Sep/Oct 2004 Graybeards - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

tions towards the building fund
The ceremony was preceded by a parade comprising school
children, a Korean dance group, a Korean drum and cymbal
band, Fort Lee police department members, the Fort Lee police
honor guard, Fort Lee fire department trucks, and members of the
VFW, American Legion, and Jewish War Veterans.
AI Gonzales, of the New York Police Department, provided
the bagpipe band
At the end of the ceremony, he played “Amazing Grace” in
honor of our late President Ronald Reagan.
M* A * S *H 4099 is composed 100% of Korean vets who
served in Korea or its coastal waters. We take great pride in that.
OHIO/PENNSYLVANIA
CHAPTER 126
Chapter members participated in a dedication ceremony for
the Korean War Memorial in Beaver, Pennsylvania, which took
place in November 2003.
The monument features a Sherman tank, a Corsair, and Iowa
class battleship, an officer, a corporal, an M-1 rifle, a jeep, a
nurse, and the 38th Parallel.
The back side of the memorial contains 62 names of Beaver
County veterans who were killed in action, 13 of whom became
casualties of the Korean Theater from 1950 to 1955.
As George Piggott describes it:
Col. Richard Humphreys,
keynote speaker at Chapter
126’s Memorial dedication,
with wife Anne.
It was a cold, sunny
day, and the ceremony
took almost two hours,
but almost everyone
stayed to the end. Col.
Richard Humphreys, a
member of Chapter 126, served as the main speaker. The Chapter
and many members donated funds to build the memorial.
The fund drive began June 8, 2003, with a goal of $70,000—
which was reached in two months! In fact, more than $121,000
was raised. The excess has been earmarked for monument maintenance.
CHAPTER 137
Members of Chapter 137, Mahoning Valley, installed benches
at its monument and statue in Austintown recently. Chapter historian
Joan Onstott reported that the statue will be put in place
soon, at which time a formal dedication will take place.
Many folks contributed
to 126’s
Memorial Fund
through their purchases
of bricks.
Chapter 137 members “bench pressing” at their monument: (L-R) Harold
Baringer, Bob Bakalik, Zeno Foley, Rocky Anobile, and John Pariza.
58
The front (left) and back side of Chapter 126’s imposing memorial.
Chapter 137 members make their statue feel safe: (L-R, Front Row) Zeno
Foley, Richard Koker, Bob Vitullo, Bob Brothers. STANDING (L-R): John
Pariza, Paul Remias, Bob Bakalik, Richard Schulz, Joan Onstott, Bob
Donelson, Steve Firment.
September - October 2004
The Graybeards