Wednesday, September 19, 2012

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!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

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."



Monday, September 10, 2012

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.

 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Puerto Rican Korean Vet Receives Belated Honors

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

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."
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."

 

Friday, September 7, 2012

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.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Honor flight thanks veterans

From Lincoln Courier:  Honor flight thanks veterans

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.

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

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.”