Most Recent Update: August 29, 2010*
May God protect the United States of America
from deceitful politicians and gullible voters.
*Updates are generally made on three locations on this page: Latest News, Newest Additions, and What's Next.
Be sure to check all three places when you see that an update has been made.
This website was created by Lynnita Brown, founder, Korean War Educator. Lynnita, who holds Korean
War veterans in the highest regard, is solely responsible for the monitoring and posting of all of the
contributed and self-generated text that appears on the Korean War Educator. Technical changes to the
website are courtesy of Webmaster Jim Doppelhammer, who also has a strong appreciation for our nation's
veterans.
Thank you to all veterans for
protecting our freedom.
- Lynnita
Page Index:
Recent Updates:
- August 29, 2010 - see Latest News
- August 26, 2010 - see Newest Addition
- August 24, 2010 - See Latest News
- August 09, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- July 28, 2010 - See Latest News
- July 3, 2010 - See Latest News
- June 25, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 25, 2010 - See Latest News
- June 18, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 06, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 05, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 04, 2010 - See Latest News
- June 04, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 02, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 01, 2010 - See Newest Addition
- June 01, 2010- See Latest News
Back to Page Index
Latest News:
[The following news and commentary is posted with the most recent news at top, followed by older news.
Latest News is written by Lynnita Brown.]
It has come to our attention that quite a lot of Korean War history is being lost needlessly because one
particular aspect of the many unique opportunities available to veterans through the Korean War Educator is
little known. The KWE exists to educate the public about the Korean War--at no cost to Korean War
veterans. Here is what is happening that doesn't need to happen:
Individual Korean War veterans and Korean War veteran reunion groups often have small, medium and large
websites on the Internet. Unfortunately, as the veterans age and financial resources to stay online dry
up, these informative websites are being pulled off the Internet one by one and the history found on them is
being lost forever.
Please spread the word that the Korean War Educator's "Topics" page can absorb these
increasingly-disappearing websites at no cost. All you have to do is turn the text and photographs over to
the KWE for permanent posting on the Korean War Educator. Naturally, a little money to help make the
transaction would always be welcome, but it is most certainly not mandatory. The KWE is a free
service to Korean War veterans and always will be--no strings attached.
How does one move a Korean War-related website over to the KWE? Simple. Contact
Lynnita! [Posted 8/29/2010]
---
Bob Foster from Rock Island, Illinois called me today when I was not in my office at the museum. I
believe that the wrong number was written down for me to return his call. The number I was given was
509-0298 (Rock Island's area code is 309). This number is not valid. Bob called about MOH recipient
Melvin Brown. Bob, if you read this message give me a call at my home 217-253-4620. [Posted 8/24/2010]
---
My husband Dale and I had the privilege to receive a guest from South Korea in Tuscola this past weekend.
Lee Sang Don, a law professor from a university in Seoul, arrived in Central Illinois via Amtrak on Friday,
August 20. On Saturday he visited the Douglas County Museum, my shop in downtown Tuscola, and the Amish
community of Douglas County. The next day, Mr. Lee, Dale and I drove to Springfield so Sang Don could tour
Abraham Lincoln's home, the Lincoln Presidential Library, Lincoln's Tomb, and the state's Korean War Memorial in
Oakridge Cemetery. (He also got his first taste of fried green tomatoes!) Before leaving to return
to his daughter's new college home in New York, Sang Don Lee donated $100 to the KWE's Web Hosting Fund to keep
the KWE online yet another full year. It was a great visit and we appreciate the donation. (Posted
8/24/2010)
---
Late Saturday night, July 24, I fell off a ladder at the Douglas County Museum and ended up in the hospital
Emergency Room (twice--once by ambulance) and ultimately in emergency surgery. I now have five pins in my
left foot after dislocating one bone, shattering another, and breaking another. I arrived home from the
Sarah Bush Lincoln Memorial Hospital this afternoon, wearing a big cast and struggling to be mobile. Have
patience with me. I'm not exactly feeling up to par right now. - Lynnita [Posted 7/28/2010]
---
Thank you to all who served in Korea. Sixty years ago today North Korea attacked South Korea and began
the bloody war that so many Americans still know nothing--or nearly nothing about. I have not forgotten
you--and I never will. [Posted 6/25/2010]
---
Sgt. David L. West of Cabin Creek, West Virginia, who died of hostile wounds on June 6, 1951, was honored
today when Charles and Audrey West of North Carolina sent a $25 donation in David's memory to the Korean War
Educator. David was a member of the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, when he was seriously
wounded in the Kumwha area of Korea. He served in a Heavy Mortar Company. [Posted 6/04/2010]
---
The KWE has a new two-year member. Welcome aboard James Crompton of New Jersey. James sent a
$25.00 donation, all of which has been added to the KWE's General Operating Fund. He was with "H" Battery, 3rd
Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Most of his time in Korea (1952) was as a Battery Wireman.
