commemorated by the Korean War Veterans Association of Wyoming Valley at 1 1 a.m. on Saturday on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse, North River Street, Wilkes-Barre. In the event of inclement weather the ceremony will take place inside the courthouse. The principal speaker is Dr. Jere Packard, a Marine Corps veteran and past president of Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School.

Special remarks will be provided by Vince Riccardo, staff assistant to the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Plains Township. The ceremony will pay special homage to prisoners of war, the wounded and the 142 servicemen from Luzerne County who were killed in action during the three-year ‘Forgotten War,’ and the 33 soldiers from the federalized 109th Field Artillery, Pennsylvania National Guard, who were enroute for deployment when killed in a train wreck in Ohio. Committee members organizing the event, from left, are Neno Sartini; Joe Sincavage, commander; Victor Habib; and Bob Alper, public affairs officer and ceremony chairman.

Minnesota: Korean War remembrance event starts Sunday

From Albert Lea Tribune: Korean War remembrance event starts Sunday
Minnesota has established July 27 of each year as the Korean War Armistice Day. Locally, veterans will recognize the day with a breakfast held this weekend and on July 24. Veterans are organizing a photo display from Freeborn County Korean War era veterans who were assigned to military units throughout the world in any branch of service in support of military operations between 1950 and 1960.

The display will be shown starting Sunday with a breakfast at the American Legion hosted by Post No. 447 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The display will continue July 24 with a breakfast hosted by American Legion Post 56. The breakfasts are open to the public, and the menu includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, potatoes, fruit, juice and coffee. Cost is $6 and children under the age of 6 are free.

Ellendale Days is also being held this weekend. Look to Page 8 of this issue for a feature and a full schedule of events.

S. Korea's defense minister seeks return of Korean War POWs in China

The Korea Herald: S. Korea's defense minister seeks return of Korean War POWs in China
BEIJING (Yonhap News) – South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin requested China's cooperation for the safe return of South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) who are currently in China following their defection from North Korea where they had been held since their capture during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The request came at Kim's meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping as the South Korean minister began a three-day trip here for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie.

"I will be especially appreciative if China will allow the departure of five South Korean POWs and their families currently staying at South Korean consulates in Beijing and Shenyang out of humanitarian concerns," Kim was quoted as saying during his courtesy call on the vice president of China.

Xi said he will have the related offices keep close contacts with the South Korean government to continue discussing the issue, according to South Korean officials accompanying the defense minister.

Beijing normally allows South Korean POWs to return to South Korea, though it is said to deport any other North Korean defectors back to their communist homeland.

The South Korean minister also sought China's support in dealing with North Korea, following Pyongyang's two armed attacks against South Korea last year that led to the sinking of a warship, Cheonan, and shelling of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, killing a total of 50 people, including two civilians.

"Minister Kim told Vice President Xi that North Korea's sinking of the Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island left us with great wounds, and asked for China's role in keeping peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," a defense ministry official said.

Xi said his country supports peace and stability as well as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and that China has worked toward that end and will continue to do so, according to the official.

Seoul has repeatedly asked China, the North's biggest ally, to use its influence on Pyongyang to dissuade its communist neighbor from engaging in further provocations and developing nuclear weapons.

China hasn't categorically blamed North Korea for the attacks and has instead called for dialogue to resolve the situation, while South Korea and the U.S. have demanded a North Korean apology for its provocations.

Kim's trip to China will be highlighted Friday when he and Chinese Defense Minister Liang will discuss the North Korean issue and other regional security issues that will likely include strengthening bilateral defense cooperation between South Korea and China, according to South Korea's defense ministry.

The Kim-Liang meeting will be the eighth defense ministerial talks between the countries, the ministry said. Kim's trip also marks the first visit to China by a South Korean defense minister in two years and the first since the two deadly North Korean provocations last year.

The ministry also said the ministers will issue a joint press statement following their talks, which it said "will be an indication that the two countries share a common understanding on a range of issues."

