Dear Editor:
On Sunday evening, July 27, 2003, the Korean War Veterans Association of Hudson County will conduct a ceremony observing the Fiftieth Anniversary of the end of the Korean War at the ‘Candles of Life Memorial’ – the Korean War Monument – which is located at the Foot of Washington Street in the Paulus Hook Historic District along the Hudson River Waterfront in Downtown Jersey City. It truly is a magnificent monument standing majestically in the area surrounded by the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the lower Manhattan skyline.
The end of the Korean War took place on July 27, 1953 after three years of fierce fighting and the loss of 54,000 American military men and women killed in action, and over 105,000 wounded and/or missing. As you may recall, this was the first ever response of the United Nations Organization to an attack on a member nation. Then President Harry S. Truman said this action was necessary to halt Communist aggression in Asia and directed the armed forces of the United States to join in the United Nation intervention of the North Korean attack on the peace loving people of South Korea.
More than 126 men from the twelve communities of Hudson County were killed in the Korean War, which was called by some historians, “The Forgotten War.” Their names have been etched in granite on the Korean War Memorial to always be remembered.
We are seeking the families, relatives and friends of the men from Hudson County who were killed in the three years of fighting in the extreme cold of Winter and the steaming hot and humid days of Summer of the Korean War to join ‘their comrades in arms’ who will be honoring the memory of ‘our fallen heroes’ on Sunday, July 27, 2003.
The officers and members of the KWVAHC respectfully ask your fine newspaper to print this letter so that we hopefully may contact these surviving family members, relatives and friends so that they may attend this Fiftieth Anniversary Observance of the end of the Korean War. They can contact us at (201) 858-4538; (201) 963-1316 or (201) 536-1500 or write KWVAHC, P.O. Box 841, Bayonne, NJ 07002, for more details.
Our appreciation for your anticipated consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Ralph Pasqua
President