Friday, September 30, 2011

Marine Corps veterans from battle of Chosin Reservoir during Korean War hold reunion in Springfield

From MassLive.com: Marine Corps veterans from battle of Chosin Reservoir during Korean War hold reunion in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD – Six decades later, they can almost laugh about it.

After dozens of night patrols searching for North Korean troop locations, the First Marine Division’s Reconnaissance Company had no trouble finding the enemy on Nov. 27, 1950 – the night that 100,000 Chinese troops began attacking from all directions around the Chosin Reservoir.

“They can’t get away from us now; we know where they are – they’re all around us,” said Carlo J. Marchetti, 80, former Springfield resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran recalling an officer’s remark at the start of the 17-day battle.

“Yeah, we said, ‘Anywhere we shoot, we’ll be shooting at them’,” added Glenn Kasdorf, 81, of Milwaukee.

The unit – perhaps best known for helping to hold off the Chinese offensive at Chosin, buying time for an epic, 70-mile retreat by United Nations troops – reassembled in Springfield this week for its annual reunion.

Since 1986, the unit’s surviving members have come from across the country to rekindle friendships that began 6,000 miles away and endured combat, frostbite and the passage of time.

Sixteen Marine veterans, their wives and widows of unit members gathered at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel for the event, which featured a tour of the Smith & Wesson plant on Friday and a banquet Saturday night.

Kasdorf, a retired Milwaukee police officer, received a Purple Heart at the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, along with frostbite on his toes, feet and lower legs.

Besides being vastly outnumbered by the Chinese troops, the Marines had to contend with temperatures that dropped to 30-below zero, leaving the ground too frozen for foxholes.

With thousands of United Nations troops retreating down a single, narrow dirt road, the Marines held off the pursuing Chinese, inflicting heavy casualties every mile of the retreat.

By Dec. 13, more than 1,000 U.S. troops had been killed, another 9,000 were wounded or missing, and 7,300 suffered frostbite or other injuries.

Kasdorf, firing a Browning Automatic Machine Gun, fought off three Chinese soldiers who got close enough to grab his gun barrel, only to be wounded moments later by a percussion grenade.

Later, a doctor treating his frostbitten toes said the Marine came very close to getting his feet amputated.

“People ask me why I still live in Wisconsin, and not in Florida or Arizona,” Kasdorf said. “But it’s my home.”

Even when the temperature plunges in Milwaukee on winter nights, Kasdorf said, “It’s just nothing like it was over there.”

Marchetti, the longtime executive director of Springfield Central Inc. now living in Sarasota, Fla., joined the unit in 1953 during the stalemate that led to cease fire.

“I don’t miss the winter,” Marchetti said, referring to the climates of Korea and Western Mass. “I don’t miss it at all.”

Along with other unit members, Marchetti has attended reunions from Tallahassee, N.C., to Washington, D.C. Thanks to unit member G. Richard Reed, the group was given a tour of the White House in 2002.

“They said we were one of the first groups to be allowed in there after 9/11,” said Reed, who attended Penn State after the war, then worked as a computer analyst for the Department of Defense.

Like the other Marines, Reed and Marchetti downplayed the obvious dangers of reconnaissance work, and offered casual, matter of fact accounts of their wartime exploits.

If Korea War has largely faded from public memory, the Marines still recall it right down to the sparks emitted by the potbelly stoves they huddled around for moments of fleeting warmth.

“You’d get more body heat from the other soldiers than you’d get from that stove,” Reed said.

Korean War veterans memorial unveiled

From Columbia Daily Tribune: Korean War veterans memorial unveiled
KANSAS CITY (AP) — The dream of a man who never forgot his service in the Korean War came true when a memorial to the war’s veterans was unveiled in a park south of downtown Kansas City.

Although veteran Jim Shultz died last year at age 79, his children and about 400 others were on hand to watch Wednesday as a white sheet was pulled away to unveil the Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Some 37,000 Americans died fighting the war, with 8,000 more still unaccounted for after the war. Those numbers include at least 900 Missourians, The Kansas City Star reported.

The Republic of Korea lost at least 47,000 troops, with United Nations allies suffering about 5,000 casualties. About 2.5 million Koreans died in the conflict.

The city donated the land and $100,000, and private donations contributed $270,000. Several area companies and artists donated their time or materials.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Midland, MI: Korean War soldier statue added to Coleman Veterans Memorial

Midland Daily News, Michigan: Korean War soldier statue added to Coleman Veterans Memorial
The latest addition to the Coleman Veterans Memorial is a symbolic statue representing a soldier who fought in the Korean War.

It stands next to statues representing soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War and the Global War on Terror. The next figure to be installed is a WW II soldier. After that, the first phase of the memorial will be completed.

Coleman Veterans Memorial Committee President Randy Zylman said the second phase will include a female statue representing a modern day soldier and a WW I statue.

The first phase of the memorial statues are replicas of the 25th Infantry Division memorial located on the Schofield Army Base in Hawaii. Construction and fundraising efforts began last year. The site is located at a ceremonial courtyard on Railway Street.

The idea for a memorial began after Zylman's son, Casey, was killed in Iraq on May 25, 2007. He was a corporal in the Second Platoon, Apache Troop 3/4 Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division.

Although Coleman residents and war veterans have managed to raise enough funds to get the project going, the memorial committee members still have a lot of work ahead of them.

"We still need to raise a lot of money," Zylman said.

He said the Korean War statue comes at a cost of $81,100. The modern day soldier will cost another $81,100 and the committee owes $20,000 on the WW II statue.

"There's still a lot of fundraising to do yet," Zylman said.

The memorial committee is planning a spaghetti dinner fundraiser Oct. 14 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Coleman VFW Post 1071. The fundraiser will include a silent auction, 50/50 Raffle, T-Shirts and a bake sale.

The Coleman Veterans Memorial Committee is made up of local residents. With help from the 25th Infantry Division Memorial Fund, the committee created a special project to raise and collect funds for the Coleman Veterans Memorial. The 25th Infantry Division Memorial Fund is an IRS Certified 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information or to purchase a commemorative brick paver, a T-shirt or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.colemanveteransmemorial.org

Voices of the Korean War echo in collection

From Cleveland.com: Voices of the Korean War echo in collection
The envelopes were mailed more than a half-century ago, but they still speak in the bygone voices of the Korean War.

Once, these envelopes held letters scrawled by American POWs, condolences from a commanding officer to a lost airman's wife, the death notification for a soldier of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and a missive sent to an American GI on the same day he was killed in action.

There's a story behind many of the several hundred "covers" -- the philatelic term for envelopes -- that Bob Collins, 76, of Westlake, has collected the past 35 years.

Collins' covers represent mail sent or received by combatants from all branches of the U.S. forces and several different countries that fought during the Korean War (1950-1953). The collection took gold medal honors in August at an American Philatelic Society show in Columbus.