Northville Man to Receive Purple Heart for Korean War Duty

This artice is from July 3

Northville Patch: Northville Man to Receive Purple Heart for Korean War Duty
As someone who has waited almost 60 years for the honors due him, Conrad Podolski-Dowel can wait a few days more.

But just a few.

Podolski-Dowel, 79, a Northville resident wounded during the Korean War, will receive the Purple Heart, one of the nation’s highest military honors, during the community’s Independence Day parade Monday.

As a U.S. Army combat medic, Podolski-Dowel’s job was to rush into the field to rescue other wounded soldiers, all the while looking out for his own life.

It was as tough a job as it sounds.

“Here I was, 128 pounds and I’d have to haul guys 250 pounds to safety,” recalled Podolski-Dowel, a man of slight build to this day.

He participated in such historic battles as Heartbreak Ridge but his luck ran out one day while loading soldiers on a Jeep for transport to a MASH unit — the kind of Army hospital made famous by the movie and long-running television show, M*A*S*H.

Podolski-Dowel suffered severe injuries to his arms and back when he was hit by an enemy shell. While the shrapnel wounds to his arms faded over time, the back injuries remained with him for life.

He has undergone surgeries through the decades since then and receives ongoing care at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Ann Arbor.

“I had my most recent surgery last Easter,” he said. “I have so many rods in my back that they can’t give me a shot without bending the needle back.”

Still, he’s not one to complain or to seek glory.

“He’s honored to receive the award but he feels there’s hundreds of other guys out there who deserve honors but also haven’t yet received them,” said his wife, Bobbie.

Nor was he one to let his injuries slow him down.

“I came out of the service determined to make something of myself,” said Podolski-Dowel, who served on active duty in Korea from 1951-53.

Earning doctorates in philosophy and education, he became a pioneering child psychotherapist in the Birmingham and Clarenceville public school districts.

It was then that the Hamtramck native changed his name from Podolski (pronounced po-dowel-ski) to the more pronounceable Dowel.

“He just felt it was easier for the children to say,” his wife noted.

The name change, however, was one of a series of events that delayed his receipt of the Purple Heart. The major setback came when the Chicago building where his military records were stored burned.

With Jim Dempsey, service officer to the Disabled American Veterans at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital, and U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Carol Ann Fausone, assistant adjunct general of Veterans Affairs for Michigan, taking up the cause, his family was eventually able to prove that Conrad Dowel was the Conrad Podolski who was so severely injured so many years ago in the service of his country.

“We were able to confirm it through records at the Japanese hospital where he was treated,” his wife said.

Upon learning this year that he’d finally receive his medal, Podolski-Dowel’s reaction was simple.

“My reaction?” he said. “Thank God.”

He and his wife lived for many years in Westland, raising two daughters, and moved to the Northville area five years ago.

Retired from his education career, Podolski-Dowel has become an accomplished wood carver. His works of bids and religious images decorate the couple’s condominium.

The latter images shouldn’t be surprising. Podolski-Dowel studied to become a Trappist monk and even spent a year in a Kentucky monastery before he volunteered for military duty.

“The reason I quit (the monastery) was allergies,” he said. “There were a lot of animals at the monastery, and I couldn’t be around them without getting sick. “

Sponsors of this year’s parade are thrilled that Podolski-Dowel will be participating.

“What better to way to honor our country than by honoring our veterans?” said Shari Peters of the Northville Community Foundation, which helps sponsor the parade.

The Purple Heart, created by George Washington and bearing his likeness, is awarded to military personnel who were wounded or killed in combat.

Podolski-Dowel isn’t the only member of his family to have been awarded the honor.

His older brother, Richard, of Washington Township, wounded in World War II, is also a recipient.

“Two brothers with Purple Hearts,” Bobbie Podolski-Dowel said. “Isn’t that something?”

Podolski-Dowel will be honored shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday in front of Northville City Hall.

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. Additional parade information is available by calling the Community Foundation at 248-374-0200.

