October 24, 2010

On October 27, 1950 only four months after the start of the war when the North Korean Peoples Army attacked South Korea it had suffered defeat and the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched their First Phase Offensive against the II Corp ROK Corp to try and slow down the Eighth Army Offense. It ended on November 2, 1950 six days later. This was the first hint that China had infiltrated North Korea. Eighth Army spirits were high for the rumors said the North Korean People's Army had retreated clear to the Yalu River and the war was won and troops would be going home in December. Many rumors have been started, but not very many are ever true. I have stated before that an Educational Foundation was in the works of being formed. Well that rumor has finally happened. The IRS has determined that the Legacy of the Korean War Foundation has met the requirements and thus a 501(c)3 Foundation has been authorized. It is now ready to function as a separate entity from the KWVA, Inc. and will no doubt be a great help in furnishing educational materials to help publicize the Korean War to the American Public. You can read about it further in this issue of The Graybeards.

Your Board of Directors have a scheduled meeting on October 19, 2010 in Irving, Texas to continue unfinished business not taken care of at its last meeting because of all the 60th Anniversary Commemoration that required attendance by the officials and the membership. The main business that will be taken care of will be to determine when and where our Annual Membership Meetings will be held in 2012 and in 2013. Also the date for the 2011 Annual Meeting in Boston, MA will be set. Approval of Committee Chairmen will be accomplished. A couple of other business matters will be discussed and you will be informed of what took place in the November - December Issue of The Graybeards. Minutes of the Board and Annual Association Membership Meetings held on July 25, 2010 in Washington, DC are also included in the issue.

The President, Ceremonies Chairman, Thomas McHugh, Assistant Marty Goge, my Veterans Day Committee meetings representative, and Chapter 142 Color Guards and some members will be in Washington, DC for the Veterans Day Ceremony at the National Cemetery. A wreath will be laid at the Tomb of the Unknown and a wreath will also be laid at the Korean War Memorial in remembrance of all Korean War Veterans who were POW/MIAs and those who gave their lives for the freedom won for the Korean people and our stopping communism from further aggression in the world by force.

I apologize for giving the wrong date for the POW/MIA day. It was on September 17, but my calendar did not even mention the date and I wrote it in on September 18th by mistake and did not notice it until after the deadline and the magazine was already printed. That sometimes is a problem. Today I am writing for November and December in the first week of September so I am current after the magazine gets to our members in the last part of October.

I am sure the Board of Directors and all of my staff wish you a great Thanksgiving. Did you know on November 25, 1950 the CCF started its Second Phase Offensive and began to crush the II ROK Army and those U.S. Troops in North Korea both in the east and west with hoards of troops. Their Thanksgiving was a bitter one. Also we wish for all to have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Did you know also on December 24, 1950 the Chosin Reservoir Battle ended and on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1950, the CCF began its Third Offensive to capture Seoul. Our Tell America Project people know their history and we are hoping that the new educational foundation will be able to furnish us with posters, videos and pictures to help our Tell America Project show the American Public what the Korean War did accomplish.

Thank you members for all you do in your communities, volunteering in VA hospitals, doing Meals on Wheels and helping veterans who are in need and for the donations many of our members give to help with the Magazine and for showing the world that veterans are strong, brave, patriotic and caring.

William Mac Swain,
KWVA President

I remind all veterans to vote in their State Elections in November for those Candidates who have Veterans Affairs foremost in their thoughts and have shown that they respect what veterans have done for Freedom and Security for their Nation.