His collecting interest started with stamps, as a child growing up in Lakewood, then later evolved into a fascination for the various postmarks and exotic locales of mailed envelopes.

Collins served in the Army shortly after the Korean War, and most of his sergeants and officers were veterans of that conflict. That experience led to his subsequent desire to start collecting envelopes of that era.

The relative rarity of letters from that war on the collectors' market also was a draw, as Collins said mail from World War II and even the Civil War (if you've got the bucks) is fairly common.

His collection was gleaned from stamp shows and auctions, catalogs, flea markets, eBay or sheer happenstance.

Most covers usually cost him from $3 to $30. Some are now worth from $100 to $300 among specialized collectors, such as those seeking features like hand-stamped "hubba-hubba" (a World War II term for "hurry up") artwork.

Though Collins still keeps an eye out for occasional additions to his collection, he noted, "I enjoy it for myself. I don't buy to sell. I just buy to keep and exhibit.

"I enjoy when some veteran comes to a show and looks at my exhibit," he added.

The rarest items in his collection are covers for letters written by GIs from behind the barbed wire of POW camps in North Korea and China. Some of the envelopes bear the stamped notation (in red ink of course): "Via the Chinese People's Committee for World Peace and against American Aggression."

Collins noted, "There's a big demand for these covers, especially in China, because they ran these POW camps."

Even rarer is correspondence from American POWs who refused to be repatriated after the war, choosing instead to stay with their captors.

To Collins, however, the real value of these covers lies not in the money or rarity, but in the stories that go with certain envelopes.

Such as envelope that still bears the lipstick kiss that the sister of a serviceman bestowed on a letter she got from the front. Or the cover for a letter written by a Red Cross nurse for a wounded soldier.

"I love that stuff," Collins said. "To me, it adds a little pizazz to it."

The retired Westlake police officer has two sons who served in the Army -- one during Desert Storm, and the other recently deployed twice to Iraq.

The older son "wrote me a lot of letters," Collins said. The younger son, maybe three or four.

He wonders if the Korean War may have been the last big letter-writing war, given a scarcity of Vietnam-era letters on the market. "A lot of those [Vietnam-era] guys said they didn't send letters, they sent tapes," he noted.

But Collins said he's still a dedicated letter-writer and cover-collector. As for his hobby, he said, "It's been a lot of fun. To me, it's like history. It's a part of our lives."

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Oct 1, 2011, Memphis, TN: Event to honor those who served in Korean War

From the Commercial Appeal: Event to honor those who served in Korean War
Korea is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to die there.

"They call it the 'Land of the Morning Calm,'" said George King. "It's great to be there on vacation -- it's beautiful. But not in a war where there was a Chinese soldier behind every hill, waiting to kill you."

At 80, King is glad the "forgotten war" in faraway Asia that he joined as a young Marine reservist 60 years ago in central Mississippi is finally getting some attention.

"It's now remembered because so many patriotic communities, such as DeSoto County, are bringing our intervention, sanctioned by the United Nations, to the forefront and into perspective," King said of the county's salute to Korean War veterans that's slated for Saturday.

King saw action in Korea with the 1st Marine Division from March 1951 to April 1952.

Before his arrival, the 1st Marines -- already bloodied in Guadalcanal during World War II -- had landed at Inchon in a risky operation designed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to liberate South Korea's capital, Seoul, from the Reds. Then, shifted to the eastern side of the Korean peninsula, the Marines faced an onslaught of 10 Chinese divisions in late 1950. The 1st Division fought its way out in the epic action of the Chosin Reservoir, inflicting 37,500 casualties on their foes.

"There were 120 of us called up in 1950 in our Reserve unit," King recalled. "Most of us went straight to Korea."

King was reared in Clinton and had joined the Marine Reserve in 1950 in Jackson. When he was deployed in 1951 with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marines, the division was engaged in offensives in east-central Korea and defending against a Chinese spring offensive involving more than 500,000 Communist troops.

"They say Marines don't retreat," King said. "So we were attacking in all directions, until we could set up a secondary line of defense.

"I was promoted to sergeant on the battlefield. Not because I was talented, but because everyone in front of me was killed or wounded."

During savage fighting Sept. 15-19, 1951, on Hill 749, his unit lost 39 Marines, including squad member Eddie Gomez of Tulsa, Okla., who was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

For the DeSoto commemoration on the steps of the County Courthouse in Hernando, King is scheduled to deliver an address along with Force Master Chief Jon D. Port of the Navy Personnel Command based in Millington. DeSoto last year presented a salute to World War II veterans that drew hundreds of veterans and guests.

DeSoto administrative services director Vanessa Lynchard, who coordinated the earlier event, also is helping lead the charge for Korean War veterans. She said that although just a few years separate that conflict and World War II, she notices the respective veterans "seem totally different."

There were no big celebrations and little sense of traditional victory with Korea; fighting ended with an armistice in 1953, and North and South still face each other across a tense demilitarized zone. The Vietnam War of the 1960s and '70s was televised into America's homes and polarized the nation, further obscuring Korea.

King's postwar years were successful with pharmacy and chemistry degrees from the University of Tennessee and University of Memphis and his own firm, Chemical Specialties Manufacturing, which he operated for 36 years.

"There were some investors wanted it more than I did," said King, who now lives in Germantown.

He and wife Gwen, his spouse of 57 years, have three sons and six grandchildren.

Ultimately, the worth of his Korean service and that of his comrades-in-arms has emerged with the thawing of the long, long Cold War.

"Ours was the first challenge," said King, who's served as commandant of the Marine Corps League in Memphis and helped establish the Korean War monument at Overton Park. "We secured the Pacific Rim to preserve those countries against Communist aggression -- and we paid dearly for it."

During the Korean War, his 1st Division alone suffered combat casualties of 4,004 dead and 25,864 wounded.

DeSoto County Supervisor Bill Russell, who will lead singing of "God Bless America" at the salute, says he's grateful King and his comrades were willing to pay that price. So is Lynchard.

"Getting to know these veterans has given me a new degree of respect," she said.

-- Henry Bailey: (901) 333-2012

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'COMING TOGETHER'

The march of participants onto the County Courthouse grounds for the Oct. 1 salute to Korean War veterans will be augmented by music from the Main Street Jazz Band from Southaven and the Navy Band from the Naval Support Activity in Millington.

The commemoration starts at 10 a.m. Music will begin at 9 a.m. with Swing-era tunes from the jazz bands that veterans of the 1950-53 war will recognize, said Vanessa Lynchard, county official and event coordinator. The Navy Band will take over about 9:40 a.m., she said.

"It's all coming together," said Steve Powell, county Veterans Services officer, of the event bolstered by a team of DeSoto volunteers.

