Jan/Feb 2008 - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

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trip home on a “banana boat.” I left Inchon In October of ’53;
eleven days later we arrived at Honolulu, Hawaii, then took the
Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean, diverted to Colombia
(South America), went up to Puerto Rico, and on to New York
Harbor. I disembarked the morning of November 11, 1953 after
33 days on the water.
Shouldn’t I have gotten Navy pay for this?
Robert E. Shelton, cshelton37663@yahoo.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: Again I have sad news to pass along. Mr.
Kondysar passed away shortly after his story appeared in The
Graybeards.
The “Long Way” home
In the Sept/Oct issue (p. 16), Tony Kondysar wondered if his
1953 trip home from Korea to New York via the Panama Canal
was unique. It may have been going in that direction, but two
years before, on March 29, 1951, the 45th Division, all 18,000 of
us, went the other way from New Orleans to Hokkaido, Japan.
That was a 28-day journey. We, too, made a beer stop, same
as Tony, at Rodman Naval Station on the Pacific side of the
Canal. The rest of the trip was uneventful, with good weather,
good food, enough on-board activities, and a rousing initiation
into the Domain of the Golden Dragon when we crossed the
International Date Line.
Our landing, on 25 April 25 in Otaru, Hokkaido, couldn’t
come soon enough.
Chet Harvey, 10701 N. La Reserve Drive, Apt. 352,
Tucson, AZ 85737-9178 (Cpl., 45th QM Co., 5th ID)
Nztufsz!Qipup
Thurman Ramey, who served in Korea from 5 Dec. 1951 to 15
Sept. 1952 with Co. E., 180th Inf., 45th Inf. Div., sent us this
photo. He suggested that it might be a familiar sight to “many of
us heading to the MLR.”
A train to…somewhere
Does anyone know where the “sight” was located, how it got
there, etc?
Reach Ramey at 8733 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti, MI 48197,
(734) 484-0327
Korean War Memorials & Monuments
Around the Country & the World
We received this request for information from Jake Simonitsch:
I wish to compliment the organization with the stable operation that has
been experienced these last few years—especially this periodical The
Graybeards. A question: does the organization attempt to identify the
Korean War monuments, etc., that exist anywhere?
The reason I ask is that there is a monument on the campus of the
University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. This was sponsored by a Korean
KU alumnus and designed by a Korean artist.
Jake M Simonitsch, (816) 350-7881
The answer is “Yes.” There is a section on our website,
www.kwva.org, that includes several monuments and memorials. It
is far from complete, though. In fact, only 34 states are represented.
And, we seriously doubt that any of the states included contains a
complete list of monuments within its borders. (See the list below)
Perhaps we can put together a more complete collection of monuments
and memorials.
Here is the write-up on the website:
We are looking for more pictures from each State as well as Korean
War Memorials in existence anywhere in the world. If you have scanned
pictures in JPG format, or pictures from a Digital Camera, please email
them to webmaster@kwva.org
Please include information as to location, any history or “story” of this
memorial, and/or a brief write-up discussing and explaining details of
this memorial in your email. If you have pictures you would like to mail
for scanning, please e-mail the Webmaster for mailing instructions.
Most of the photos included in this group came from Marty O’Brien,
past president of KWVA Corporal Clair Goodblood Chapter, Maine. He
allowed the use of these photos for web publication. Marty collected
most of the pictures through requests in earlier editions of The
Graybeards. Thank you, Marty, for your diligent efforts and support!
Webmaster Note: For now the photo collections are not matching the
new web design... that will happen as soon as possible... In the meantime
you may have to hit your “Back” button to return to this links page
after viewing.
So, here is a list as of January 17, 2008. With your help, we can
expand it considerably. Incidentally, when you see the notation NBP
after a location, it means we need a better picture. In some cases, all
we have is a copy of a newspaper clipping or magazine article.
UNITED STATES
National Memorial, Washington, DC
Arizona: Ajo, Phoenix
California: Cathedral City, Santa Nella, Sonora
Colorado: Colorado Springs
Connecticut: Danbury, Waterbury
Delaware: Wilmington
Florida: Pinellas Park, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach
Georgia: Atlanta, Augusta
Hawaii: Honolulu
Idaho: Boise (NBP)
Continued on page 72
January-February 2008
The Graybeards