Discovery of Korean War letters prompts search

From Star Advertiser:  Discovery of Korean War letters prompts search

WATERBURY, Conn. » The letters, written in pencil in the uncertain half-cursive of a 25-year-old soldier, sat on a bookshelf in a New Britain home for 59 years.

After Nicholas DeSimone Jr. was declared missing following a July 13, 1953, battle in the Korean War, someone tucked the two dozen letters he wrote to his family in a safe spot. Later, the letters would be joined by posthumously awarded medals and updates from the military on recovery efforts for the remains of those presumed killed in action.

Lana Ogrodnik of Waterbury, DeSimone's niece, stumbled upon the letters while cleaning the home where Nicky grew up and where her parents now live. Outside, next to the American flag, waves a black POW/MIA flag.

Ogrodnik's mother was pregnant with her when Nicky went missing. (Ogrodnik's father, Fred DeSimone, is Nicky's older brother.)

"So Mary is going to have a baby, it about time she has a boy," Nicky wrote in a letter dated July 12, 1953, a day before the battle in which many think he died. "I think I will be home by the time she has the baby."

The simplicity of his missives, with misspellings and poor grammar, touched Ogrodnik. She grew up hearing about her uncle's easygoing nature, but the letters, mostly written to his mother — who had a nervous breakdown when her fourth child was declared missing — brought him to life. Nicky was a corporal in Company C, 461st Infantry Battalion (Heavy Mortar).

His letters mention training in California — and a wish to have stayed and "made a love picture with Marilyn Monroe" — and a rough ride on a ship to Japan, followed by a nondescript train ride to Korea. The letters, and a black-bound photo album of snapshots, are all Nicky's family have of him. They still hope some piece of him will be found in North Korea, something they can bury beneath his military plaque in a New Britain cemetery.

They are not alone. More than 7,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, according to the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO. By comparison, there are 73,000 missing from World War II.

Ogrodnik and her sister, Linda Beder of Ohio, do what they can to find information about their uncle. Beder trolls websites run by veterans and sends letters to those who might have known Nicky. She found one man who remembered him, but offered scant details.

"He was always talked about and always there ... and I think when someone is missing like that, they loom larger than if they had lived," said Beder, who was a toddler when her uncle went missing. "I grew up with him as part of my life, even though I never had a relationship with him."

The sisters especially want to find answers for the sake of their father, Fred DeSimone, now 85. DeSimone described Nicky as a "good brother." Shortly before Nicky was drafted into the service, he built a cottage in East Hampton.

"He'd buy new furniture for the place and give it to us, and take the old stuff for himself," DeSimone said of Nicky, who stopped school after 8th grade. "He was a go-getter. He had a brand-new car and worked in construction."

Thinking of the day he drove Nicky to the train station en route to basic training, DeSimone said, "I knew I'd never see him again. ... I just got that feeling and I had tears in my eyes. But Nicky wasn't scared to go. He was a good-luck guy and that's one of the reasons he got killed. He volunteered for extra duty so he could get extra points."

DeSimone is referring to the few details available about what were likely Nicky's final moments in the Battle of Kumsong Salient. Chinese Communist forces launched their largest offensive in the final two years of the war, which had evolved into trench warfare similar to World War I. The North Koreans and Chinese outnumbered the American, South Korean and United Nations forces. Nicky's company was providing fire support to South Korean units. He and two others were dispatched to the front lines to find enemy targets and call in the coordinates.

On the evening of July 13, Department of Defense documents state, "An overwhelming number of Communist Chinese attacked the South Korean positions, including the post where Cpl. DeSimone was stationed. ... The wave couldn't be stopped, and ... with complete disregard for his own safety and rather than surrender, Cpl. DeSimone radioed in his own coordinates and called the artillery and mortar fire down on his own post and all the Chinese troops surrounding it."

A letter to Nicky's parents from a soldier who was with him offered more details:

"We were all in the bunker when the Chinese overran our position. The last I know of Nick when he told me he was hit. I don't know because it was dark. An hour later the Chinese came ... Nick was laying there. I don't know for sure if he was dead, but if he wasn't dead, they would have been taken prisoner with me. After I was repatriated, I inquired about Nick and Lt. Cox and all they told me that they were still missing. I honestly believe both Lt. Cox and Nick are dead, but I hope and pray for a miracle."

