Although a light pole still needs to be fixed and a number of other small items attended to, the monument to veterans of the Korean War at Washington Boulevard and Dudley Street in Jersey City is just about complete.
Officials from veterans groups throughout Hudson County as well as a delegation from South Korea gathered to commemorate the completed monument on July 24. This included local officials including Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro and Councilman Michael Yun.
The Korean War Veterans of Hudson County started collecting funds for this monument in the late 1990s.
“We were shuttled around from four or five sites before we got this one,” said Joseph Swanson, of the location near the Morris Canal Park in Jersey City. Swanson served as project manager for the monument. “We have Fields Construction coming in to fix a few things.”
“This monument will show what these men fought and died for in Korea.” – Councilman Michael Yun
____________
The Korean War Memorial features three black granite columns inscribed with the 126 names of soldiers from Hudson County killed in that war. Surrounding the columns are two circular walls, adorned with pictures of battle scenes from Korea. At the monument’s center, is a statue of two soldiers.
Although technically opened in 2002, the monument was largely incomplete.
The original project cost about $500,000 and was funded by donations by various groups and collection efforts by the Hudson County Veterans. The vets raised about $350,000. The City of Jersey City donated about $70,000 of the total cost. The City of Bayonne donated about $10,000. Local unions and contractors donated the rest in material and labor.
Lack of funds, vandals, and Superstorm Sandy
But even as late as November 2014, work remained to be finished. Many photographic panels were still not in place. Originally, these panels were all supposed to include etchings. But lack of money prevented the group from completing the project.
Vandals had also defaced some of the completed panels. Some pavers with the names of veterans and others need to be reattached, possibly due to flooding in the area after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
A delegation from the Korean province of Gyeonggi donated $100,000 to help the Hudson Korean War Veterans Association, which oversaw the construction, to restore and complete the monument.
This resulted in repairs as well as the installation of the last 18 photographic images. Councilman Michael Yun said the officials from South Korea offered to help, and that the original vision of the project would be altered slightly to depict war-torn Korea from the early 1950s and what Korea has become today.
“This war and all wars are fought for the future,” Yun said. “This monument will show what these men fought and died for in Korea.”
Yun said he was a grade school student when the Korean War started. Getting enough to eat was a problem for most of the students. Out of 100 pupils, only 20 could provide their own lunch in school, Yun said. The U.S. Army gave their excess food to the children.
The best location?
Hudson County Korean veterans started work on this monument after the state of New Jersey decided to build their Korean War Monument in Atlantic City earlier in the 1990. Some veterans didn’t want the monument at its current location because it located on a dead end street. Some wanted the monument located closer to public transportation.
Swanson, however, said this was the best of all the locations that were considered. The monument sits within sight of nearby Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty.
Louis Giovanni, from Bayonne, was a member of Baker Company, a U.S. Marine unit deployed out of Bayonne. He fought for the inclusion of an art work done by a veteran that depicted the fight the U.S. engaged after being trapped near the Chosin Reservoir, one of the most significant battles of the Korean conflict.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.