Welcome to the
year 2014. I am
looking forward to a
great year and some
very positive things to
be happening to the KWVA as we continue
with the momentum established with a
very successful 2013. My hope and wish
for 2014 for all our Korean War veterans,
because we are becoming of the age
where our well being is uppermost in our
minds, is that we all have a HEALTHY as
well as a Happy New Year.
I know that traditionally at this time of
the year it is appropriate to look back at
last year on how things went and to think
about what will be happening in the coming
year. 2013 was one of the very best
for KWVA so far as recognition and
appreciation are concerned. From the
float in the Rose Parade in January to the
60th Commemoration Event in July, the
year of the Korean War veteran was touted
across the country. Of course, most of
this came with the support of the DOD
60th Anniversary Committee, but never
before have Korean War veterans been so
publicized to the people of the United
States.
We experienced a minor disruption in
May with the change in the KWVA’s presidential
leadership, but that is in the past,
and our relationships with the U. S. and
South Korean governments and other
VSOs are as solid as ever. My 5 trips to
Washington D. C. and the 2 trips to South
Korea helped soothe some of the concerns
that existed during that time.
One of our biggest disappointments
has been the failure to get another bill in
the U. S. Congress to set aside the IRS
limitation on membership of Korean
Defense veterans in the KWVA.
Congressional problems with the
Sequester and the IRS scandal took precedence
over providing us access to the
Ways and Means Committee, which normally
handles such legislation. We will
continue working on this problem in the
coming year.
We look forward to a Board Meeting in
March in Irving, Texas with a full agenda,
a major event in July in Washington D. C.
with attendance of several South Korean
dignitaries, and the annual membership
meeting in Rochester, Minnesota in
October. More information on all of this
will follow in later issues of The
Graybeards.
Membership and recruiting are the
keys to a successful organization and will
be high on our priority list in 2014. On
page 16, our Membership Committee
Chairman, Tom Stevens, has provided a
good summary of committee activities
during 2013. He touches on individual
goals for our chapters. I encourage all of
you to read his article carefully.
Besides Tom Stevens we have a number
of members on our team who are
working hard to build membership.
People such as Sonny Edwards, National
Director and Recruiting Chairman, Steve
Szekely of Ohio, Mike Glazzy of
California, and Dave Barrett of Florida
are working diligently to bring in new
members. I know that many chapters have
this as one their top priorities and I hope
each of you has appointed a Membership
and Recruiting Committee charged with
actively getting the word out about our
organization.
National statistics indicate that we still
have over two million living Korean War
veterans in this country; I am afraid that
many of them are still not aware that
KWVA exists.
Over the last couple years we have
successfully cleansed the rolls to make
sure of our actual membership. In 2012
and 2013 combined we added 1,949 new
members, which is a good indication that
we have the capability of attracting the
veterans if they are aware that we exist.
The sad part is that over the same two-year
period we reported 3,363 member
deaths. Many of the deceased were Life
members who had died and we didn’t
know about until we did a lot of research.
The bottom line is that we need support
of all members in getting your
friends and relatives, including the
Korean Defense veterans, to become a
part of our organization. We solicit ideas
and suggestions on how we can do a better
job in this area and encourage you to
get in touch with Sonny Edwards or Tom
Stevens if you think you have something
to contribute to this effort.
In one of my earlier letters last year I
mentioned that during the meeting of the
International Federation of Korean War
Veterans in Seoul last June that the
KWVA in the United Kingdom had decided
to disband because the membership
was declining and everyone was getting
too old to continue. This decision was
made apparently by the then Chairman of
the organization and not the membership.
We are pleased that a large group of
Korean veterans there has reorganized
under the name of British Korean War
Veterans Association under new leadership,
which feels very positive about continuing
on.
Our National Liaison in Washington
D.C., Warren Wiedhahn, and I have been
in touch with them offering help and
encouragement. (See the letter on page 7.)
I think it would be appropriate for any of
you who are interested to send an email or
other communication to Mr. Terry Price,
National Secretary BKWVA, bkwva1@gmail.com, to do the same.
Another brief word is in order about
the “Korean Reborn” books that have
been shipped out to the various distribution
points across the country. This was
done by a contractor hired by the book
publisher. We had nothing to do with it
but to help with notification of the locations
in the states where the books were sent. That list is still on the website and
has been updated twice due to changes.
These very professional looking books are
intended primarily for Korean veterans to
keep and place in appropriate places
where our story needs to be told. I encourage
the State Departments and Chapters
to do your best to see that your members
get one of these books.
Several members have expressed
interest in obtaining more medals like the
ones given out during the big event in
July in Washington DC. The DOD
Commemoration Committee had told us
about the Korea Reborn books and also
indicated that they would receive a large
supply of the medals. I just recently
talked with Barbara Foelber, the lone
employee left in the committee office.
She tells me those have not been received
and she probably will not get them.
I am sure most of you felt a certain
amount of kinship and concern, as I did,
when the story of 85-year-old Korean
War veteran Merrill Newman, who was
being held in North Korea, hit the news
in December. We received several emails
about the story wanting us to do something
about getting him home. He is not a
member of our organization, and even if
he were we could not have helped him
very much.
The U.S. government has no diplomatic
relationship with North Korea.
Therefore, except for Dennis Rodman,
we cannot communicate with them
directly. We did write a letter to our State
Department notifying them of our interest
and offering to help in any way we
could. Personally, I was very relieved
when he was released in time to be home
on Christmas.
In this issue you will find resumes and
a ballot for this year’s election of
Officers and Directors. They have all
been vetted and are qualified to run for
the offices they are seeking. Once again,
I encourage you to study the candidates
carefully, make your selections, and send
in your completed ballots and encourage
others to do as well. I would like to see a
huge increase in the returned ballots this
year.
Larry Kinard, President
Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. (KWVA/US)