The Graybeards - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

Letters
The Children Remember
My wife Kim and I went to Korea to visit Kim’s unending number
of relatives and also to see the other parts of Korea that we did
not have chance to see when we were last there in 1971. Wow! What
a transformation, from rags to riches in a mere 30 years. The country
looks very much like any other “western country”, including the
good old traffic jams. The hustle and bustle style of life was too fast
for me and, I must admit to you it isn’t that bad here in the suburbs
of Chicago. Anyway, my wife and I had a wonderful time.
Amerasian Christian Academy and children.
We did go to Tongdu-chon City, near the US Army Post Camp
Casey, some 30 miles north of Seoul, to check and to visit our
Amerasian Christian Academy. The school, I must say is efficiently
run by Administrator James Kang McCann (Amerasian also).
Enrollment is at 48 students today, as opposed to 18 Amerasian students
when the school first opened in 1999. Sometime back I did
mentioned to Administrator James McCann about the National
KWVA President Harley Coon, Board of Directors as well as the
general membership were helping us with our quest to get the Public
Law 97-359 (Amerasian Immigration Act) reinstated so that the
Amerasian children born after October 22, 1982 can also receive the
preferential admission status to come to the States. Well, as you can
readily see, he had the whole student body assemble outside the
church (where the school is held) so we could take pictures of the
banner and show them to the KWVA members.
John A. Ranum, Executive Secretary,
Mission for Amerasian Children of Korea
“Freedom is not Free”
That statement surely isn’t new to any of us, we have seen it on
many Memorials, especially those that are for the Korean War Era,
and I imagine that each of us have an idea of what makes it real,
based on some event or events that have happened to us, personally.
For many, it could be the front line fighting that took such a horrible
toll in Korea, of the time spent in the mud and snow that made
life so miserable, and knowing that at any moment, our lives, and
those of our buddies could be ended or ruined forever.
For all of us, it is the time spent away from home and family,
whether by being drafted or having enlisted, being taught how to survive
under the worst conditions possible, and how to destroy an
enemy, who was intent on robbing us of that very Freedom. We didn’t
question, at least very loudly, whether we should be there or not,
we felt that serving our Country was necessary, and we wanted to do
our part to the best of our ability.
And now, for the first time, for the majority of Americans, we are
being attacked in our own country; a vicious, cowardly attack, not
against our Armed Forces but against men, women and children in
the places where they should feel the safest. The Freedoms that we
have been taking for granted, have suddenly had a very high price
put on them. Even the Freedom to feel safe on a day to day basis, has
been threatened, by the fear that it isn’t safe to fly on an airplane, or
that opening a letter or package could cause us serious harm.
Again, we are ready to support our country, and our President, in
whatever it takes to keep these Freedoms for ourselves, and for our
children and grandchildren to enjoy as we have during our lives.
“Freedom is Not Free”, is not just something that is engraved on our
Memorials, it is something that we are experiencing every day of our
lives. And, God willing, may it always be so!
God Bless All of Us, and God Bless the USA!!
Joe Vogel, President
Monroe County Chapter 1
Korean War MIA laid to rest at Bliss
Cindy Ramirez-Cadena
El Paso Times
The melancholy trumpet that echoed over the burial of Cpl.
Ramon Mendoza Frescas on Friday brought tears and smiles to the
family who’d waited 50 years to hear the music.
“I cried 50 years ago, and 1 wasn’t sure I’d cry again,” said Jose
Frescas, 80, older brother of the corporal who had been missing in
action since the Korean War.
“It still hurts, but at least he’s home now. We can all rest in
peace,” Frescas said.
His brother had been listed as missing in action from B Company,
35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, since 1950 after the
Chinese launched a massive offensive against United Nations forces.
His remains were exhumed in North Korea in April 1999 and
recently identified by the Central Identification Laboratory in
Hawaii. He was buried Friday with full military honors at Fort Bliss
National Cemetery.
The corporal, who grew up in the former Fort Bliss area known
as Smeltertown, is now listed as KIA–killed in action.
He was 20 years old when he died, though it was unclear whether
he died Nov. 26 or 27, 1950. Frescas was later awarded the Purple
Heart and the Korean Service Medal.
Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Art Seelig was one of the few men
who survived the Chinese attack. He attended the burial to say hello
and goodbye to one of his comrades. “That night, all hell broke
loose,” he said. “We got a lot of wounded off the hill, but very few
made it.”
Seelig, who served with the 27th Regiment of 25th Infantry
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The Graybeards