The program for Korean War veterans -- alive and deceased -- includes a roll-call by Supervisor Allen Latimer, presentation of the colors by the Horn Lake ROTC, and songs from Dorothy Herron, Supervisor Bill Russell and, from Memphis, the Friends of Korean Culture. Also, special "challenge coins" are to be distributed.

Seating will be provided each Korean War veteran and a guest; others are urged to bring lawn chairs. Artifacts from the war will be on display inside the courthouse in an exhibit coordinated by Brian Hicks, director of the DeSoto Museum in Hernando.

To sign up a veteran for recognition or to volunteer, call (662) 429-1460 with information on wartime rank, branch and years of service, and then-and-now photos. To lend items for the temporary exhibit, call (662) 429-8852.

Kentucky: Korean War veteran gets high school diploma

From Chron.com: Korean War veteran gets high school diploma
HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — Erdman "Bob" Blythe has several awards for his service in the Korean War. Now, he has a high school diploma, too.

Blythe, 79, received the degree Friday from the Ahrens Trade High School in Louisville, which Blythe was attending as a junior when he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Blythe told the Henderson Gleaner it feels great to have the diploma.

The opportunity for Korean War Veterans to get their high school diplomas was initiated by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2004.

State Sen. Dorsey Ridley said the diploma came about through the coordinated efforts of the Henderson County School System, the Jefferson Public School System and a few state legislators.

Bonnie Buchanan, Blythe's daughter, was one of many beaming relatives on hand for the occasion.

"I'm excited, I'm honored and I'm proud," she said of her father receiving his diploma.

Blythe's wife, Mary, said, her husband wanted to enlist in the Marines when he was 17 and landed in Korea just after his 18th birthday.

"I am proud of him," Mary Blythe said. "It took him a few months to talk his mother into it."

Despite getting a GED while in Japan, Blythe said it was "embarrassing" not to have a high school diploma. To have one now, he said, feels "great."

"I'm no hero," said Blythe, who served 13 months in Korea.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Jewish War Veterans to host tribute to Korean War veterans in Middletown

From The MIddle Town Press: Jewish War Veterans to host tribute to Korean War veterans in Middletown
MIDDLETOWN — The Major General Maurice Rose Post 51, Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., will present a tribute to all Korean War veterans on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 p.m. The program will be held at Congregation Adath Israel in Middletown, located at the corner of Church and Broad Streets.

The tribute will feature a musical and oratory program written by JWV State Commander Norman Hanenbaum, who was the Post 51 Commander for the past two years. A deli meal will be included, prepared by Sonny Rogers, former owner of Middletown’s Ruby Deli. Tickets are $18 a person.

The Korean Embassy in Israel held a special ceremony this past June to mark the 61st anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. In honor of soldiers who fought to help South Korea stop the communist invasion, Jewish Korean War veterans living in Israel received special recognition. According to an official statement released by the Embassy, some 4,000 Jewish soldiers fought alongside South Koreans and Allied Forces in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953.

The purpose of the national Jewish War Veterans is to maintain allegiance to the nation, support universal liberty, equal rights and justice to all, and advocate for veterans’ rights and benefits. The local Post is comprised of veterans mainly from Congregation Adath Israel in Middletown and Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek in Chester. Membership is open to all former and current Jewish military service men and women and their family members. More information about the national organization is at http://www.jwv.org/ Meetings of Post 51are held at Congregation Adath Israel. Morty Pear is Post Commander.

Cambridge Friends School Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Year with All-School Parade

From MarketWatch: Cambridge Friends School Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Year with All-School Parade
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sep 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- When Cambridge Friends School first opened its doors on September 23, 1961, the political climate in America was charged. The United States was in the throes of the Cold War with the Soviets, and less than a decade after the Korean War armistice, the Kennedy administration was deeply concerned about communist insurgencies in Vietnam. With nationalism and pro-war sentiment running high, a group of concerned parents from the Cambridge Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), envisioned an independent school based on Quaker principles. In 1961, Cambridge Friends School (CFS) opened to families of all races and religions. On Friday, September 23, 2011, 211 CFS students from Pre-K-grade 8 will honor their school's founding fifty years ago, walking in a grand parade from Cambridge Friends Meeting House to 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge Friends School's home since 1964.

"CFS students of 50 years ago and those of today are not as culturally disparate as one might think," said Peter Sommer, head of Cambridge Friends School. "The commitment to social justice, stemming from Quaker principles such as equality, integrity and peace, remains the foundation of our core mission and philosophy. Our students attend a weekly Meeting for Worship, and our dedication to excellence in academic subjects and the arts is as strong in 2011 as it was in 1961. And while we have made great strides in honoring the civil rights of others, the reality is that our society still sees 'otherness.' Such perceptions make the values and vision of our school's founders equally relevant, five decades after we welcomed our first students."

The Parade

This Friday's all-school parade is the second in the history of CFS. On October 23, 1963, the entire school community walked in a parade from CFS's first location at St. James Episcopal Church in Cambridge to Cadbury Road for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new school building.

The parade route for September 23, 2011 will move from the school's conceptual birthplace at Cambridge Friends Meeting to its current location on Cadbury Road. Waving banners, flags and streamers, 211 CFS students will walk in the symbolic footsteps of the CFS students of 50 years ago, celebrating the proud history of the only Quaker school in Massachusetts.

Media Information for September 23

For more information on the parade route or to arrange pre-event or on-site interviews on September 23, please contact Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications, Tel: 617.876.2770, Email: maria[at]vetrano.com. The rain date for the parade is September 30.

About Cambridge Friends School

Cambridge Friends School (CFS), the only Quaker school in Massachusetts, is a co-educational elementary school enrolling 211 students in pre-K through grade 8. Established in 1961 under the care of Friends Meeting at Cambridge, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), CFS's mission is to provide an outstanding education. Guided by Quaker principles--universal values such as equality, simplicity, and peace--CFS engages students in meaningful academic learning within a caring community strongly committed to social justice. CFS encourages all students to develop their intellectual, physical, creative and spiritual potential and, through the example of their lives, to challenge oppression and to contribute to justice and understanding in the world.

For more information, visit: www.cfsmass.org or attend our Open House, November 5 from 1:00-3:00 pm. Call 617.354.3880 x 244 for more information.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Korean War Veteran Laid to Rest

From KLTV.com: Korean War Veteran Laid to Rest
TYLER, TX (KLTV) - The Patriot Guard Riders of East Texas stood vigil outside the St. James C.M.E. Church in Tyler today as family, friends, and veterans gathered to celebrate the life of Sergeant Lee Dona Henry, Jr. of Tyler.

Sergeant Henry was a member of the Third Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army when he and others went missing in action in Korea on August 7, 1950.

Mr. Henry's remains were carried to Hawaii, and earlier this summer, DNA technology made it possible to positively identify his remains. His body returned to Tyler earlier this week.

Korean War veteran Miles Ray said that even though he had never met Sergeant Henry, he felt compelled to stand in honor of him today.

