News-Info-Alerts

Re: The Forgotten War Remembered

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: July 25, 2003

"Veterans of Korean War Withdrawn, Not Forgotten
Weekend Events Focus Attention on Less-Chronicled Conflict


From 1950 to 1953, Army Sgt. 1st Class John C. Peters served in Korea as a platoon sergeant with the 7th Division, 34th Infantry. Peters lost his leg to artillery fire during the war. (Photos Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)

By Monte Reel Washington Post Staff Writer

Richard Gallmeyer's most vivid memory from 50 years ago this weekend has him sitting in a bunker in Korea, keying the microphone on a radio, counting backward from five and saying, "All units, this is Knight 5 -- cease fire! Over."

Gerald Brown can't specifically isolate July 27, 1953, in his memory because he didn't hear about the armistice signed that day until mid-September. For him, July 27 was just another day spent in a prisoner of war camp, sharing the little food he was given with the tapeworm maturing in his gut.

Considered together, the two memories are fairly representative of Korean War veterans largely because they're so different -- talk to any two Korean War veterans, and the range of memories is likely to be vast. Even so, there is a good chance their recollections have one thing in common -- they remained relatively undisturbed within the veterans' heads for years, only recently to be shared with friends.

"I came back, went to school, worked and raised a family," said Brown, 74, of Germantown. "People knew me for years and years and never knew I was in Korea or a POW."

This weekend, however, such memories will be spotlighted in the Washington area as veterans from across the nation gather to swap stories and honor those with whom they served. Celebrations organized by the Defense Department run from today through Sunday: wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, a salute to veterans featuring a lineup of actors and musicians at MCI Center and the Postal Service's unveiling of a commemorative postage stamp.

All of this is designed to encourage the public to remember the so-called Forgotten War, a three-year conflict sandwiched between the more extensively chronicled battles of World War II and the Vietnam War. A lot of veterans say they dislike the nickname that has been attached to their war because of its imprecision: The war was never forgotten, they say; it was simply not discussed that much.

The Korean War "came very shortly after World War II, and I wasn't about to come home and say, 'Wow, I just fought in a big war,' " said Raymond Donnelly, an Arlington resident who spent 10 months on the front lines in 1951 and 1952. "I just kept my mouth shut because a lot of others I knew spent more time in the service than I did. That's what most of us did. We just went on with our lives."

But half a century after the fact, a lot of veterans have been stirred to recollect their days in the trenches, memories that are powering this weekend's events in the Washington area and others across the country.

Gallmeyer, of Virginia Beach, was lying in a hospital bed after surgery eight years ago and his wife showed him a picture of some of the guys from the 3rd Infantry Division's 58th Field Artillery unit, in which he served as a radio operator. He said he got the urge to call some of them to see what had become of their lives. His hunt for veterans expanded into an all-consuming hobby that, as of this week, has led him to personally contact 24,106 Korean War veterans and help organize national reunions.

"There are so many stories out there, and all I want to do is get all these guys to communicate with each other," said Gallmeyer, 72. "It's what keeps me alive."

Donnelly, 75, at a get-together of veterans in Crystal City yesterday, said it took him several decades to embrace the memories. By the early 1990s, he had helped spearhead the drive to put a Korean War Veterans Memorial on the Mall in 1995.

While some veterans bemoan the low profile that the Korean War has beside World War II and the Vietnam War, Donnelly said he is regularly encouraged by what is known about it. He said he was recently seated next to two young girls on an airplane and he mentioned that he was a veteran flying to attend an event connected with the Korean War memorial. They asked him which side he fought on.

"The question threw me back about five feet," he said. "But when I asked what they meant, one of them said, 'Well, there were 22 countries fighting in that war. Which one were you with?' I thought it was marvelous they knew that."

One of the things some people don't realize about the war, some veterans say, is that it never formally ended.

The armistice celebrated this weekend was a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Since 1953, the United States has maintained a heavy military presence near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. The recent tensions that have flared surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons program have highlighted the relevance of the fighting that ended 50 years ago and the conflict that has never stopped simmering.

Some peace groups are highlighting the 50th anniversary of the armistice to urge a peaceful settlement of U.S. disagreements with North Korea. A coalition of activist groups has scheduled a symposium from 3 to 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Wyndham City Center Hotel, 1143 New Hampshire Ave. NW. A cultural festival will follow at the hotel from 7 to 9:30 p.m., and a peace rally will convene at the Ellipse at noon Sunday.

"The whole idea is to press for a peaceful resolution of the Korean crisis and to move toward a peace treaty to finally end the Korean War," said J.T. Tikasi, an organizer with the Committee for Self-Determination and Peace in Korea.

© 2003 The Washington Post Company"