Jan/Feb 2013 - Korean War Veterans Association

From the President
I can’t believe it,
but it has been approximately
six months
since you elected me
as President of the
KWVA. Six extremely fast, furious, busy,
interesting, exciting, trying, sometimes
exciting, sometimes disappointing six
months. Regardless, I thank you again for
your trust in me by electing me to this
important office.
We have been busy, to say the least.
I’ll start with some exciting things. On
Veterans Day my wife and I were invited
to breakfast with the President and his
wife. Of course, we weren’t the only people
there. At least a hundred others were
in attendance. Whatever your political
views may be, it is quite an honor and
privilege to visit the White House.
After breakfast we were transported to
the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington
Cemetery. I was escorted to the stage at
the amphitheater along with several other
heads of VSOs, e.g., CINC of the VFW,
American Legion, Jewish War Veterans,
Catholic War Veterans, POW and so on—
about a dozen in all. We were seated in
line with President Obama while he gave
the keynote speech. Approximately 5,000
people were in attendance. It was a moving
experience.
After President Obama presented a
wreath at the tomb, I, along with Larry
Kinard, our First VP, Director Tom
McHugh, and Carmen Zeolla, a member
of my chapter, presented a wreath at the
tomb. That was a great experience.
During this ceremony Larry Kinard and
Carmen Zeolla were flag bearers. All in
all, a great day.
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience
came as a result of the efforts of the
Department of Defense to honor the
Korean War veterans on the 60th anniversary
of the signing of the armistice. My
wife and I were invited to ride on a float
the DOD built for the Rose Bowl Parade.
This was awesome, albeit extremely tiresome.
Can you imagine one million people
waving at you as you pass by on a
magnificent float that was a replica of
our national memorial in Washington
DC? I can assure you my arm is still sore.
I thank General Walter “Skip” Sharp
and Col. David Clark of the DOD for this
wonderful tribute to us as Korean War
veterans.
One more great thing, but just as
exciting and wonderful, occurred. My
wife and I were invited by Col. Clark and
the DOD to be guests at West Point
Military Academy for the Army vs.
Temple football game. The DOD bused
in several Korean War veterans from the
New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania area
under the supervision of our National
Director, Sal Scarlato. That was another
great honor for Korean War veterans.
As you know, President Obama has
proclaimed that 2013 is the year of the
Korean War veteran, which accounts for
all these events. The big one is coming up
in Washington DC in July of this year. An
explanation of this is published in this
edition of The Graybeards. I urge all of
you to join us in Washington for the 60th
anniversary. I will talk more about this
event later in this message.
I know this all sounds like fun—and
some of it is—but the main point is that
all of these events are good for the
KWVA. We are getting big press coverage
and a lot of exposure to the media. I
receive letters, calls and email from all
over the world about who we are. This is
all good for our recruiting efforts.
Suffice it to say, I have not lost my
enthusiasm for the basic things that you
elected me to do. Along with Sonny
Edwards and Tom Stevens, we are constantly
coming up with new ideas for
recruiting. We did get a kick in the you
know what when HR 5903 died with the
James E. Ferris
There was a notice on page 34 of the last Graybeards edition
indicating that any chapter or department that wishes
to send in an entry to The Graybeards for publication
would need to be approved by Jake Feaster to see if your
chapter or department was in compliance. I have ordered
this practice to stop.
last Congress. However, we are introducing
a new one. I have no doubt that it will
pass, since it has absolutely no objectors.
All we need is get it on the floor. I have
appointed Charley Price as our National
Liaison to Congress. With his experience,
I am sure we will be successful in
getting this passed.
I am still working on ways to make
The Graybeards self supporting. The
South Korean government cannot help us
out in this matter. I understand why, and
I am not upset. We are working on other
means to make this happen.
Now let’s talk about the 60th anniversary
event in Washington DC this summer.
I appointed Warren Weidhahn as
chairman of this committee. He is working
extremely hard on this project and
has my complete cooperation. Warren
and I are working closely with the DoD
and the South Korean Embassy to make
sure this is an event we will never forget.
We have had several meetings in
Washington with General Sharp, Col.
Clark, Major General Lee of the
Embassy, and several people representing
the VFW, American Legion, POW
Association, and many others. I am sure
we will have more. There are still many
things to be ironed out to make this an
extraordinary event. The basic information
that you need right now to be part of
this is published in this edition of The
Graybeards.
I urge all of you to begin plans to
attend now. We have a limited amount of
rooms at the Sheraton Pentagon hotel, so
make your reservations now. I wish we
could publish all of the events, but I
know we will not have them all decided
Continued on page 7
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The Graybeards January - February 2013