"He's my brother. I never saw him, but he's my brother."

Sergeant Henry was laid to rest this afternoon at the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery in Tyler.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Korean War vet from Tulare writes memoir about his imprisonmentKorean War vet from Tulare writes memoir about his imprisonment

From Visalia Times-Delta: Korean War vet from Tulare writes memoir about his imprisonment
The Korean War may be known to many as the Forgotten War, but for one ambitious pilot, it was an experience he'll never forget. While stuck behind enemy lines, a young man from Tulare showed he had the perseverance to overcome even the most challenging odds.

Now at 84-years-old, Jack Doerty can recount his time flying 100-odd missions in Vietnam or as an enlisted airmen in World War II, but those wars are not most vivid in his mind. It was his 28 months as a prisoner of war in Korea that remains fresh. It was the time he spent on the ground, as opposed to the hundreds of hours he spent in the air, that this U.S. Air Force pilot will never forget.
"This was a forgotten war, but for the GIs that pulled it off, it's a remarkable story of resilience," Doerty said. "The Korean War caught us totally off guard. The U.S. military wasn't prepared. But we didn't give up."

Freedom is not free
In a matter of a few months, Jack Doerty had been issued three radios by the U.S. Air Force, none of which worked. As he continued to send his in for repair, he'd be given another that failed to communicate with the outside world. On more than one occasion, he had only his voice to seek help. The day he was captured was one of those days.
"If we had radios that worked, we could have signaled for air support. We could have destroyed their forces with one call," he said. "Instead, we folded. Five days later I was a POW."
The United States and South Korea took more than 100,000 prisoners of war during the Korean conflict, while North Korea and its forces took about 10,000 prisoners in less than five years.
Describing the circumstances as "terrible," Doerty spent 28 of his 30 months in Korea as one of those captured. His only free time outside was spent searching for leaves large enough to use as toilet paper. He had dysentery from the dirty water he drank and his one meal a day consisted of dry, raw grain.
Doerty went from 155 pounds before his capture in 1951 to 95 pounds as a prisoner. He was never issued medicine. The hope of survival flashed before his eyes as he contemplated an escape. An escape that ultimately failed.
(Page 2 of 2)
"I kept thinking to myself, 'I can't believe I surrendered. I can't believe I was captured.' I knew it was my duty to escape," he said. "But I got one thing wrong. I escaped the camp, but didn't evade the country."
Doerty was captured again and spent time in confinement with the man who had attempted escape with him. His morale was down and the outlook appeared grim. He kept hope, while thinking of being home where his mother and father and friends prayed.
"When my wife and I heard Jack had been captured, we got down on our knees and prayed. We prayed every day for him," said Ken Lange, a classmate of Doerty, who graduated from Tulare Union High School in 1945. "We were proud of him in school and even more proud of him then."
After peace talks, Doerty returned home and was given a choice of any U.S. Air Force assignment he wished. He was promised he'd never be sent to a communist country or be stationed in a region that bordered a communist country. He signed a waiver and a few years later would go to fight in Vietnam. His family and friends heard the stories that he told from memories as a prisoner of war; stories they urged him to eventually write down.
"It's a very exciting and very sad story, but an important one," said fellow classmate Pat Hillman. "It's not often you have a classmate become famous, even in a small way."
The bookThe Tulare Union class of 1945 was comprised of 150 students. Some of those went on to be successful business owners, local activists, doctors and lawyers. Many of the young men fought in WWII, and others, like Doerty, went on to fight in subsequent wars. Sixty-five years after he graduated, Doerty sat down and wrote his memoirs.
"I urged him to write it for his kids and his grandkids," said Doerty's wife, Carolyn, whose father, Tex Rankin, began the first aeronautical school west of the Mississippi in the early 20th century and later opened Rankin Field in Tulare.
"I was thrilled he was writing it. The first copy went to his grandson. It's an amazing story. Sometimes it makes you laugh and other times it makes you cry," she said.
The book wasn't supposed to go outside the bounds of his family and close friends. But it was a story worth sharing with the world, Lange said. He was one of a dozen members of the class of 1945 who gathered their money and helped the Tulare Historical Museum publish "Korean Prisoner of War Story — Freedom is Not Free."
Each member of the class chipped in $100 to pay a publishing firm on the central California coast to print and bind 100 copies of the book. The museum sold them all.
A second printing was needed and Lange, who is the former director of the Tulare Historical Museum, is hoping a third and fourth printing may be necessary.
"There are some grisly parts of this book, but it's real life," Hillman said. "We all remember it. And we need to take time to appreciate all our veterans have done for us."

"I kept thinking to myself, 'I can't believe I surrendered. I can't believe I was captured.' I knew it was my duty to escape," he said. "But I got one thing wrong. I escaped the camp, but didn't evade the country."

Doerty was captured again and spent time in confinement with the man who had attempted escape with him. His morale was down and the outlook appeared grim. He kept hope, while thinking of being home where his mother and father and friends prayed.
"When my wife and I heard Jack had been captured, we got down on our knees and prayed. We prayed every day for him," said Ken Lange, a classmate of Doerty, who graduated from Tulare Union High School in 1945. "We were proud of him in school and even more proud of him then."
After peace talks, Doerty returned home and was given a choice of any U.S. Air Force assignment he wished. He was promised he'd never be sent to a communist country or be stationed in a region that bordered a communist country. He signed a waiver and a few years later would go to fight in Vietnam. His family and friends heard the stories that he told from memories as a prisoner of war; stories they urged him to eventually write down.
"It's a very exciting and very sad story, but an important one," said fellow classmate Pat Hillman. "It's not often you have a classmate become famous, even in a small way."
The book
The Tulare Union class of 1945 was comprised of 150 students. Some of those went on to be successful business owners, local activists, doctors and lawyers. Many of the young men fought in WWII, and others, like Doerty, went on to fight in subsequent wars. Sixty-five years after he graduated, Doerty sat down and wrote his memoirs.
"I urged him to write it for his kids and his grandkids," said Doerty's wife, Carolyn, whose father, Tex Rankin, began the first aeronautical school west of the Mississippi in the early 20th century and later opened Rankin Field in Tulare.
"I was thrilled he was writing it. The first copy went to his grandson. It's an amazing story. Sometimes it makes you laugh and other times it makes you cry," she said.
The book wasn't supposed to go outside the bounds of his family and close friends. But it was a story worth sharing with the world, Lange said. He was one of a dozen members of the class of 1945 who gathered their money and helped the Tulare Historical Museum publish "Korean Prisoner of War Story — Freedom is Not Free."
Each member of the class chipped in $100 to pay a publishing firm on the central California coast to print and bind 100 copies of the book. The museum sold them all.
A second printing was needed and Lange, who is the former director of the Tulare Historical Museum, is hoping a third and fourth printing may be necessary.
"There are some grisly parts of this book, but it's real life," Hillman said. "We all remember it. And we need to take time to appreciate all our veterans have done for us."