The offensive lasted one week. Communist forces drove the Allied line south six miles, but that gain came with a heavy price with 28,000 Communist soldiers killed. The large loss, historians say, helped spur the acceptance of peace accords one week later.

A year after the battle, DPMO sent the DeSimone family a letter that said because "none of the 4,400 repatriated American POWs — including one of Cpl. DeSimone's comrades who had been captured in the same combat where Cpl. DeSimone was lost — had ever seen him in enemy hands, a legal presumptive finding of death was filed on 14 July 1954."

Nicky was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with a "V," for valor, and a Purple Heart.

Despite evidence to the contrary, some members of his family chose to believe he had gotten away somehow, that he met a nice girl and started a family in Korea orChina.

"For years, I think they held out hope that he would walk through the door," Ogrodnik said of her family.

Instead, Nicky, wearing HIS military uniform, smiles from a sepia-toned portrait that hangs in the DeSimone living room.

"I think about how young he was and how he had his whole life ahead of him," Ogrodnik said.

Especially poignant is a letter to Nicky from Ogrodnik's mother. It was dated July 26, 1953, and returned to sender: "Dearest Nicky! Just a few lines to let you know we just heard the wonderful news about the Korean Peace treaty. It came over a special news broadcast. I cried like a baby and am so glad for your sake. I hope you get home a lot sooner now."

Fred DeSimone doesn't remember how his family learned Nicky was missing — if it was via telegram or if someone came to the house. But he knows his mother, who regularly sent her son packages of Italian cookies and dried sausage, "went berserk ... Nicky was her baby and they were very close," he said.

Nicky's letters almost always downplayed hardships and expressed concern for his family. In one, dated June 2, 1953, he talked about winning $800 playing cards. He sent half of the money home and gave the other half to a sergeant traveling to Japan to buy Nicky's mother nice china.

"If you need any money, take all you want and buy dad something for his birthday," Nicky scribbled. "The only thing you do for me to make things more pleasant for me is to not worry about me ok mom and tell dad to."

Nearly six decades later, the special china from Japan is stashed away, but memories and hopes about the son who sent them linger.

"Intellectually, you know that even if we found a bone fragment, we'd be lucky. Emotionally, there is never that closure," Beder said. "For my father, I would like to see remains found. No one is at peace because he's not really home."

 

2nd Big Sky Honor Flight brings sobs, solemnity

From Billings Gazette: 2nd Big Sky Honor Flight brings sobs, solemnity

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Only three strides into the vast Korean War Veterans Memorial on Sunday, Warren Dexter halted, convulsing with emotion.

His son, Russell, steadied him with a firm embrace and whispered words of reassurance.

Dexter didn’t walk another 10 feet before dissolving into tears. Seeing the “Ghost Platoon” reminded him of being with his comrades in the Korean War, and he relived it as though it were yesterday.

After serving in World War II, Dexter remained in the Naval Reserves. In 1950, when the Korean War began, he was called to active duty. He served aboard the USS Curtis, the USS Pine Island and the USS Salsbury Sound.

At the memorial, he hunted for the name of one of his fallen comrades.

“We lost some of the men who didn’t come back,” he said.

Unlike the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial does not have the names of each fallen soldier etched into the monument.

Nevertheless, Dexter continued the search.

“I can remember trying to get them out of the water,” he said, starting to heave with sobs. “One was dead. I was trying to pull them out, and I slipped and fell. I want to see if his name is there.”

The unit had been returning from patrol in North Korea when an engine went out and they crashed.

“I couldn’t get it right,” Dexter said. “I’ll never forget that as long as I live.”

His shoulders heaved as he sobbed. He did not speak again.

His were the signature emotions of the day: sobs and silence.

Dexter, 87, was one of 87 veterans who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sunday as part of the second tour of the Big Sky Honor Flight of Montana. The group was to spend 1 ½ days in the nation’s capital visiting some of the nation’s most spectacular monuments that pay homage to men and women of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The group spent about 90 minutes on an emotional roller-coaster tour of the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Len Bestrom, 85, of Laurel, served in World War II and the Korean War. He made his way around the three memorials. As he stood dwarfed by the Lincoln Memorial, he had only two words: “It’s super.”

He was still overcome by the welcome at Dulles International Airport, where U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a member of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee, greeted each veteran and shook each of their hands.