He also served on a Forward Observer Team for about 5 months near Panmunjom.) [Posted 6/01/2010]
---
How did your Memorial Day go? Not everyone had a great day of remembrance. Here is what the KWE
received from a Nashville area resident:
"I am writing to tell of an incident that occurred on Memorial Day 2010 at the War Memorial Plaza in
Nashville. My husband and I visited the Korean War Memorial at 7:30 pm. What we found was a
disrespectful display which denied us the opportunity to pay respects to the soldiers who died for this state
in the Korean War, also the Vietnam War.
About 40 persons were milling about, eating from styrofoam containers, sitting on the monuments, and using
foul language. We stood for several minutes, with them asking for money and obstructing our access to
these memorials on, of all days, Memorial Day. As far as we could tell, people were giving out meals to
the homeless. We became frightened and left quickly.
It was disappointing to find such a display at a Tennessee memorial on this day set aside to pay respect to
our soldiers. This should be a place of vigil and dignity.
Jack Walker helped my mother get her brothers' name on the Korean wall. I did not tell her of this
incident--it would have broken her heart. I have contacted all who would listen this morning. - Cynthia
Muirhead"
---
Information about the 16th Annual Korean War Veterans Reunion in Laughlin, Nevada has arrived at the KWE from
Dick Gallmeyer. The reunion dates this year are October 4-October 7. View the KWE's
Combat Buddies page for details. [Posted 3/02/10]
---
Are you or your veteran's group being solicited to donate money to an organization based in Illinois that
claims to be building a national museum for Korean War veterans? If you are, I advise you to
immediately contact authorities in Illinois for a copy of an "Illinois Charitable Organization Annual
Report" for that organization's last two years (2005 and 2006) of operation in order to make an informed
decision about the organization's fiscal responsibility. Write Attorney General Lisa Madigan, State of
Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau, 100 W. Randolph, 11th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 and ask for both annual
reports. A very, very small copying fee is charged, but it will be money well spent. (The cost for
both reports will be under $8.00.)
The Korean War Educator strongly (very, very, very strongly) urges all Korean War veterans and/or members of
their families who are thinking of donating either money or artifacts to soliciting organizations to obtain
these informative reports prior to making an irreversible donation that you might later regret.