Monday, September 12, 2011

Korean War Vets say they're closer despite smaller numbers

From WBIR 10: Korean War Vets say they're closer despite smaller numbers
The Korean War ended nearly 60 years ago, but the memories are still fresh on the minds of those who survived.

"I was an infantryman in the fox hole, dodging bullets, shrapnel, and mortars, living from one minute to the next minute," said Korean War Veteran Leroy Rogers of Maryville.

The Army's 7th Cavalry regiment are all in Gatlinburg to share their stories.

"Mostly we're talking about our past experiences. We are survivors. 54,000 did not survive the Korean War," Rogers said.

Rogers is a local but the rest hail from 21 other states. Wilbur O'Brien made the trip from Alaska.

"We all have a lot of memories. Some good, some not so good," said O'Brien.

There's an air of sadness for some who notice that the group gets smaller every year.

"At one point, we had 1,173 men on our roster and we had 400-500 people coming to the reunions," said organizer, Richard Mitchell. Now they're down to 40 men.

"You miss them when their gone," he said.

The group says it has only made them closer.

"Combat veterans have a closer bond than blood kin," said Rogers.

They plan to meet as long as they're able.

The group meets every year in different cities across the United States.

Korean War veterans gather in Gatlinburg

From Knox News: Korean War veterans gather in Gatlinburg
GATLINBURG — John Cauley's first day in Korea in 1950 was not a good one. He saw something that gave him pause and sent fear rattling through his bones.

Cauley was with the U.S. Army's 7th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division in the Pusan Perimeter, a spit of land at the very southern tip of Korea where U.S., United Nations and South Korean troops had been pushed. Practically surrounded by North Korea forces, the end seemed near just weeks after the war began.

Cauley, 81, of Ocala, Fla., is one of about 40 Korean War veterans who have been at the Glenstone Lodge in Gatlinburg this week participating in the annual reunion of the 7th U. S. Cavalry Association.

Although regimental chapters have been meeting in various sections of the nation, the old soldiers have never come to the Volunteer State, home to many of the regiment's Korean War veterans.

Cauley said he had landed in what is now South Korea Aug. 20, 1950. Korea was parched by a drought. Beneath a broiling sun, the regiment was sent to the front lines of the Pusan Perimeter to help stop the North Korean army's seemingly unstoppable advance. Seoul, Korea, had fallen to the North and now it appeared the entire country would surrender.

"We were headed toward the Nakdong River (near the Port of Pusan) where the heaviest fighting had taken place already," Cauley said.

As the regiment marched to the sound of the guns, he looked up to see a heavy-duty U.S. Army truck lumbering along the narrow road.

"We were going down the hill and the truck was coming up the hill. It was filled with bodies. American soldiers. That was enough to scare hell out of you," he said.

Since joining the Army, he had worried that he had been assigned to the 7th Cavalry.

"Everybody knows that was Custer's regiment," he says, referring to Gen. Armstrong Custer, who got the regiment annihilated in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.

"We fought all night," Cauley said of his first battle. "And finally they had to throw artillery on top of us to save our lives. We had 250 killed.

"We were up north with the Marines. My captain was wounded but he shouted for me to grab a bazooka and knock out the (T-34 Russian) tanks."

And Cauley did just that, running through a blizzard of bullets, finding a bazooka and blasting a menacing T-34. He then shot another, blocking other North Korean tanks.

For his action, Cauley won the Silver Star, the nation's third highest military award for combat heroism.

In January 1951, Cauley was wounded and returned to the United States.

"The war is never out of my mind. I always think about these things and the good friends and what happened to them," he said.

The regiment's final banquet is set for tonight at the Glenstone Lodge. There will be no speeches, just old soldiers remembering their war in Korea as their numbers slowly dwindle.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Buffalo Soldiers join 750 others marking Honor Flight route to DIA

From Denver Post.com: Buffalo Soldiers join 750 others marking Honor Flight route to DIA
FIRESTONE — More than 750 people filled a mile-long stretch of the frontage road west of Interstate 25 this morning to mark the route taken by bus loads of World War II and Korean war veterans from Loveland to DIA.

From the airport the veterans were flown to Washington D.C. to be honored for their service to the country.

Paying respects to those on the Honor Flight coincided with a rememberance of the first responders to the Twin Towers on Sept 11, 2001 and to the police, firefighters and emergency workers in the Tri-Town area of southwest Weld County, said organizers of today's Patriot's Day Remembrance.

"We wanted to do something for 9/11 and to show appreciation of what the emergency folks do for us here," said Barb Goettsch of the Carbon Valley Rotary Club. Her group, along with almost 50 or so other civic organizations in the Firestone, Frederick and Dacono area, helped plan and carry out the Patriot's Day ceremonies.

It all started with a dawn pancake breakfast hosted by the Sons of the American Legion, which attracted as many as 200 people.

Shortly after 8 a.m., people then lined the frontage road with flags and cameras. A 30-foot-by-50-foot flag donated by the Frederick Travel Center rippled overhead.

Boy Scouts and Young Marines along with old war veterans and families just starting out lined the nearly mile-long route.

Amanda and Matt Garza pushed their 7-month-old twins - Addison and Sebastian - in a stroller while working to get a better view.

"We just heard about this last night and decided we needed to come out here and pay our respects," Amanda said.

Also there were the mounted members of The Buffalo Soldiers of the American West, a non-profit group that travels the country educating people on the role of African-American soldiers in settling the Old West.

The group was dressed in circa-1870 U.S. Army uniforms and they were the first group the veterans saw as their buses flew past.

"We wanted to be part of this and we were so happy when they asked us to be here," said John Bell, president and CEO of the Buffalo Soldiers. "I thought it was important for soldiers to greet other soldiers."

Couples: Love in choir loft leads to Korean War, long life in ministry

From Sious City Journal: Couples: Love in choir loft leads to Korean War, long life in ministry

James Moores and Pat Mills made beautiful music together singing in the church choir in their hometown of Holt, Mich., and later as part of the church's Gilbert and Sullivan Society where James got all the G&S parts that called for special skill with the duo's rapid-fire, tongue-twisting lyrics. His smooth tongue also got him a date with his pretty choir mate.

"We were both by ourselves and we just went out one night," she said.

"We left the choir early to the chagrin of all the choir members. There were eyebrows raised when we did it, and we went to a movie," he said.

"I think we both were looking for a relationshp," Pat Moores said. "We were just attracted to each other. We felt comfortable, and I think we were both looking for someone to love and we found each other and decided that was for us."

One night after choir practice, he asked her to marry him and she said yes. it was that simple.

Pat was working as a bank teller while James attended Michigan State University, eyeing a career as a wildlife biologist. "We started going together in December, It was around Christmas time, and we were married in September.

