The Graybeards - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

ve Partner Events
ernational Commemoration Event in Michigan
cottish Highlanders Pipes and Drums from
to open the event. Members of the Windsor
ic for the event.
A Korean War veteran receives his Freedom Medallion during the Great Lakes Regional Korean War
Commemoration Ceremony in Warren, Mich., March 22.
form during the ceremony
At right, Morris Allen receives the
Republic of Korea – Korean War
Service Medal from Ryang Hong on
behalf of all U.S. Army service members
who served during the Korean
War. Morris traveled to the commemoration
event from Illinois. Other veterans
traveled from Michigan, Ohio and
Indiana. Veterans from the Canadian
military also traveled to Warren, Mich.
for the ceremony.
old, “we are still good looking” and
“our eyes sparkle with pride. “We
fought like hell to do the job and we
are proud of it.
The ceremony included international
participation with guest
speakers from South Korea and
musical support from Canada
including the Windsor Military Band
and the Essex and Kent Scottish
Highlanders Pipes and Drums.
During the ceremony, the Korean
War veterans received the appreciation
of the United States and
Republic of Korea for saving the
people of South Korea from communist
aggression.
To honor all veterans, service
members representing each of the
five U.S. services received the
Korean War Service Medal. Five
Canadians received an Appreciation
Medallion from the Republic of
Korea and five South Koreans
received a special commemorative
coin from U.S. Forces, Korea.
All veterans who attended the
event also received the Freedom
Medallion, a gift from the people of
South Korea, sponsored by Eugene
Chin Yu with assistance from the
Military Order of the Purple Heart
and ladies from the local Korean
community.
While receiving a medallion gives
the veterans a tangible token of the
Korean people’s sincere appreciation
for what the veterans did for
their country 50 years ago, the real
highlight for many veterans was
hearing the words “thank you” and
“welcome home.”
“It makes you feel great. This is
outstanding,” Gobert said. “I think
now, we’ve been recognized and
we’re very appreciative of things
like this gathering.
“This is our last hoorah … the
end of the 50th year,” he said.
“(They call it) the ‘Forgotten War.’ It
sure wasn’t forgotten today.”
Photos by Staff Sgt. Tim Volkert, and
U.S. Army photo by Karen Sas, Ted
Beaupre, Tank-automotive and
Armaments Command, Warren,
Michigan.