"The Communicator"
Page 2
CHENEY LEADS TRIBUTE TO WAR VETS.
Thursday July 25, 2002 6:10 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Richard Cheney led the tribute on Thursday as South Korea presented service medals to American veterans of the Korean War.
Twenty-five veterans or their survivors were among the first to receive the award which is being made available to millions of veterans on the 50th anniversary of the Korean conflict.
Cheney, speaking at an awards ceremony organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, called the recognition overdue. He said the Korean conflict has often been called a forgotten war and that its veterans ``have seldom received the attention they really deserve.''
The vice president noted that more than 36,000 Americans were killed in the conflict which began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea.
The significance of the war is made clear, Cheney said, by the contrast between North and South Korea a half century after the July 27, 1953 armistice which ended the fighting.
North Korea is `"the scene of merciless oppression,'' he said, while South Korea is an economically prosperous democracy.
The vice president restated the "unbreakable'' U.S. commitment to maintain U.S. combat troops in South Korea as a safeguard against any renewed aggression by the north.
The service medals, each attached to a bright red ribbon, were presented by Maj. Gen. Moon Young Han, defense attache at the South Korean Embassy here.
The medals were originally offered by South Korea in 1951. U.S. law at the time barred American service members from wearing medals issued by foreign governments. The law was changed in 1954 but by then most Americans who had served in Korea had returned home.
The medals are being offered again on the 50th anniversary of the conflict and eligible veterans are being asked to apply for them cost free. A certificate of appreciation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and a commemorative coin from the Defense Department also will be presented.
Those receiving the awards on Thursday were all drawn from the ranks of present and former VA employees, their families and friends.
Some 1.8 million Americans served in the Korean combat zone between the beginning of hostilities and the signing of the armistice.
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EDITORS: Eligible veterans and next of kin can request the Republic of Korea Service medal by sending a copy of the veteran's discharge papers to Air Force Personnel Center, HQ AFPC/DPPPRA, 550 C Street West, Suite 12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, 78150-4714.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
Congress amended VFW’s charter in 1994, allowing all members of the U.S. armed forces who’ve served in Korea to be eligible for VFW. Nine years later, a medal was established for them.
The Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) recognizes duty in Korea since July 28, 1954 – the day after Korea Service Medal eligibility ended.
More than 40,000 GIs have served on the Korean Peninsula annually since the cease-fire was signed between North and South Korea in 1953.
As long as significant numbers of U.S. troops remain in South Korea, the medal’s eligibility period will probably remain open.
The Pentagon has not yet announced how long GIs must serve in Korea to be eligible for the medal, but a decision is expected by the end of this year.
Nearly 2 million veterans – who already qualify for VFW membership – could be eligible for the medal.
Note: As soon as information for eligibility for this medal is forthcoming from the PA American Legion HQ in Wormleysburg, PA, it will be publicized.
Source: “VFW Magazine,” August 2003, p. 44.
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