The Moores' wedding took place at Brotherhood Temple Methodist Church in Holt on Sept. 1, 1951.

Sixty years later, their five children, 20 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, all from Iowa and Nebraska, commemorated the occasion with a surprise party just two weeks ago in Sergeant Bluff.

"It all kind of came together," James said of their quick courtship. "She was 19. I was 21. So we got married before I went overseas to Korea."

Three months after the wedding, James picked up his degree at MSU and, as an ROTC student, he was immediately taken into the Army that December. Within months, he was sent to Japan and eventually ended up on the front lines of the Korea War where he spent 11 months living in a machine gun bunker as a machine gun platoon leader, soon promoted to first lieutenant. It was a cold, brutal war and it changed the course of his life.

"I actually had a religious experience while I was over there. I decided to go into the ministry," James said. "I guess it came to a head when I had two of my officer buddies killed right in the trenches while I was in Japan on R&R. I came back and they were dead. I started thinking about it and I started talking to the chaplain there."

His first thought was to be a doctor but a visit to a local MASH unit dispelled that idea. Too much blood. Sickeningly so. The ministry, at least, didn't make him sick. And he had the calling.

Pat embraced his decison. So after serving as minister of education in some of Michigan's largest United Methodist churches, James graduated from the seminary and accepted an assignment in Alliance, Neb., eventually working his way back east to Dakota City and Homer, Neb., and Sioux City He also did some teaching over the years, taking other jobs as needed, selling insurance for two years when he took a break from the ministry. He did some substitute teaching the last 8-10 years. Coaching, too. But the pulpit always pulled him back.

Pat meanwhile raised their itinerant family and kept things together on the homefront while her self-admitted workaholic husband tended to his ministries.

James has retired seven times, but poor health made his last retirement in Sioux City stick.

Despite all the struggles they had in their life and in the ministry, they never stopped loving each other.

"I think our faith in God has helped us through it," Pat said. "And our love for our children and our children's love back was able to keep us in for each other because you are not part really of a community. You are always the minister's family. And so you more or less cling together for survival basically. And I think it makes your love grow. You depend on each other. And we have to depend on just ourselves."

Said James: "Our family was the only thing we had."

It didn't hurt, he added, that in the course of his ministry he counseled all of the 300 to 400 couples whose weddings he presided at, including those of his five children.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Korean War vet returns 58 years after the war

From WLOX 13: Korean War vet returns 58 years after the war
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -

Claude St. Julien served his country in the military for 25 years. He was in both the Korean War and Vietnam War, and his family has a long history of military service. These days, this native of Louisiana lives at Gulfport's Armed Forces Retirement Home.

In early September, we featured Mr. St. Julian on our Project Homefront. Claude's father served in WWI, he was a good soldier, who quickly earned a promotion.

That is, until the day the Army realized that despite his light complexion, he was a black man.

"They busted him down to private first class, and said that he lied about his race, which was not so," St. Julien said.

Despite that, Claude says his dad remained proud of his military service until the day he died. As for Claude, he joined the Army in 1953 and soon found himself in the midst of the Korean War.

"I was young and I was afraid," he said. "I have to tell it like it is, I was afraid. I was so frightened."

Eventually, the fear went away. But never far from his thoughts, were his three childhood buddies from back home in Louisiana, all of whom died in the war.

They were certainly on his mind just a few months ago, when Claude went back to Korea. He and some fellow Korean War veterans were there at the invitation of the South Korean government. It was that nation's way of saying, "thank you." Suffice to say, it was a time in Claude's life that he will never forget.

"It was quite a feeling, something very hard to describe," he told us.

Much like our Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, in Seoul there is a monument with the names of all the Americans who died in the Korean War.

On that wall are the names of Claude's three childhood buddies. He took a picture of each of their names, and brought those home to the dead soldiers' families. Fighting back tears, he called that a very emotional time.

Claude is a father, grandfather and great grandfather who knows that his life has been blessed. But even today, 58 years after the war ended, he still thinks about those three great friends who never made it home.

"Why did I survive?" he asked rhetorically. "How could I survive this? I mean, here I am at the age of 78 and still here, and those guys are gone. They never lived the life that I lived."

Thursday, September 8, 2011

60 years later, Korean War POW's fate told to Pulaski family

From New River Valley.com: 60 years later, Korean War POW's fate told to Pulaski family
PULASKI — After more than 60 years of wondering, the Lindsey family has finally gotten an answer to a question that's always weighed heavily on them: What happened to Freeman?

Freeman Hopkins Lindsey, called Corky by his family and friends, died in a prisoner of war camp in the Chosin Reservoir area of Korea in February 1951, according to military records.

But for all the years since, he was missing in action. Until two weeks ago. Lindsey's surviving family members, including his niece, Dee Ann Lindsey, received a letter from the Department of Defense that Corky Lindsey's remains had been identified.

It took a few hours to sink in for the family that had waited so many years for an answer.

"After a few hours, it hit me," Dee Ann Lindsey said. "I never thought they would identify his remains in my lifetime."

Lindsey was identified using mitochondrial DNA compared to blood samples from his brothers Charles and Robert Lindsey. Dee Ann Lindsey is Charles' daughter. He died in 2004.

Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the co-mingled remains of 200 to 400 United States military service members, according to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, the branch of the U.S. military that identifies remains of service personnel. Corky Lindsey's remains were spread among those boxes and other remains collected in 1997, according to a 200-page report received by the family from the Department of Defense.

At first, Charles and Robert Lindsey were hesitant to give blood for the DNA samples, Dee Ann Lindsey said, because they thought it might be a scam and because it brought up painful memories for the brothers.

"I told them, I don't want him forgotten," she said. "When we're gone, there may be no one left to remember him."

Some families have been wary of giving DNA samples, said Ted Barker, one of the founders of the nonprofit organization the Korean War Project.

"Because a blood sample had to be taken, people were leery, especially when it's for governmental use," Barker said. "For a lot of people, it reopens old wounds."

Barker and his brother Hal started the Korean War Project as a website in 1995, with a goal to self-publish Hal Barker's book, "Return to Heartbreak Ridge." The brothers soon began receiving requests for information. When Dee Ann Lindsey found the Korean War Project in 2000, she asked the Barkers for assistance in the family's search for information about Corky Lindsey.

"They've provided so much help to the family," Dee Ann Lindsey said. "I didn't know anything about the Korean War until I got online and looked it up, and I found the Korean War Project."

Analysis by JPAC determined that Corky Lindsey had died of malnutrition, as was often the case in the prisoner of war camps, Barker said.

"There were a lot of deaths from dysentery and malnutrition around that time," Barker said.

More than 2,000 were taken prisoner in the Korean War, and as of June, there were 7,993 service members unaccounted for, according to the Department of Defense.

Corky Lindsey was declared missing in action Dec. 6, 1950. But in a twist of fate, the family already knew before they were notified by the U.S. Army.