Once you scrutinize the reports and "do the math" to see how donors' money is actually being spent, you could be
disappointed. Be a generous giver to non-profits because most of them really do need your financial
support to see them through these hard times. However, always do your giving with eyes wide open. -
[Posted 4/17/08]
---
Are you a US Marine who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina between 1957 and 1987? If you
are, you were likely exposed to well water that was contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. You are
being sought by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. To learn more about this, go to the
growing Health Issues page on the Korean War
Educator. [Posted 3/28/09]
---
Do you have a short story about Korea? Send it our way! We have recently opened a short story
section on the KWE's Memoirs page. Lynnita's e-mail address is
lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org. Her U.S. mail is
Lynnita Brown, 111 E. Houghton St., Tuscola, IL 61953. Be sure to include a picture of yourself to go
along with the story. Sending more than one picture is okay, too. [Posted 2/16/08]
Back to Page Index
Newest Additions to the KWE
- The Distinguished Service Cross was posthumously awarded to Lt. Joseph O'Donnell, a member of Company A,
38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. The citation is now posted on the KWE's
Distinguished Service Cross page. The citation was sent
in by member Art Lajeunesse. [Posted 8/26/2010]
- Some brief facts about the 519th Military Police
Battalion were added to the Branch Accounts - Army page of the KWE today. The information was sent
to us courtesy of 519th MP veteran Les LeCompte of Edgewater, Maryland. [Posted 8/09/2010]
- The Navy Cross citation for Sgt. Jack F. Larson (USMC Reserve) was posted on the KWE's
Navy Cross page today. [Posted 6/25/2010]
- The memoirs of Fred Frankville of Illinois are now live on
the Korean War Educator. Fred served in Dog Company, 7th Marines in Korea December of 1950 through 1951.
He participated in Operation Mousetrap, a raid in April of 1951 on Hill 491, Kanmubong Ridge, and more.
He served with D-2-7, as an S-2 assigned to Easy Company, 7th Marines, and then 4.2 Mortars. Included in
his memoir is a list of D-2-7 casualties (KIA) throughout the active years of the Korean War. Fred is a
life member of the KWE. [Posted 6/18/2010]
- The Silver Star citations for James C. Hutchins, Warren Castleberry, Ben D. Henry Jr. and Pablo R. Torres
have been added to the KWE's Silver Star Citation page, as has been the Bronze Star citation for Capt. Frank
M. Nuckolls Jr. All but Castleberry's citation were sent into the KWE by member Art Lajeunesse of New York.
[Posted 6/18/2010]
- So many Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Star citations have been added to
the KWE this weekend that there are too many to mention. They include: 14 Navy Cross citations; one
Bronze Star citation; 37 Silver Star citations; and 30 Distinguished Service Cross citations. Most are
found on the A & B pages of their various categories. More will be posted over the coming weeks. [Posted
6/06/2010]
- A short memoir by 1st Lieutenant Guadalupe Martinez of
Texas is now "live" on the Korean War Educator. Guadalupe was a liaison officer to the Colombian
Infantry Headquarters in October of 1952. Guadalupe remembers the battle for Triangle Hill that took
place in October of 1952. [Posted 6/05/2010]
- The citations for a number of Silver Star awards were posted on the Korean War Educator this morning.
They were found on the Home of the Heroes website. The medal recipients include: Francisco
Acevedo-Olivio, Candido Colon-Fonseca, Cletus Craig, William R. Downey II, William A. Dugan, David Haskell
Hackworth, Ismael Jimenez-Fernandez, Wayne Johnson, Norman M. Kilbarger, Gunther E. Kromrei, Rafael
Leon-Gonzalez, Wallace K. Love, Luis E. Maldonado-Matos, Francis Jerome McGovern, Edward T. McKotch, Heriberto
Medina-Olivera, Pedro Medina-Pineiro, Domingo Mirando-Rosado, Merle J. Monette, Marine Narvaez-Montalvo, Jose
E. Navarro-Rodriguez, Isaac Paz-Agala, Santiago Perez-Garcia, Antonio Pizarro-Mojica, Jose A. Rivera-Carrion,
Vidal Rodriguez-Amaro, Antonio Rodriguez-Balinas, Juan F. Rodriguez-Forty, Alfonso Rodriquez-Martinez, Rafael
Rodriguez-Pacheco, Guillermo Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Dario Rodriguez-Sepulveda, Oscar Roman-Lugo, Donato Roman-Reichard,
Tomas Rosa-Claudio, Frank M. Ross, Pedro A. Santana-Camacho, Arcadio Santiago-Rodriguez, Kenneth W. Sells, and
Steve G. Triantafel. [Posted 6/05/2010]
- The Silver Star citation for Corporal Robert L. Meade, USMCR, has been added to the
M citations page. Meade was a fire team
leader of Company D, Second Battalion, First Marines in Korea in 1952. [Posted 6/04/2010]
- 2nd Lt. Brendan P. O'Donnell's Silver Star citation, received while a member of D-2-7 Marines in Korea, is
now visible on the KWE's Silver Star Citations - O
page. [Posted 6/02/2010]
- The Silver Star citations for Fred Frankville (Dog Company, Seventh Marines) and Anthony Panetta (Company
C, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division) were added to the KWE's Silver Star Citations
F and
P pages today. [Posted 6/01/2010]
- The memoirs of veteran John "Pat" Patterson of Muscle
Shoals, Alabama, are now live on the KWE. Pat served as an SCR 300 radio operator and rifleman in
Company L, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Army), in Korea September 1950-September 1951.
