EDITOR:

Taken from an article at www.koreanwar.org by Major Vander E. Jenerette, U.S. Army Retired (used with permission):

“The battle 1966 through 1969, the Korean peninsula provided the background for a military confrontation that included guerilla warfare, sabotage and terrorism directed against the people of South Korea and scene described was Korea in the late 1960s. It was the United States other DMZ! A nearly forgotten place where soldiers from the 2nd Infantry “Indian Head” and the 7th Infantry “Bayonet” Divisions were engaged in combat operations on a smaller scale, but no less deadly than the operations during the same time period by fellow “grunts” in Vietnam.”

I am not a veteran. I am a United States citizen living a privileged, free life. However, my close friend is a veteran of this Second Korean DMZ war, a little known war fought from 1966 to 1969. He is like many others, currently suffering from the effects of his service there. It is imperative that awareness of the existence of this war be raised and the veterans that served after the Korean War, that a proper memorial or memorial plaque be erected in Washington D.C. recognizing the soldiers who died, and the war itself, before it’s too late. There were many U.S. Army soldiers killed and soldiers from other branches of service. That’s not even counting the many soldiers that served and gave their lives from after 1953 to the present. My friend, and others are now suffering from the sacrifices they made both physically and psychologically.

We as Americans today owe our freedom to these soldiers. Most people I have asked about this war never heard about it or what went on over there. It’s time we did. Are we satisfied that South Korea has a memorial wall with some of our soldier’s names on it, but no memorial to remember them in our own country? It has been over 50 years since that war ended and those lives were lost. What about the veterans lives that were lost after 1953? How many have to pass away before we realize that their comrades must be remembered with their own memorial or plaque? It is my hope that everyone who reads this will agree it is time to honor our departed soldiers. I am personally ashamed and saddened that they have not received the recognition they deserve.

How do we help? Contact your local Congressmen and Representatives; post this editorial on your social media pages, talk to friends and veterans, contact local American Legion and other veteran’s organizations. Together we can honor our soldiers.

Bob Nachtwey

Stonington