Robert Lindsey, who was 14 in 1950, was watching a newsreel at the time in a theater about the fighting in Korea when he saw his brother being taken prisoner on screen, said Kate Lindsey, Robert Lindsey's widow.

"He had to be taken home by the manager to his mother because he was so upset," she said. "He never got over that."

Because her grandparents, father and uncles are all deceased, Dee Ann Lindsey is Corky Lindsey's next of kin. When he died at 20 years old, he was unmarried and had no children.

Although Dee Ann Lindsey never met her uncle, she said she always knew of him. Her father and uncle rarely talked about him when she was growing up in Pulaski, but when they did, they recalled Corky Lindsey fondly.

"Daddy always said he [Corky] was the best of the brothers," Dee Ann Lindsey said.

Charles Lindsey grew up thinking of his brother, who was two years older, as a role model. The few times he talked about him with his family, Charles Lindsey recounted playing baseball and working in the fields cutting tobacco and sugarcane. They were part of a family of eight brothers, including Elmer Lindsey, who served in World War II, and one sister, and grew up very poor.

"There was a hole in the family, and a sadness," Dee Ann Lindsey said.

She said her father even joined the Army, hoping he would be able to find Corky Lindsey.

Although the brothers grew up farming in Indiana, Charles Lindsey requested that if his brother's remains were ever identified, he be buried with the family in Pulaski.

"We're the kind of family that believes they're together spiritually, but this means they're together physically," Dee Ann Lindsey said.

A service is tentatively planned for Sept. 30 at Seagle Funeral Home in Pulaski and a funeral with full military honors on Oct. 1 at Oakwood Cemetery, according to the family. A family member from North Carolina, Freeman Keith Lindsey-named for his uncle-and a minister, will perform the funeral service.

For the Lindsey family, the service will not only provide closure to a sad piece of family history, but also a way to honor other military veterans, they said.

"This service is for him, but it's also for the veterans who survived, those who died in battle, those who are still missing and those who have yet to be brought home," Dee Ann Lindsey said. "This is not just about him."

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Korean War vet buried in Arlington, 60 years later

From Detroit News, Sept 2, 2011: Korean War vet buried in Arlington, 60 years later
Arlington, Va. — After six decades of mystery, a Detroiter who died during the Korean War was buried here Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery just south of the nation's capital.

Under warm, sunny skies, a chaplain laid 27-year-old Army Cpl. A.V. Scott to rest and presented a flag from the casket to Scott's half-brother Rudy Caldwell.

The mystery of Scott's remains stretched more than six decades from his capture Feb. 12, 1951.

He was delivering supplies to coalition troops east of the South Korean capital of Seoul when Chinese soldiers attacked and captured him.

Scott was forced to march to a prisoner-of-war camp in North Korea, where fellow prisoners said he died in April of that year.

After decades of refusal, North Korea's notoriously secretive authoritarian government returned remains from that camp and other sites throughout the country to the United States between 1991 and 1994. As part of the Department of Defense's efforts to identify returned remains and bury the dead, forensic experts were able to use DNA and dental matches to confirm Scott's remains.

Scott, a native of Canada who moved to Detroit with his mother, Gladys Caldwell, survived a grueling march after his capture in 1951, defense officials have told his family. But he died of exhaustion and dysentery shortly after arriving in a prisoner of war camp.

His family was told he was missing in 1951, and then two years later that he had died. For nearly six decades afterward, no more information was available.

The Pentagon positively identified Scott's remains in June. At the time, Rudy Caldwell, 70, told The Detroit News that learning Scott's fate would have comforted his mother, who died in 1996 without knowing how the serviceman died.

"She didn't talk about him a lot," said Caldwell. "It really bothered her. It tore her apart."

Scott's remains were among hundreds turned over by the North Koreans. More than 2,000 POWs died during the war; nearly 8,000 servicemen remain missing from the conflict.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Korean vets ‘ambassadors for peace’

From Commercial-News.com: Korean vets ‘ambassadors for peace’
DANVILLE — After 60 years, the Republic of Korea government still appreciates the efforts of the Americans who helped restore and preserve its freedom.

Several Korean War veterans in the area have received a medal, a pin and a certificate declaring them “ambassadors for peace.”

The items were distributed this summer during the Illinois convention of Korean War veterans in Springfield. Heechang Woo with the consulate general in Chicago presented Peace Ambassador Medals to representatives of Korean War veterans organizations.

Vermilion County brought about 20 certificates home. Some local veterans had already received the certificates in the past, including those who have gone on trips to revisit South Korea.

For three Army veterans, receiving the medal and other items recently was a thrill.

“It’s the first recognition I’ve had since I’ve been home from Korea,” said Paul Jaynes of Danville, who served in the Army field artillery.

However, he recalled a recent time when he was in public, wearing his Korean War cap, and a young man approached him. “He said ‘I want to thank you for your service,’” Jaynes said.

Robert L. Hart of Fairmount and Raymond Thompson of Oakwood also said they were pleased with the recognition by South Korea.

Ken Cook, a Korean War veteran, received his honor in 1995, at the dedication of the Korean War monument in Washington, D.C. He went on a revisit program to Korea in 1998. In 2000, he represented the United States at the International Federation of Korean War Veterans gathering.

He presented Hart, Jaynes and Thompson with their medals recently at the Korean War memorial on Hazel Street.

David Thornsbrough, president of the local Korean War Veterans Association, also had a limited number of certificates and medals, which he gave to association members.

The honorees included: Hershall Lee, Monroe Melzer, Dennis Turner, Bill Crouch, Bill Steffy, Victor Hix, Gerry Holycross, Harold Bott, Samuel Schlorff, Henry Thornton, Richard Nicoson, Barney Baroff, Frank Hoskins and Warren Thomas.

The men were given a folder with two certificates — one in Korean and one in English. The English one notes the everlasting gratitude of the Republic of Korea and its people for the service provided in restoring and preserving the country’s freedom and democracy. It also states, “We cherish in our hearts the memory of your boundless sacrifices in helping us re-establish our Free Nation.”

It’s signed by the minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the retired general of the ROK Army.

In addition to the certificate, the men received a medal on a colorful ribbon, a small medal and a lapel pin.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Korean War veterans invited on trip

From Lebanon Daily News: Korean War veterans invited on trip

Twenty-four local veterans of the Korean War will join 24 Lebanon County high school students on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Korean War Memorial in Washington Oct. 26, thanks to the Lebanon County Salute to Veterans program.

Any Korean War veteran interested in participating should call Bob Black at 507-8907 or email him at tessnbob@comcast.net.

Each veteran is paired with a student for the day and is encouraged to meet with the student prior to the trip.

The program, which is affiliated with the Richland American Legion, honored World War II veterans last year.