“The welcome made my eyes start to sweat,” Bestrom said. “It was unbelievable.”

Laurence Shipp, 90, of Miles City, eyed the Lincoln Memorial and was nearly speechless. “It’s outstanding. Unbelievable.”

As the afternoon wound down, Bill Skorupa, 89, of Bridger, toured the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and caressed the names etched into the granite.

“I don’t think the war should have ever been fought,” he said, shaking his head. "It was a mistake. The war was a waste.”

The sun had not yet set on the day and Yellowstone County Commissioner Bill Kennedy, who serves as vice president of the Big Sky Honor Flight Committee, said plans are under way for flights in April, May and June of 2013. Each trip will cost about $155,000 and will be paid for entirely with donations.

Kennedy said he hopes to have all the money raised by Jan. 1. Time is of the essence, he said. Many of those who would have been eligible have either died or are now too ill to travel.

“I really do feel if we’re going to do justice to their service and get them on Honor Flight, we’re going to have to step it up,” Kennedy said.

Korean war vets want to embrace all who served

From Daytona Beach News Journal: Korean war vets want to embrace all who served

PORT ORANGE — As young soldiers, Bob McGuire and Bob Hawes were strangers on Triangle Hill, fighting to survive one of the bloodiest battles of the Korean War.

All these years later, the two men are fellow Port Orange chapter members in the Korean War Veterans Association, a national group currently made up mostly of men in their late 70s and older.

Their mission now involves a different kind of survival.

"We're afraid the organization will die off with us. I left there in '53 at 19. I'm 78 now. I'm about as young as you can be to be a member," said McGuire, vice president of the state organization. "But the chaos continues to go on. We still have people getting shot and dying. It's just not reported."

For that reason, the Port Orange chapter has expanded its membership eligibility and is seeking veterans who served in Korea since the official armistice date of July 27, 1953. It's a position McGuire said was in the original bylaws but that "no one paid attention to" for decades.

The national group's more inclusive membership requirements online stipulate that: "If you have EVER honorably served in Korea as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, or served outside of Korea June 25, 1950 to Jan. 31, 1955, you qualify."

But McGuire estimates that 90 percent of the chapters nationwide still are hesitant in embracing the concept of expanding the ranks to include younger veterans that later followed in Korea. It's partly because of the stubbornness of some combat veterans who fought and survived brutal battles such as Triangle Hill, where 374 Americans were killed and 1,074 were wounded.

"But if we don't wake up and get others to join, we'll be gone in 10 years," McGuire said of the veterans organization that has about 30,000 members. He planned on making that argument at the state's annual meeting in Altamonte Springs on Saturday. "We want these young guys to carry on."

Like McGuire, Hawes, 79, said that Korean War combat soldiers, given their advanced age, should be more open-minded.

"Otherwise, those memories will be lost if we don't get more in the organization who were not in the war," said Hawes, who carried ammunition up Triangle Hill and dead and wounded soldiers back down.

He added: "Technically speaking, the war's still going on. Thousands of troops remain there. There's only a cessation of the fighting. Korean vets and Korean War vets should be united. There should be no distinction."

Al Staples, 60, of Port Orange is the youngest member of the local Korean War Veterans Association chapter — an offshoot group of about 40 that's affiliated with the Port Orange VFW post off Williamson Boulevard. Staples served in the Army in Korea in 1970-71, providing United Nations security as a military policeman.

"A lot of people don't realize we lose military people every year in Korea. It's just not mentioned," he said of unreported raids and firefights across the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. "I knew someone who got shot at the DMZ. I was pretty fortunate."

Staples, past commander of the VFW post, said he is glad the Korean War Veterans Association is opening up membership to others who served in the country, long after the official fighting stopped.

"To me, it's not essentially the Korean War vets, it's all the vets who served, no matter when they served," he said.

Ed Stepnowski, 82, of South Daytona, a combat-intelligence soldier, favors adding younger recruits to the association, given "the war was never declared over."

"A treaty was signed. But it just stopped the active fighting," he said. "The Korean War vets, just like the World War II vets, are dying off. We need younger veterans to preserve this (association and history), to keep it going until this is finally settled between North and South Korea."

Posts resume Sept 24 2012

My mom, who is 75, wants to go up to teeny tiny town near Rapid City, to see her sister, who is 80. They live in a house in the boonies and have no internet.

