The Korean War Veterans of Hudson County have been working for the last five years to create a monument to their fallen comrades. At 1 p.m. on Nov. 23, their efforts will be realized with a dedication ceremony held at Washington Boulevard and Dudley Street in Jersey City.
“We started work on this monument after the state of New Jersey decided to build their Korean War Monument in Atlantic City,” said Joseph Cassella, president of the Korean War Veterans of Hudson County. “They didn’t want to build down here at Washington and Dudley because it was dead-end. I argued that we had the PATH and the light rail, but they chose Atlantic City anyway.”
Often characterized as “The Forgotten War,” the Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953. The conflict began when Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, triggering an intervention by United Nations troops lead by the United States. An armistice ended the fighting, but Korea remains a divided nation.
Cassella said the project cost approximately $500,000 and was funded by donations by various groups and collection efforts from by the Hudson County Veterans.
“We raised $350,000,” Cassella explained . “Unions and contractors donated $150,000 in material and labor.”
The project, Cassella added, received a number of donations from local municipalities and private citizens.
“Jersey City gave us $70,000, and Bayonne gave $10,000 to the monument,” Cassella noted, adding that without the help of the two cities the project could not have been completed.
When complete, the Korean War Memorial will feature three black granite columns inscribed with the 126 names of soldiers from Hudson County killed in the war. Surrounding the columns will be two circular walls, adorned with pictures of battle scenes from Korea. At the monument’s center, a statue of two soldiers will be mounted.
“There will be four flags at the memorial,” said Cassella. “The flags of America and Korea will be there. We will also have the MIA/POW flag and our chapter flag.”
Cassella added memorial brick pavers were being installed around the memorial. The pavers are being sold at $100 a piece, Casella added.
Cassella cited the Hudson County Korean community as being one of the enthusiastic supporters of the Korean War Memorial.
Michael Yun, a Jersey City businessman who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, said the Hudson County Korean community collected nearly $100,000 for the memorial through various fundraising efforts. Yun said the Korean community’s active support of the Memorial comes from gratitude for America’s action in 1950.
“They believe that they owe America a great deal for everything it has done for Korea from 1950 to the present,” Yun explained.
Yun said he was grade school student when the Korean War started, and food was as 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 excess agriculture products to the children,’ Yun stated. In the case of Yun’s school, the students were given corn, which was turned into corn muffins by the student’s families.
“The corn muffin gave the hungry children something to eat when they had little else,” Yun said.
Later on, Yun added, the U.S. Army made other improvements to his school, including a new playground.
“I am proud to be a Korean, but I am proud to be an American, too,” said Yun.
“It’s part of our civic duty to give back to the community,” said Louis Gallo about the contribution made by Hudson County building trade unions to the Memorial. Unions representing carpenters, electricians, ironworkers and laborers contributed material, labor and money to the Korean War memorial that were worth $150,000, according to Cassella.
“Work on the memorial began at the end of summer, around August,” said Gall, adding that construction should be complete by the dedication date of Nov. 23.
Public doesn’t know
Many Korean War veterans believe the three-year conflict in Asia has been largely ignored by the American public. Korean War veteran and retired Jersey City teacher Henry Topoleski expressed his displeasure with the public’s ignorance of the war in Korea.
“The war is not in any of the textbooks,” said Topoleski, adding that his daughter, who is teacher, very rarely touches in the conflict when teaching modern American history.
At one point a few years ago, the Korean War veterans of Hudson County sponsored a scholarship awarded on the basis of a best essay on the Korean War by the students who entered. According to Topoleski, the scholarship contest received few entries.
“The ones we did get were copied word-for-word from encyclopedias,’ Topoleski added.
Cassella hopes the Korean War Memorial will bring “The Forgotten War” back to the public’s attention.
“I left with the 21st Infantry battalion from Bayonne,” said Cassella. “A lot of the guys didn’t come back..”
Those are the people that Cassella believes should be remembered.