The trip will leave from D.B. Fisher Bus Co., 1715 Grace Ave., North Lebanon Township, at 5:30 a.m. Oct. 26. Included will be a tour of the U.S. Capitol, a stop at Old Ebbitt Grill restaurant near the White House for lunch, and then a visit to the Korean War Memorial. The group will depart Washington at 6:30 p.m. and stop at Old Country Buffet in Laurel, Md., for dinner.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the program can send donations to: Richland American Legion, Attn. Korean War Veterans Trip, 8 W. New St., Richland, PA 17087.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Korea's Separated Families

From Airang.co.uk (Fro Aug 12, 2011): Korea's Separated Families
The Korean War began in 1950 and tore apart the Korean peninsula for three years.

The war caused unbelievable damage and killed thousands, but the most lasting injury was inflicted upon separated families.

[Interview : Yang Mu-jin, Professor
University of North Korean Studies] "Separated families remain a social issue because they are the scars of the Korean War. Separated families are the symbols of division on the Korean peninsula and the scars of war."

After the war, family members who were in the South were able to find each other with the help of personal networks and the media, but those whose family members were lost in the North could not even confirm whether they were alive.

People continued to shed tears over the hopeless situation.

Separated families became part of a sad history.

[Interview : Choi Su-won, Seoul resident
] "You miss your family even if you're apart for just a little while. Family members who are separated must be so sad, and miss each other so much."

Recently, the U.S. announced that it would work with North Korea to reunite separated family members in the two countries.

However, family reunions between the two Koreas are still facing obstacles.

The first inter-Korean family reunions happened not so long ago.

[Interview : Yang Mu-jin, Professor
University of North Korean Studies
] "Discussions of reuniting separated families began during the inter-Korean Red Cross talks in 1971, but at that time the discussions ended after a long debate about the definition of separated families. Then, in 2000, separated families were able to visit each other three or four times a year through the inter-Korean summit talks."

In the late 1990s, South Korea adopted the so-called "sunshine policy," a diplomatic strategy of peace and engagement towards the North.

This diplomacy lead to the historic first reunion on August 15, 2000.

Between then and October 2010, about 2000 members of families separated by the DMZ were able to reunite through 18 meetings and 7 video conferences.

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "My wish was to return to my hometown before I died, but it won't happen."

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "I can't believe this is real. If I can't believe this is real, it probably doesn't feel real for you either, Mother."

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "Please be well. We'll be together again when Korea is reunited."

But not everyone can enjoy this kind of luck. There are still many families separated by the inter-Korean border who are waiting to reunite.

[Interview : Kim Gyeong-jae, Displaced person] "The entire nation became excited while watching separated families reunite. I was excited. The scene on TV stayed vivid in my mind for a few days. I was envious of the families who reunited."

[Interview : Moon Yong-chun, Displaced person] "I miss them so much. It hurts that I can't meet them. I don't even know if they're dead or alive, and that always hurts."

The reunions are granted to those chosen through a lottery. Since the reunions are strictly limited in size, the number of people who are reunited with their families is far less than the number of those waiting.

[Interview : Heo Jeong-gu, Division of Inter-Korean Exchange
Korean Red Cross
] "Currently 127,000 people are registered with the Integrated Information System for Separated Families hoping to be reunited with their family members in the North. Excluding those who have died, the number of applicants still waiting to be reunited is at about 87,500."

Another issue is that the people who were separated in the war are growing older. 80% of registered separated family members are over 70, and every year, 3,000 of these applicants pass away.

There is not much time left.



[Interview : Lee Sang-cheol, Chairman] "Korean Assembly for Reunion of Ten-Million Separated Families Over the last decade, about 48,000 applicants for reunion have passed away, so only about 80,000 applicants remain. The worry is that the remaining applicants are also aging rapidly, so we do not have much time to reunite them with their families."

After the Korean war, a new kind of separated family also came into being - North Korean families separated by defection.

[Interview : Kim Nam-jun, Staff member
Ministry of Public Administration and Security] For North Korean defectors, it's even harder to find their families remaining in the North. In a lot of cases, the families aren't even aware that their family members have defected. Even if the families are found, the revelation of the defectors' identities may put their families in danger.

The government has rolled up its sleeves to help resolve this issue. The South Korean government has pledged to do all that it can to help reunite separated families.

[Interview : Oh Chung-seok, Head of Separated Families Division
Ministry of Unification
] "South Korea passed a law in 2009 making it an official responsibility of the government to help separated families confirm the life or death of their family members in the North, as well as pursue reunion. When inter-Korean relations allow it, we hope to push ahead with reunions at meeting places for separated families."

Technology is also used to help bring families together. Video reunion centers are installed in 5 locations in South Korea and 10 in the North. Those who have had trouble moving around can now meet their families via the Internet.

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "Let me officially say hello."

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "I wouldn't recognize you if I saw you on the street."

However, the fundamental way to ease these families' pain is reunification.

[Interview : Jeong Seung-il, Displaced person] "My wish is to return to my hometown, pay my respects at the graves of my family members there, and meet the rest of my family just once before I die."

There still remain many people in both North and South Korea who spend their days, longing for their loved ones across the border.

We hope for the day when all of these families will be reunited together again, as part of a reunified Korea.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Black Medal of Honor recipients memorialized at revamped park

From the NY Daily News, from Aug 17, 2011: Black Medal of Honor recipients memorialized at revamped park
Leroy Archible stood in his Marine beret before a crowd of servicemen in a picture-perfect park laced with rose bushes, lilies and American flags Tuesday, his voice wavering.

"This is a wonderful day and I'm happy .... It's been a rough road getting here."

The decorated Korean War veteran spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly revamped and renamed Charlton-Thompson Memorial Garden on Cauldwell Ave. in Morrisania.

"We had no money. We had a dream," he said.

That dream was to turn a 60-year-old eyesore named after the only two black Medal of Honor recipients of the Korean War into a fitting tribute.

With the help of fellow veteran Robert Gumbs and city and park officials, that dream was realized.

"What I hope is that we just don't cut a ribbon today," Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said. "That this garden becomes a civic lesson for our children."

Archible, a life-long Bronxite, said he had spent much of his time in the rundown playground, but was unaware of the men behind its name, Sgt. Cornelius Charlton and Pfc. William Thompson, who grew up in the neighborhood.

"Out of 87 African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor, two are from the Bronx," Gumbs said.

On a lush half-acre of oak trees and flowers, a towering flagstaff bears the stories of two hero's valor.

"What a joy to always have uncle Corny with us," said Charlton's niece Zenobia Penn, 60.

For James Thompson, 79, the hero's last living cousin and also a Korean War veteran, the day was "very moving, very, very moving," he said. "It tells me they haven't forgotten."

Charlton's nephew and namesake, Cornelius Charlton, came up from Maryland. He said his family is eternally grateful to Archible and Gumbs.

"We can't thank them enough ... because up until then, I didn't think many people cared that much," Charlton said.