Korea's Cold War border zone is major tourist draw

The National: Korea's Cold War border zone is major tourist draw
THE DEMILITARISED ZONE // With the Cold War largely in the past, it is in no small way reassuring that one of the most volatile legacies of that conflict is a major tourist attraction.

As a North Korean soldier watches through a pair of binoculars across the divide that separates north from south, foreign tourists raise cameras, not guns, and snap photographs by the dozen.

The visitors are careful, of course, not to make any moves that could be misconstrued by the vigilant sentries across the way. Each has promised in writing not to "point, make gestures or expressions which could be used by the North Korean side as propaganda".

Still, inside the United Nations buildings that straddle the border demilitarised zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, the visitors pose beside uniformed South Korean guards standing in a permanent taekwondo-like state of readiness, as though they were Disney mascots.

According to the South Korean military, 160,000 tourists come from the south each year to visit what is known formally as the Joint Security Area (JSA), the heart of the 240km-long boundary that splits the Korean peninsula. The South Korean army provides personnel to accompany coaches and answer questions for the throngs, about half of whom are South Korean nationals.

The JSA is one of several stops during tours of the DMZ. Analysts have said allowing visits to the area serves Seoul's public relations ends. Visitors can see threats still exist on the peninsula, said Paik Hak Soon, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think-tank. "If you are there, you automatically feel very tense. The soldiers are standing just like stone, just watching," he said



"Therefore South Korea's very strong confrontational policy towards North Korea is justified. The [South Korean] government is looking for that propaganda value."

The DMZ, created after the armistice agreement when Korean War hostilities ceased in 1953, occupies 2km on either side of a border often described as one of the last relics of the Cold War.

There have been countless skirmishes and attempts at infiltration, costing hundreds of lives on both sides.

As recently as October, South Korea reported its soldiers returned fire after two rounds were fired by North Korean troops.

The lack of industry in the DMZ has however turned the area into a peaceful wildlife haven, as it does not have the warehouses or factories that dot the landscape elsewhere.

Tours highlight what are seen as North Korean atrocities, including the 1976 "axe murder incident", when two US servicemen from the UN command that runs the military on the South Korean side were hacked to death while cutting down a tree.



DMZ day-trips may also take in an infiltration tunnel that the North Koreans secretly burrowed with the aim of entering their southern neighbour.

At the Dora Observatory, meanwhile, tourists enjoy a bird's-eye view of the DMZ, staring through telescopes at Gaesung City, North Korea's second-largest city.

The current administration of Lee Myung Bak, which takes a harder line towards the North Korean government, appears particularly keen to show off the DMZ, said Brian Bridges, author or co-editor of three books on Korea and a professor of political science at Hong Kong's Lingnan University. Foreigners were the principal target, he suggested, since "it was difficult" to change views within South Korea.

"The South Korean government, in its national branding, projects these images of a dynamic Korea. Everyone knows about South Korea being the most wired country, but at the same time the current government wants to remind [people] the north is still there," he said.

"For people from outside Korea, they should understand what the differences are with the north. You get the impression of that at least from the DMZ."

The tours also allow South Korea to showcase its efforts to secure the border area, and to demonstrate what North Korea has done to try to undermine these efforts, said Dr John Swenson-Wright, an associate fellow in the Asia Programme at the London think-tank Chatham House. It was particularly important to do this, he said, after last year's sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, blamed on North Korea, and the shelling of Yeonpyeong island

"Many of these tours include the opportunity to see the tunnels the north in the past has dug beneath the DMZ to infiltrate," he said. At the end of tours, guides sometimes talk of the division of the Korean peninsula as being temporary, predicting optimistically the fences, like the Berlin Wall, will eventually be torn down.

"Maybe one day, when Korea is one country, the DMZ will become an ecological park and you will be able to walk all the way through," said one female tour guide at the end of a recent trip.

