The Graybeards - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

many in the audience this morning from the
Dixie (“Double D”) Division representing
the man who, so far as I am concerned, is the
father of this mission to see an ocean to
ocean highway honoring Korean War
Veterans, Bill Clark of Mississippi. One of
the very first persons to contact me after my
election over two years ago was Bill Clark;
his purpose was Highway 80. I put him in
touch with Jim Myrick here in Louisiana,
and I know that they worked hard on this
project. Bill is fighting another battle
today—perhaps his toughest— in the hospital,
a veteran of the Korea War still doing his
best. We salute Bill for his vision and determination.
Unlike many of the other places and battles
of America since the Korea ceasefire,
what we accomplished in Korea STILL
William Clark, the
“architect” of the
Highway 80 Korean
War dedication
Speakers at the Highway 80 dedication
exists—and is still FREE. I am not only a
veteran of the Korea War; I took four tours
in Vietnam in that war. Saigon and a free
Vietnam no longer exist. Seoul and a FREE
KOREA do exist, a beacon of freedom for
South Asia—and one of the world’s leading
economies.
General Bell, the Commander of the UN,
US, and Combined US-ROK Forces in
Korea—and the first man in that position to
ever become a member of the KWVA—has
termed the entire area out there “FREE-
DOM’S FRONTIER.” All that one has to do
to understand why he chose that name is to
look at the map and examine in any direction
north, northwest, northeast of FREE
KOREA and they encounter darkness!
Veterans who fought in Korea, and who
have been serving there continuously, 1950
until today, 2006, can stand tall and proud:
they defined the price of freedom by their
service, AND THEY PAID AND ARE PAY-
ING THE PRICE.
America’s first ocean to ocean highway,
US Route 80, The Korean War Veterans
Memorial Highway, rightly perpetuates and
honors the memory of our service.
We thank you and salute the memories.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!.
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 12
BY SENATORS BARHAM AND
THEUNISSEN
ROADS/HIGHWAYS. Requests the Department of
Transportation and Development to dedicate
Highway 80 throughout the state of Louisiana as
the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Department of
Transportation and Development to dedicate
Highway 80 throughout the state of Louisiana as
the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.
WHEREAS, when North Korean troops invaded
South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United States
took immediate action to defend the freedom of
the people of South Korea, leading a coalition of
20 other countries, American troops fought
valiantly against the cruelty and repression of a
communistic regime; and
WHEREAS, more than 1.7 million Americans
faced forbidding terrain and extremely harsh
combat conditions in battles such as Pork Chop
Hill, Heartbreak Ridge, the Pusan Perimeter and
the Chosin Reservoir; and
WHEREAS, thanks in large measure to the
American veterans of the Korean War who fought
with extraordinary honor, skill and courage, the
attempt by the North Korean and Chinese governments
to overrun the Korean Peninsula and
establish communism was turned back and the
Military Armistice Agreement of July 27, 1953,
ended 3 years of bitter warfare; and
WHEREAS, preserving the liberty and freedom of
South Korea ultimately cost this country the lives
of more than 34,000 brave American troops and
left countless others wounded, torn, and maimed
forever; and
WHEREAS, today, thanks to the many sacrifices
made by those Korean War Veterans, South
Korea still stands, more than 50 years later, as a
shining example of the economic and social benefits
of democracy, the honorable spirit of decent
American values and ideals; and
WHEREAS, for many years the Korean War and
those decent Americans who fought, died, and
bled there in what some have come to call “The
Forgotten War” have never truly been recognized
for the remarkable achievements they made in
that faraway land; and
WHEREAS, both the states of Alabama and
Mississippi are currently in the process of dedicating
Highway 80 throughout their states to the
veterans of the Korean War.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of
the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and
request the Louisiana Department of
Transportation and Development to dedicate
Highway 80 throughout the state of Louisiana as
the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway as a
fitting tribute to those veterans and their families.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this
Resolution be transmitted to William L. Clark of
Pearl, Mississippi and to the Louisiana
Department of Veterans Affairs.
77
The Graybeards September – October 2006