[Posted 5/26/2010]
- The memoirs of veteran Reinhold "Ron" Klein are now visible
on the Korean War Educator. Reinhold served in the USMC from 1944 to 1946. He was recalled as a
2nd Lieutenant in 1950 when the Korean War broke out. After training he served in Korea during 1951.
He was assigned to Dog Company 7th Marines at a platoon leader of the 1st Platoon. From there he moved
to the 60mm mortar section and on to the 81's. Before leaving Korea he was made XO of 2nd Battalion's
Weapons Company. [Posted 5/25/2010]
- If you would like to know the total combat losses by Army unit and type in Korea, check out Richard E.
Ecker's "U.S. Army Korean War Casualties." This new Topics page is now open on the KWE thanks to the
generosity of the KWE's friend Dick Ecker, who gave us permission to post his research on our website.
The casualty information was pulled from Ecker's book, "Korean Battle Chronology" and can be found here on the
KWE: Casualty Database. [Posted 5/24/10]
Back to Page Index
What's Next!
--
The members of the Northeast New York Chapter of the KWVA have decided to honor the late Ken Page and
Rensselaer County Korean War dead by publishing Ken's book Rensselaer County Heroes, Korean War 1950-1953:
The Forgotten Remembers on the KWE. Work on this project is still underway behind the scenes on a KWE
template.
--
Coming soon: the memoirs of Ozzie Stack, Marian Tesheneck Wagman, Herbert "Lefty" Luster, Fred
Frankville, John "Pat" Patterson, Glenn Stotts, Joshua Duncan, William Stedman, and Dr. Birney Dibble. These
particular memoirs are "in the works" and a few are approaching completion. Some are just awaiting
pictures, while others await more text, proofreading, and final approval from the veteran or their families.
--
Officials of the Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. telephoned the KWE's largest funding source to date to
request that it not support the Korean War Educator. (Korean War veterans everywhere should be outraged at
the KWVA's maltreatment of the KWE.) As a result, that funding source is no longer available to the KWE.
Until the Korean War Educator receives another grant, your financial support is needed to help keep the Korean
War Educator going. Please join as a member, because your dues money is what keeps this site going. You are
always welcome to e-mail me at lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org
or call me (217-253-4620 at home, 217-253-2535 at the Douglas County Museum Monday and Tuesday, or 217-253-5171
Thursday-Saturday at my store) Illinois time if you have comments, concerns, questions, or suggestions.
--
As always, Korean War veterans and their families throughout the world are invited to participate in the
educating of the general public about the Korean War by sending information, memoirs, photos, and more to the
Korean War Educator. - Lynnita Jean Brown
Back to Page Index
A Team Effort
The Korean War Educator is a team effort between Lynnita Brown of Tuscola, Illinois, as well as Korean War
veterans and their families worldwide. Lynnita is directly involved with the daily updates visitors see on
the KWE, while webmaster Jim Doppelhammer handles the technical aspects and makes improvements to the Korean War
Educator website. Jim is teaching Lynnita (the KWE founder, CEO, and site text editor) the ropes of
working with FrontPage, assisting her as she learns how to add photographs and make hyperlinks to text. If
you find a technical glitch anywhere on the site, be sure to contact Jim at
webmaster@koreanwar-educator.org. If you find text
errors on the site, be sure to contact Lynnita at
lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org. We'll see what we can do to fix them. If our KWE visitors see
typographical and/or grammatical mistakes, Lynnita encourages those who discover them to contact her.