Lee pledges to support Ethiopia's economic development

The Korea Times: Lee pledges to support Ethiopia's economic development
ADDIS ABABA (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed Friday to provide active support for Ethiopia's economic development, pledging to significantly boost relations with the African nation that helped save the South from North Korea's invasion 60 years ago.

In summit talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Lee expressed gratitude for Ethiopia's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and said South Korea wants to develop ties with Ethiopia beyond the traditional friendship into those of "development cooperation partners."

"Ethiopian troops fought most bravely and won every battle they fought ... And 122 people lost their lives," Lee said during a joint press conference with Meles after summit talks. "Though 60 years has passed, South Korean people have not forgotten the sacrifices."

Lee said that there are about 400 Ethiopian veterans still alive, and South Korea plans to provide their descendants with technology training so that they can contribute to their national development.

Meles expressed a strong commitment to strengthen economic cooperation with South Korea and to learn from the country's experience of rebuilding the nation from the war's ashes to one of the world's largest economies, a statement from the presidential office said.

Meles told the press conference that Ethiopia is eager to share South Korea's development experience and called for grants and loans from the government in Seoul and investment from South Korean companies.

The two leaders agreed to work closely together for the success of Ethiopia's five-year economic development scheme, known as the "Growth and Transformation Plan," and actively share the South's experience of developing its economy and agricultural sectors, the statement said.

They also agreed to share Seoul's "green growth" vision for environment-friendly growth.

Other agreed points include promoting trade and investment as well as increasing cooperation in resources and technology to help Ethiopia grow its economy in a sustainable manner, the statement said.

"I believe the relations between the two countries can be the best model in Africa," Lee said.

Lee appreciates Ethiopia's role in improving regional peace and stability, while Meles expressed support for Seoul's efforts to stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the statement said.

The sides signed a grant provision agreement and other economic cooperation accords.

Lee arrived in Addis Ababa earlier Friday for a three-day visit. Ethiopia is the final leg of Lee's three-nation African tour that took him to South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lee is the first South Korean president to visit Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of 16 nations that sent combat troops as part of U.N. forces to help South Korea repel invading North Korean troops during the Korean War. A total of 6,037 Ethiopian troops were dispatched, with 122 killed and 536 injured.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Ethiopia's participation in the war.

Lee plans to lay a wreath at the Korean War Memorial and meet with Korean War veterans on Saturday. Lee also plans to visit two villages on Saturday and Sunday to do volunteer work in a symbolic gesture of repaying Ethiopia.

Barbara Bedell: Korean War Veterans give special awards

RecordOnline.com: Barbara Bedell: Korean War Veterans give special awards
As president and co-founder of the Korean American Foundation USA and first vice president of the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 202, Dr. Hubert Hojae Lee of Chester hosted a special gathering.

It was conducted at American Legion Post 151, where the Korean War veterans chapter meets regularly. A group of special guests including Sullivan County Court surrogate and Judge Frank LaBuda, former congressman Ben Gilman, state Sen. Bill Larkin, Orange County Executive Eddie Diana and retired Times Herald-Record reporter Chris Farlekas each received a certificate of appreciation and a Medal of Freedom.

The awards were presented by South Korean Gen. Choi Seung Woo, who traveled from his homeland to honor the dignitaries as well as more than 100 Korean War veterans who attended the event.

"Thank you for saving my country," Woo said to those who participated in the "forgotten war" that began June 25, 1950. "Korea will never forget. Neither will I."

At the end of the ceremony, Lee read a poem he had written in English that encompassed his appreciation to the veterans and community leaders as well. It ended: "Your heroic sacrifice for freedom and security made South Korea rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the bloody battlefield. Thanks for your noble sacrifice."

The evening included a traditional Korean meal that was catered, and a program of Korean traditional music offered by saxophonist Rex Choe, tenor Soh Byung Sun, soprano Park Young Soo, and others.

Proceeds are used to help Korean orphans and handicapped children and veterans helping veterans.

For information, contact Lee at 649-3173 or by email at drhl@frontier.com.

