August 26, 2014

These are busy times for our Korean veterans all over the country. That’s good. I have heard about several commemorations that were held on or around June 25 and I know many of you took part in July 4th parades. All this is a very good thing and I am proud of all veterans who are part of this exciting time of patriotism in our country.

Starting with the Memorial Day program in Washington D.C. at the end of May, it has been an exciting and eventful time for me also. Along with new KWVA Director Tim Whitmore and Chapter 191 member Ed Brooks, we helped with the wreath laying and remembrance ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery. Tim Whitmore’s article in this issue gives more detail on the interesting experience we had while we were there. I really appreciate the help provided by those two in representing the KWVA as the color guard at the ceremony.

Several chapters in the Chicago area were treated to a nice program and luncheon on June 14 at the Westin Hotel in Wheeling, IL. In all, we had approximately 500 in attendance. Two hundred of them were Korean veterans and their families.

The Sae Eden Presbyterian Church of Seoul and the Korean American Association of Chicago extended a warm welcome to everyone with a small packet that contained the program and a beautiful scarf. A number of South Korean dignitaries were there, including the Pastor of the Seoul church and the Chicago Counsel General. Representatives from the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago were also part of the program.

It was good to see Director and Indiana Department Commander Tine Martin there, along with Illinois State Commander Robert Fitts and many other veterans who enjoyed the occasion. It was my honor to represent all the Korean veterans and provide a response to the Korean community that expressed our appreciation for their generosity and care for the veterans.

On June 25th I was back in Washington D.C. to take part in the Commemoration of the 64th Anniversary of the beginning of the war. The event was held at our Korean War Memorial. I had a great opportunity to spend some time visiting with Ambassador AHN Ho Young and Defense Attaché General Shin at a luncheon at the ROK Embassy after the ceremony. Overall, I think that event accomplished a great deal in helping our veterans in the Virginia and Maryland area get better acquainted with the ROK Embassy leadership.

As this is being written we are in the final planning stages for the commemoration ceremony of the 61st anniversary of the ceasefire. It was held on July 26th at Arlington National Cemetery. After the wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns we had a short program in the amphitheater with the U.S. Postal Service to unveil a new stamp that honors the Korean War Medal of Honor Recipients. Several of the MOH recipients and their families were recognized during the program. Following the ANC program the Korean veterans were honored with a luncheon at the Pentagon Sheraton.

Other items of interest—

Every year after the election, when there are new officers and directors, the President makes new appointments and committee assignments. Go to page 7 of this issue to see a list of the Committee Chairman and Staff Appointments. I am looking forward to working with all of these Korean veterans to lead the KWVA in the next year. We will miss having retiring Directors Lew Ewing, Luther Rice, George Lawhon and Richard Brown on the Board. We thank them for their dedicated service.

JD Randolph, the newly elected 2nd VP, will be in Korea the last week in July to attend a meeting of the International Federation of Korean War Veteran Associations. He will be representing me at an Executive Committee meeting of eight UN countries who will be rewriting the organization by-laws. There has been some concern that many of the veterans who represent these countries are getting too old to travel to these meetings in Korea, but the ROK government has made the decision that they will continue to fund this organization as long as the veterans are physically able.

After the July meeting in Washington D.C., the October membership meeting in Rochester, Minnesota will not be far behind. At this point, registration for the meeting has been a little slow, so I am encouraging all who are able and plan to attend to get your reservations and registration into the Membership Office in Charleston, Illinois as soon as you can. We need a good turnout of members at the meeting to help us consider some significant changes in the management of our organization. I hope to see you there.

One more thing

We have sent out a number of notifications to the various levels of our organization asking them to contact their National Representative and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of H.B. 318. I understand that we now have 57 co-sponsors, but we need far more than that to get it out of committee.

As you know, we are approaching the end of the 113th Congress, which means this bill, along with all others in committees, will be dumped and we will have to start over. Time is of the essence, so I encourage you to follow up with your congressman to help with this effort.

I appreciate the effort you all are doing in recruiting and “Telling America” about what we did 60+ years ago. We have a good story to tell, so keep it up!

Larry Kinard, President
Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. (KWVA/US)