There is no such thing as an error "too small" to be corrected.
Lynnita can be reached by phone at 217-253-5171 (her store) from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Thursday through
Saturday (and generally on Wednesdays May-December, too). Her home phone number in Illinois is
217-253-4620 (she rises early and stays up late). On days other than Wednesday through Saturday, the best
place to reach Lynnita is at her home number in the evening. If she is not home, your call will be picked
up by an answering machine or her husband, Dale. Please feel free to leave a message. She will call
you back--probably the same day or evening. Her e-mail address is
lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org.
Back to Page Index
KWE Progress Report
Site Statistics:
- The Korean War Educator had 810,676 visitors in the year 2008. As the site continues to grow, so
will the number of visitors. As an example of the KWE's fantastic growth rate, just think. In the
year 2004 the KWE had only 24,152 visitors! The majority of visitors to the KWE website were from the
United States, with visitors from the United Kingdom second and visitors from China third.
- As of January 7, 2008, the KWE had 141,459 page views per month and an average of 2,000 visitors per day.
The KWE website contains 5,645 files (748,966 KB). It has 3,364 photographs. There are 21,404
hyperlinks.
- Due to a change of web hosts, we only have January and February and the December statistics from 2007,
showing approximately 27,500 visitors per month in January/February and 30,000 visitors in December.
- From 1/1/06-12/31/06, the KWE had 183,640 unique visitors (again, many came back to view the site over and
over again, but they were only counted once) who viewed 1,132,528 of its pages.
- From 1/1/05-12/31/05, the KWE had 222,072 unique visitors (many came back to view the site over and over
again, but they were only counted once) who viewed 775,446 of its pages.
The Korean War Educator started to offer memberships at the end of September 2003. For the very first time,
the Korean War Educator was able to use the General Membership dues ($10.00 annually) to establish a general
operating fund that has enabled Lynnita to pay for her monthly internet connection, as well as incidentals such
as reams of copy paper, ink cartridges, postage, etc., without taking it from her own pocket. Not only that, the
Korean War Educator established an Endowment Fund to keep the Foundation going long after those of us living
today have passed on. With an initial deposit of $50.00 (one half of the cost of Life Membership dues going into
the Endowment) that special reserve fund has now jumped to $2,135.53, thanks to the most recent donations to it
from the KWE's new life members Tom Cearlock and Carl Galey of Illinois. Our goal is to build up the
principal in the account so that the annual interest will pay for each year's web hosting fees. You can
find the roster of Korean War Educator members on the KWE’s "Support" section at the top of all main pages. We
are hoping that many more of our visitors will come aboard to help this great Korean War website become even
greater. All funds go to support the Korean War Educator Foundation. No salary money is expended.
Most of the KWE's limited funds are expended for internet/website expenses and printer ink.
It would be great if some of our regular visitors would support this important website by sponsoring a year
of hosting (or more). Contact Lynnita at
lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org about this possibility if you think you would like to sponsor a year's worth
of KWE. The list of website sponsors to date is listed on the
Support page of the KWE..
Back to Page Index
In Remembrance of Julian
  It is
with great sorrow that I inform Korean War veterans and our other site visitors about the death of Julian "Buck"
Blagg, original webmaster of the Korean War Educator website and a fine Marine. He died of lung cancer at 6:00
a.m., Sunday, June 1, 2003, at the age of 66. Julian was my dear friend, and I miss him. He helped me give the
world the Korean War Educator.
- Lynnita Brown, Founder, KWE |