Brothers, government tangle over Korean War records

Star-Telegram: Brothers, government tangle over Korean War records

As this summer marks the 61st anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, it remains one of the least understood and most overlooked conflicts of the American experience.

Time is running out for those who fought the war, as most surviving veterans are in or approaching their 80s.

The Korean War Project, founded in 1995 by two Dallas brothers who are the sons of a decorated Korean War Marine, has established itself as a valuable resource for information on unit histories, casualties, battles and those missing in action.

But Hal and Ted Barker are engaged in a tussle with the Defense Department over a digitized version of unclassified Army records that the Barkers believe will be important for historians, veterans and families. The Barkers call it a case of "government at its worst" in the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii.

"We provide them a decade worth of help in the identification of missing in action personnel," Hal Barker said. "Then we ask them for the most basic public records, and they say, 'Take us to court.'"

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, known as JPAC, says it won't release the CDs to the Barkers because they are Army records. The Army has, so far, not made a decision.

"Since JPAC has no equities in the records and [because of] the possibility of information covered under the personal privacy exemption, the digitized records were referred to the Department of the Army for review and direct response," said Michelle Thomas, a spokeswoman for JPAC in Hawaii.

The Barkers seem caught in a bizarre situation -- one arm of the government says the records are public and available for research, yet a digital version of the same records has prompted a complete review by the same government.

It's apparently a common story.

'Bureaucratic rules'
Brian M. Linn, a professor at Texas A&M University who specializes in military history, has been stymied for well over a year by the Army in his attempt to get access to records from the post-Korean War years.

"People at the National Archives are working really hard, but I get the sense they're frustrated by these bureaucratic rules," said Linn, president of the Society for Military History. "We're supposed to live in a free society. I've been told by people in the Army, 'You need to tell the Army's story.' But to actually try and do that is a lot more difficult than it should be."

In December, the Barkers discovered that the Marine Corps had digitized more than 100,000 pages of command reports and unit diaries from the Korean War, from the battalion level down to company level. The records were not available online, but they could be bought.

"I paid $300, and in five days, I got 25 CDs in the mail," Hal Barker said.

The men have put about half on their website, allowing "a researcher anywhere in the world to look at the intricate details of Marine operations in Korea."

The Barkers had hoped for a similar outcome when they filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the digitized records of the 7th Infantry Division, 24th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division from JPAC, which has been digitizing records held at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Md.

JPAC, which oversees the effort to find, recover and identify remains from past wars, is hoping the records will shed light on casualties.

"Sometimes even the smallest of clues, such as message traffic between units during any given engagement, allows us to include or exclude casualties from a specific area," Thomas said.

From the Barkers' perspective, the relationship between the Korean War Project and JPAC had always been share and share alike.

"We've worked with JPAC for over a decade," Hal Barker said. "We've had over 2,000 e-mails with JPAC alone, relating to the identification of MIAs from Korea. ... We have provided them with hundreds of photographs. They requested copies of our 800 maps because many of the maps we have they don't.

"We've been providing the Defense Department with family contacts to obtain DNA samples to help with identification. We have provided them with a huge resource that would have cost them thousands of dollars on their own. We did it for free."

A question of ownership
But Johnie Webb Jr., in charge of public relations and legislative affairs for JPAC, responded to the Barkers by telling them that JPAC can't release the records because they belong to the National Archives. The National Archives responded by telling the Barkers that the digital files represent "unique" records and that it is up to JPAC to release them.

The Barkers appealed to the Defense Department, which promptly sent the appeal to the Army, then to the Army Human Resource Command, which has asked for more time to answer.

It's very perplexing and frustrating for the Barkers.

"The theory that a contract historian photographing public access documents somehow creates a special right to reclassify or otherwise make digital documents unavailable to the public is not supported by any current case law," Hal Barker wrote to one defense official.

The Barkers could go to the National Archives and photograph the documents themselves or pay to have them copied, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. But they don't have the resources for that, they said.

