May is one of my favorite months of the
year. This year, with the ample rainfall we
have had in Texas, the wildflowers, especially
the bluebonnets, are in full bloom. The temperatures
have been very mild to cool so far, and it is very invigorating.
Also, May 1 marks the end of my second year as
President of the KWVA. I really never expected to have this position,
but these last two years have been some of the most challenging
and rewarding of my life. I thank all who have worked
with me during this time for your strong support.
It is also time for the Memorial Day Ceremony in the Arlington
National Cemetery when we remember those who made the ultimate
sacrifice for our country. Again, it is one of the very important
ceremonies when KWVA provides a presence at the ceremonies
at both the National Cemetery and our own Memorial.
National Ceremonies Chairman Tim Whitmore and Ed Brooks
will be carrying the colors this year. We have invited Major
General Kyoung Soo Shin, Defense Attaché, and his wife to be
our guests at the ceremonies. He will assist us in placing the
wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and at our Memorial later in
the afternoon.
April was a month with both good and bad news. Bad news
first—two former leaders of the KWVA and a third who was very
active in the Indiana Tell America program—have died. Former
National President Nick Pappas (1994—1998) and former
National Director Luther Rice (2008-2014) passed away on April
2 and April 8 respectively.
James Yaney, who served on the National Tell America
Committee and developed and produced a PBS program on the
Korean War that was popular in the Fort Wayne area for a number
of years, died suddenly on May 3rd. Even though we know that
we are getting to the age where this is a natural event that is happening
more often, I feel these losses very deeply. We will certainly
miss all three of these members.
On the plus side, in April we formed a National KWVA Board
committee that has been charged with advertising and taking
applications from Korean War veteran descendants for several
$2,000 scholarships that will be presented at the July 2015
Membership Meeting in Washington D.C. CEO Jung Hoon Kim
of the American Veterans of Korea Foundation will be giving at
least ten of these scholarships this year to help fund expenses for
advanced education. Lew Ewing, Chairman, along with Narce
Caliva and Les Bishop, will review the applications and name the
recipients at the annual meeting.
Our heartiest congratulations to Paul Cunningham, President
of the new Chapter #327, General John H. Michaelis, in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Sonny Edwards, Membership and
Recruiting Chairman, presented their Charter at their first meeting
on April 1 at the Oak Leaf Manor in Lancaster.
The chapter is off to an enthusiastic and rousing start with over
70 members. Paul and his leadership group are to be commended
for their hard work and very successful beginning. Welcome
aboard, brothers, and I hope to see some of you at our July meeting
in Washington.
I have mentioned a couple times before a June, 2015 event that
was being planned by the American Veterans of Korea Foundation
Chairman Jung Hoon Kim for veterans in the New York area. We
have just learned that it has been cancelled due to complications
with finding a good location in New York City. We will get more
information on his plans for such events later.
We had, what I thought, was a very good and productive Board
of Directors meeting in Washington D.C. on March 27. We
accomplished some good things, especially making plans and getting
ready for the Membership meeting there in July. I ask that
you please review the minutes of that meeting elsewhere in this
issue. Secretary Frank Cohee always does a good job of summarizing
the recorder’s minutes for the benefit of the membership.
The results of this year’s election for Directors have just been
tallied by Donna Burrows, CPA in Arizona, who has been doing
the counting for several years. We now know that three will not be
returning for another term; Luther Dappen, South Dakota (2009-2015), Sal Scarloto, New York (2012-2015), and John “Sonny”
Edwards, Virginia (2012-2015). All three have served the membership
in important Committee Chairman positions and will be
greatly missed. We appreciate their presence and contributions to
the organization over the past few years.
We welcome three new members to the Board and look forward
to having them involved in the management and leadership
of the organization over the next three years. Results of the election
are shown on page 17 of this issue.
In closing, I remind all of you that we need your help in obtaining
co-sponsors for the new H. B. 1475 introduced March 19 by
Rep. Sam Johnson that will permit the addition of a privately
funded Wall of Remembrance to the Korean War Veterans
Memorial. I am firmly behind this project and hope we will be
able to get it out of committee for vote during this congressional
session. It will take action from all of us in contacting your legislators
and asking them to sign on as co-sponsors to make it happen.
WE NEED YOUR HELP IN GETTING THE WORD TO
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!!!
This also reminds me of the ceremony of the “Reading of the
Names of the Fallen” that will take place at our Memorial beginning
at 9 a.m. on July 25 and concluding at 11 a.m. July 27. I think
this will be a very impressive part of the Annual Meeting in
Washington DC this year and hope many of you will make plans
to attend.
Larry Kinard, President
Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. (KWVA/US)