I'll be back online on Monday the 24th and promise not to miss another day.

Please bear with me, your patience is appreciated!

WV: Ceremony honors state's Korean War veterans

From Saturday Gazette Mail: Ceremony honors state's Korean War veterans

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Robert Wilmoth said he had to re-read it three times when he first saw that a day of honor was being held for Korean War veterans in Charleston.
"I just couldn't believe it," said Wilmoth, who served in the war in 1950, when he was 17. "I'm happy they're finally acknowledging it was a war. We have truly been forgotten."
Wilmoth, of Ivydale, disarmed enemy mines and worked with demolition warfare techniques during the war.
"It was hell on earth," said Wilmoth, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"When he came back home, no one was there to even shake his hand or thank him," said Wilmoth's wife, Lucille. "No one recognized what they did for our country."
U.S. Navy Cmdr. John O'Brien traveled from the Pentagon on Saturday to honor West Virginia's Korean War veterans with an array of the state's military personnel during a ceremony at the war memorial at the State Capitol Complex.
O'Brien travels the country with the Department of Defense's 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee to ensure that people like Wilmoth are rightfully recognized.
"We will work tirelessly to make sure the American people never forget your courage and heroism and your continued selfless sacrifices," O'Brien told the audience of veterans outside the war memorial. "'The forgotten victory is truly one worth remembering.'"
Saturday marked the 62nd anniversary of the United Nations' 1950 amphibious invasion of South Korea at the port city of Inchon -- a turning point in the Korean War.
Since June 25, 1950, when North Korean communists invaded democratic South Korea, the North had overrun the South's capital city of Seoul and had pushed overwhelmed South Korean and U.N. troops southward toward the city of Pusan, South Korea's largest port. By August and September, reinforcements were arriving at that port inside the "Pusan Perimeter," and the forces facing the North were growing stronger.
To end the North's weeks-long assault on Pusan, U.N. forces under the command of U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur, swept around North Korean troops by sea and landed in their rear, at Inchon, more than 100 miles north of Pusan. Within two weeks, Seoul had been recaptured, U.N. forces had broken out of the Pusan Perimeter and were advancing northward, and the North Korean invasion of the South was effectively halted.
More than 100,000 West Virginians served in the Korean War, and 1,400 were killed in action, said Keith Gwinn, Cabinet secretary of the state Department of Veterans Assistance.
"Sometimes, as history passes, we forget how we got here today. Sixty years have gone by, but we want future generations of West Virginians to always remember what you've done for them," Gwinn said. "People say we should move on -- I don't think so."
Veterans were presented with certificates of appreciation at the event, which was organized by the West Virginia National Guard and other groups.
"What strikes me most about Korean War veterans isn't just the significance of their actions in a foreign land, but their actions when they returned home to a country struck with depression," said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of West Virginia. "They maintained their faith in a nation that failed to recognize them."
Hoyer said that since al-Qaida terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Korean veterans have always been there to see off soldiers overseas and welcome them home.
"There has never been a single event that these Korean vets haven't been there," he said. "When I asked them why they were so dedicated, they said without hesitation, they didn't want them to go through what they went through when they came home years ago."

Remains of soldier killed during Korean War finally buried in hometown of St. Cloud

From The Republic:  Remains of soldier killed during Korean War finally buried in hometown of St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The remains of a soldier killed more than 60 years ago during the Korean War have finally been buried in his hometown of St. Cloud.
Francis John "Fuzzy" Reimer had just turned 18 when his unit was surrounded by Chinese soldiers in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in December 1950.
The family got a letter in January 1951 telling them the corporal was missing. Three years later they were informed he was officially declared dead.
This summer, Reimer's sister found out that DNA samples submitted 11 years ago by family members had been matched to remains returned to the U.S. military.
Reimer's remains were buried Saturday with full military honors.
His older brother, Jim Reimer, tells the St. Cloud Times (http://on.sctimes.com/QvexPH ) that he never gave up hope.

