The photo is of the treaty signing table at Panmunjom July 27 1953.
Wayne Warner of Springfield, Missouri, three weeks after he finished basic training at Fort Ord, California.
Today, we pause to reflect and remember the nervously anticipated cessation of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, a process that began in the spring of 1951.
Since that day, there have been many instances of disrespect of the treaty and truce by the DPRK which has caused death and injury to US service personnel, South Korean service personnel, and civilians.
We remember the sacrifices of those who did not come back but performed their duties as part of the first United Nations response to the outbreak of hostilities so long ago. The memories persist.
We were lucky to have our father come back in the summer of 1952. We were aware, as young children, of the circumstances of the war as we were continually surrounded by young men who lived nearby or at local, Californian, military bases. Our neighborhood and community in Orange County, California, was filled with military families.
The mothers, like ours, kept the fear and anxiety at bay with brave faces.
The photo below, taken by Hal Barker, during a trip to Korea, remind us of the result of all the sacrifices to include lingering effects of both physical and mental injuries sustained by women and men who did come back.
We Remember
Operational changes
Our June 25th newsletter described all the background changes the Korean War Project incurred during late March through the 23rd of June.
We had to move services which has taken some getting used to on our end. Specifically, our newsletters will always be going through a commercial service. Learning the new tool has resulted in a few missteps, multiple emails of the same content on the same day. Some of you have not been pleased.
From November of 1998 onward to May 2021 email has been sent by Ted using a combination of local tools; Word, Outlook email, and local databases. As service providers have become more sophisticated and worldwide spam or invasive emails multiplied our newsletters or Pledge Drive email suffered as a result of improved security. Simply, lots of our emails never got delivered.
It has been rewarding to make contact, via the June newsletter, with people who have not heard from us, sometimes for years.
Email sub-sections moving forward:
The June newsletter featured our subscribe/unsubscribe function. More on that in a bit.
Many of our readers have always wanted to have focus sections similar to the BBS and Looking For areas on the website. We have created the ability for anyone, anywhere to join or leave one of these sub-sections where questions will be addressed.
Awards-Records, Post Truce DMZ-Era. Korean War 1950-1953, KIA/DOW/POW-MIA, Korean War Remembrance Book. Plus general topics; Korean War Project, Donor information, Contact Information Updates.
Note: users can always ask to expand or create a new area. We are slowly filling up subscribers to each section. You have to pro-actively subscribe or leave any one or all of these areas.
Republic of Korea Ambassador of Peace Medal
Requests to obtain this popular award are frequent. Similarly, the two Korean Service Medals and the KDSM-Korea Defense Service Medals have preceded this particular award.
Note: some popular ways to connect are through Korean or Korean-American churches, businesses in your area.
Korean War Veterans who served in the Korean War may be eligible for the Korean Ambassador for Peace Medal. This commemorative medal is an expression of appreciation from the Korean government to United States service men and women who served in the Korean War.
The Ambassador for Peace Medal began to be presented to veterans as a special memento for those of who returned to South Korea through the ‘Revisit Program’. The honor has since expanded to veterans who cannot travel the long journey to Korea.
Criteria:
To be eligible, the veterans must have served during the Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. It is also available for the veterans who have participated in UN peacekeeping operations until the end of 1955.
The commemorative medals may be awarded posthumously. However, please understand that the highest priority for presenting the medal is given to veterans who are currently surviving in the United States of America. The next of kin, such as the spouse or descendants may apply for the medal on behalf of a deceased veteran.
In order to apply for this commemorative medal, veterans or their family members have to complete the application form. Veterans need to provide a copy of their DD214 or Discharge papers from Active Duty along with their application form for verification purpose.
Please send your completed application form to the Defense Attaché Office, Embassy of the Republic of Korea or to one of the Republic of Korea Consulates. If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact the Defense Attaché Office at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea or one of the Republic of Korea's consulates located in the United States.
Note: Post Truce Korea (DMZ Era)
A recurring message that Ted Barker gets is from men and women who served after the truce up through current date. The theme is often not wanting to receive the email newsletters since the sender was not in service during the Korean War.
Well over 60% of our correspondents on the website and by email served after July 27, 1953. Everyone is welcome to be part of our extended "family". We have routinely posted information of value for this grouping since our first newsletters.
Book Update: Korean War Project Remembrance 1950-1953
Recap: "The book is the product of 25 years of research into the women and men who perished during the Korean War while serving in USA forces. It is 528 pages, library quality, stitched binding, hard cover. 500 copies for the first printing."
"Comparisons with all the legacy DOD data files as well as hundreds of documents sent by our website visitors led us to correct, emend, add or remove names. Thousands of our visitors have sent in corrections with documents when needed."
"We have added over 525 women and men who were not on any US DOD listings in the past."
If you are interested in the book and/or wish to reserve a copy prior to our announcing delivery of the books to our doorstep, let Ted know by email, call or letter. We have had 160 reservations so far, through today.
Our publisher relayed that the pages have been printed and now at the bindery. A backlog at the bindery will delay delivery of the shipment to our location. We now anticipate late August to early September 2021 before orders can be fulfilled.
We are waiting on final cost/delivery to see how much the book weighs. Purchase price will be $50.00 US plus shipping. Shipping is the one item still being researched. It appears that USPS Media Mail will be the first choice. Orders can be shipped with accelerated delivery methods, if desired.
We shall be packing and shipping from our garage, a personal touch. See the blue link for full details: Korean War Project Remembrance 1950 - 1953 - Hardback Book
Let your friends and local library or schools know of the book. Have them contact us right here.
Books-Films | Reunions
We shall continue to feature published books, films or videos, or upcoming projects on the website, Facebook, Twitter, and here, in the newsletters.
There are still reunion associations for Korean War era units. Most have ceased operations, however. Please advise us so that we can update and/or add groups and reunions.
Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Subscribing and Unsubscribing to our email delivered content has been hit or miss in the past. Everyone that will receive this email has consented in the past to getting copies of our email.
If we have missed any message from you to leave our list or pause delivery, this new delivery system will make sure there is no further contact for group email. Regular email, phone, or letters will always be available.
Those who choose to "unsubscribe" will not get any more group email from us. The process is now automated. If you have sent us "unsubscribe" in the past, our apologies, we did not get the notice.
Everyone may still continue to communicate with us by direct email, phone, or letter.
If you have questions, let us know immediately.
As always, if you wish to not receive group emails, use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page.
Best regards,
Hal Barker, Director
hbarker@kwp.org
(214) 320-0342 | main
Ted Barker, Admin
tbarker@kwp.org
(214) 320-0342
Korean War Project
About the Korean War Project
9191 Garland Rd Apt 1126, Dallas
Texas 75218 United States
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