The Barkers have appealed for help to then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, among others. They have also drafted a federal lawsuit but hope the issue is settled without the expense of that.

In the meantime, the Barkers have ended their cooperation with JPAC, even going to the effort of blocking the government's access to the Korean War Project website.

"This isn't depriving me of records," Hal Barker said. "I'm just a worker bee. I put these up so veterans, families and historians can look at them. When they deny me at the Korean War Project, they're denying tens of thousands of veterans, for the first time in history, easy access to records from their war."

Message from a Korean War Veteran

Arirang: Message from a Korean War Veteran
This is a prestigious boy's high school, the oldest of its kind in Durban with a history of over 140 years.

Some silver-haired residents of Durban pay this school a visit with a special story.

Students from this school had sacrificed their lives in the World War 2 battles between Germany and England, as well as in the Korean War.

To honor their noble spirits, the school has inscribed the names of all its students who became heroes and war veterans.

James Mackenzie Sweeny fought in the Korean War.

Although he came back alive, seeing the names of his deceased comrades brings a lump to his throat.

Vivid images of a war-stricken Korea in ruins are still seared into his memory.

[ENG]
[Interview : James Mackenzie Sweeney, Korean War veteran ] "South Korea, at the time, it was mainly a no factories. The factories were all in the north. It was agriculture and rather primitive agriculture. All the bridges over the Han River had been destroyed. And it's quite incredible to see the 30, or whatever it is, bridges
they have now."

Thinking about the past always brings tears to his eyes.

He paid Korea a visit in 1992, and then again in 2010, which marked the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. And he was simply speechless by the transformation that Korea has undergone.

[ENG]
[Interview : James Mackenzie Sweeney, Korean War veteran ] "It's quite incredible how South Korea has progressed. I told people about it. They don't believe me. They can't conceive the change in that period of time. It's an example to the rest of the world and it was done by people who were prepared to work."

Now, he is moved to tears by Korea's feats, not its tragic past.

[Interview : ] "One of South Korea's city, which is called Pyeongchang, they are trying for the third time now. So do you can you say anything to them[Interview : James Mackenzie Sweeney, Korean War veteran ] "The South Koreans hosted the Olympics very, very successfully, and I think they have proved that they can do it, and they should get it. They deserve it."

[STUDIO]

That's a very powerful and moving message.

So many people from all around the world sacrificed their lives and gave their youth to fight for democracy here in our country.

It's really touching.

And it should makes us grateful everyday for the quick advancement of the nation in just this short span of time.

Well we certainly are hoping for the best.

I never heard it in that way that we deserve it.

I think what he's saying is that we owe it to bring the spirit of the sacrifice in creating this nation to the Olympics again especially as the future of Asia is still being shaped.

So we only have hours to go until the big announcement.

Exciting, huh Wonder how it will go

Until then everyone please send your thoughts and wishes over to Durban.

Central Illinois: Remembering “The Forgotten War”

WJBC: Remembering “The Forgotten War”
While Americans take time to celebrate our nation’s independence today, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency wants to make sure a part of U.S. military history isn’t forgotten.

More than 54,000 U.S. citizens – including 1,754 from Illinois – died in the Korean War from 1950-1953.

“Falling as it did between World War II and the Vietnam War and being the first war where the U.S. wasn’t a clear winner, (the Korean War) is often forgotten,” Spokesman David Blanchette said.

The IHPA is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War by posting a list of names of each Illinoisan who died in the war, 60 years ago that month, on its website. The agency also notes key developments in the war and lists Medal of Honor recipients.

“Many Korean War veterans are in their mid-70s, 80s or in some cases in their 90s. Time is running short to give these people the recognition they deserve,” Blanchette said.

The IPHA has provided a list of the number of Korean War deaths from Central Illinois:

McLean County 24

Tazewell 18

Piatt 16

Logan 6

Livingston 5

DeWitt 3

Woodford 2

Ford 1

You can access the information at www.illinoishistory.gov.