 

Puerto Rican Korean Vet Receives Belated Honors

From Fox News Latino:  Puerto Rican Korean Vet Receives Belated Honors

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –  A Puerto Rican retiree who served in some of the bloodiest battles of the Korean War received a belated appreciation Friday from the U.S. military, receiving one of the Army's highest service medals as part of an effort to find and honor surviving veterans of the conflict before it is too late.
Luis Ramos was presented with a Bronze Star for serving as a radioman, a highly vulnerable job that required him to be in the thick of combat, as the Puerto Rico-based 65th Infantry Regiment fought Chinese and North Korean troops from 1950 until the conflict came to a stalemate in 1953.
Ramos, now 89 and living with his wife in Coral Springs, Florida, was pleased with the recognition despite the delay, which is not that uncommon among veterans of the Korean War, in which more than 36,000 U.S. military personnel died.
"I feel very proud, and very glad," Ramos told The Associated Press after the ceremony at a monument to the 65th Infantry in San Juan. "This is a great moment for me."

SUMMARY

The ceremony was held not just to honor Ramos but also to celebrate the 65th Infantry, known as the Borinqueneers, and to help commemorate the Korean War. The U.S. began a three-year commemoration of the conflict in the summer of 2010, the 60th year anniversary of the war's start.

The 65th Infantry, which during the Korean War was made up mostly of Puerto Ricans who had to contend with discrimination as well as enemy fire, received hundreds of medals for valor. One soldier, Pfc. Luis Fernando Garcia from the small island town of Utuado, received a posthumous Medal of Honor, the highest commendation of all.
Somehow Ramos, who also served in World War II and went on to have a career in the U.S. Postal Service, never received his Bronze Star or several other commendations.
One of his five children, Luis Ramos Jr., said his father felt he and other veterans of the Korean War had been forgotten. The son wrote the Defense Department and they offered to correct the oversight.
"It was a tough war. He was close to getting killed many times," said the younger Ramos, a software engineer who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. "Then they come home and are completely ignored ... He's not going to be around much more and it really bothered me."
There are apparently many other military veterans like Ramos who left the service without their due recognition. The U.S. has held ceremonies like the one Friday in San Juan in 32 states over the past two years, said Army Col. David J. Clark, director of the Defense Department's 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee.
The ceremony was held not just to honor Ramos but also to celebrate the 65th Infantry, known as the Borinqueneers, and to help commemorate the Korean War. The U.S. began a three-year commemoration of the conflict in the summer of 2010, the 60th year anniversary of the war's start.
In part, Clark said, the missed medals reflected a desire among many people at the end of the conflict to move on. The U.S. was tired of war after having just made it through World War II, too. "Americans were just ready to turn the page at that point in time," he said.
There are an estimated 500,000 Korean War veterans still alive, with a median age of 80, and time is running out to find more who should receive overdue honors.
"A lot of these guys won't be around for the next commemoration," Clark said. "So as a nation, this is really our last chance to say thank you for what they did."

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/community/2012/09/08/puerto-rican-korean-vet-receives-belated-honors/#ixzz25zukBT1o

 

Regional military reunion

From Citrus Daily: Regional military reunion 

All military veterans in Citrus County and elsewhere are invited to a regional reunion that will feature the Vietnam Traveling Wall, Florida Purple Heart Memorial, Korean War Memorial and Moving Tribute.
Sponsored by the American Legion Herbert Surber Post 225 in Floral City. The event will be held from Oct. 14 to 21 just off U.S. 19 (west side) in Red Level, seven miles north of Crystal River.
Admission and parking are free. There will be live music, a WW II and Windtalkers display and a Native American Sacred Smoke Ceremony.
Public and private school children groups can arrange for free guided tours of the displays.
Veterans organizations, military, commercial and other vendors are invited to participate. The deadline is Sept. 30.
The event is a fundraiser for American Legion Post 225’s building fund. Sponsorships, donations and new members are welcome.
The Vietnam Wall and the other memorials will be escorted from the Citrus County Fairgrounds in Inverness to the reunion site on Oct.14. Motorcycles and all other vehicles are invited to participate.
Veterans organizations, military, commercial and other vendors are invited to participate. The deadline is Sept. 30. For vendor applications and cost details, contact Richard Mass at richardmass@tampabay.rr.com. For other information visit www.NatureCoastVeteransReunion.org.
The event is a fundraiser for American Legion Post 225’s building fund. Sponsorships, donations and new members are welcome.
The Vietnam Wall and the other memorials will be escorted from the Citrus County Fairgrounds in Inverness to the reunion site on Oct.14. Motorcycles and all other vehicles are invited to participate. Event contact persons: Richard Hunt (407) 579-6190, Tom Gallagher (352) 860-1629, Lee Helscel (352) 238-5692 and Richard Mass (352) 697-1488.

