Walnut Creek Memorial Day ceremony focuses on Korean War veterans
WALNUT CREEK -- Memorial Day commemorations were held around the Bay Area on Monday, but the event in Walnut Creek put a special focus on those who fought in the Korean War. That conflict ended 70 years ago and the number of those still living who served in it is dwindling rapidly.
At Walnut Creek's Memorial Day service, there was special recognition for those who fought and died in the Korean conflict, often called America's "forgotten war."
"On September 26, 1950, Walnut Creek lost U.S. Marine Sgt. Glenn Gregg, Jr," said Mayor Cindy Silva, as she read a short remembrance of all eleven Walnut Creek residents who died in Korea.
The keynote speaker, former Vietnam helicopter pilot Patrick Leary, said the time to honor Korean War veterans is rapidly running out.
"July 27th marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War," he said. "5.7 million men and women served during that conflict. Today, fewer than one million are left alive. The youngest would be 87-88 years old."
Only two Korean War veterans were at Monday's ceremony. Don Lyons was one of them. He served as a locomotive engineer with the 712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, moving supplies and personnel throughout South Korea.
"I was in this railroad battalion, not in combat," he said. "So I was very glad of that."
But Lyons said, with the conflict coming so soon after World War II, America was tired of war and only gave a half effort. After three years of fighting, the war ended in a stalemate that exists to this day.
"I think we learned that we should be prepared," he said. "When the war started, they had reduced the training to about half of what it had been during the Second World War. Many of the young soldiers that were sent over there were not properly trained."
But Leary reminded the audience that service members have always carried a disproportionate share of the burdens of war.
"Veterans are a unique group. There aren't that many of us," he said. "In World War I, five percent of us served. In World War II, twelve percent. In Korea, three percent."
The three percent who were sent to Korea may not have gotten the support or recognition that they deserve, but they join 100 percent of their fellow veterans in taking pride for having served in the defense of the nation.
"We truly understand what a special gift has been passed on to the generations of veterans," said Leary. "We realize that it is now our sacred duty to continue this tradition, to pass this gift to future generations; this gift we call America."
36,516 were killed in action in the Korean War. But ask anyone who has lost a friend or loved one in battle, and it becomes clear: there is no such thing as a "forgotten war."