Honor flight thanks veterans

From Lincoln Courier:  Honor flight thanks veterans

LINCOLN —

More than 90 World War II and Korean War veterans boarded a plane in Springfield Tuesday for a special trip to Washington D.C. to thank them for their service.

Among them are Logan County residents Herbert Mitchell of Lincoln, David McGraw of Emden and Leonard Krusemark of Emden, all Korean War veterans.

One of the Korean War era veterans was Richard Shive, 80, of Wood River who served in the Army. His daughter, Tammy Whitley of Benld, said her father was looking forward to the trip.

“He felt very honored to go,” Whitley said.

The Honor Flight program provides veterans who apply a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit national memorials. Groups visit the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the National Air and Space Museum and other sites.

Whitley said her father was in Washington D.C. in 1976, but that was before the Korean War Veterans Memorial was built.

Over the years, he rarely talked about the war.

“He came home, settled down and raised three daughters,” Whitley said.

Ray Wiedle, a former Chatham resident who now lives in St. Ann, Mo., is chairman of Land of Lincoln Honor Flights. He said the airport was packed when the previous flight returned in June.

“The veterans…had to go down to the baggage claim area to get past the crowd that was there. It’s very emotional for them. They really enjoy having the people there to welcome them home.”

Since its inception in 2009, Land of Lincoln Honor Flight has taken more than 1,175 veterans to Washington D.C.

The next flight is scheduled for Oct. 16. It’s fully booked, and is the last scheduled flight of the year.

Flights for 2013 haven’t been scheduled.

Wiedle expects that some time next year, the group will start taking Vietnam era veterans on honor flights.

More information on honor flights is available at landoflincolnhonorflight.org.

 

Muscatine man wants to hear veterans' stories, and he wants others to hear them too

From Muscatine Journal: Muscatine man wants to hear veterans' stories, and he wants others to hear them too

MUSCATINE, Iowa — When he was a student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Todd Poci took a World War II history class that included listening once each week to a firsthand account from a member of  what has since been called “The Greatest Generation” — the veterans who defeated Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito.
“We studied the war, of course, but once a week a veteran would share the humanity behind the data,” Poci said. “I especially remember the man who survived the Bataan Death March and was a POW and slave laborer in Japan.
“When he told his story, it was as if it had happened yesterday. Our professor wanted to preserve what their sacrifice meant.”
Now that he runs Muscatine’s Senior Resources, Poci finds himself in a good position to carry on his professor’s work.
Poci, 41, said Senior Resources’ Veterans Oral History Project, set to kick off after the nation’s  Sept. 11 observance next week, will allow veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars to record their experiences for all of posterity.
“They believed in freedom, and they took action,” he said.
Poci plans to do the interviews himself in a question-and-answer format. He’ll videotape and edit each interview, removing dead time or segments that the veteran would, on second thought, rather not share, then post each interview on the Senior Resources’ website, www.muscatineseniorresources.com.
“I imagine it will be painful for some veterans,” said Poci, who himself never served in the military but whose father was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. “But their stories will make their service more meaningful to a lot of
people, and put the humanity to their sacrifice.
“I’m sure we’ll see people who even after all those years still have emotions” while telling their personal accounts.
Typical questions Poci plans to ask include:
n What led you to enlist?
n Share your experiences of fighting/combat
n What were your experiences after the war? How did society receive you?
“World War II veterans returned home to ticker tape parades, and Vietnam veterans were met with protest. Korean veterans were largely forgotten,” Poci said. “I find that reintegration (process) interesting.”
Poci said the three wars were selected because they include the population Senior Resources serves.
The Veterans Oral History Project dovetails with Senior Resources’ mission of decreasing feelings of isolation among Muscatine County residents age 60 and above, Poci said. While veterans usually get their physical needs met as they age, often their psychological needs go unmet.
“Everything around us, they contributed to,” he said. “They helped build all this.”
The Veterans Oral History Project will give people a fresh way to learn more about history, he predicted.
“You can read about the Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s last stand, or the Battle of Midway, which drove a nail into Japan’s coffin. But these interviews will help put us right in the story and relate to it better.”