Academy Park ceremony honors nation's veterans, recalls 50th anniversary of Korean War

Local veterans groups, community officials pay tribute

by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 15, 2003

With rainy, wind-swept weather the order of the day, members of American Legion Post 1083 and Lewiston Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1087, officials of the town and village of Lewiston, and area residents joined Tuesday in a moving ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Academy Park in the village of Lewiston.

The 11 a.m. ceremony, like many others in the area, recognized the heroic efforts of servicemen and women of today and in times past, with both Lewiston area posts offering a special tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Korean War and those local residents who served at that time.

The ceremony opened with presentation of a red, white and blue flowered wreath in tribute to departed veterans of all wars, with the five red flowers symbolizing the zeal of the departed service members in upholding the qualities of truth, brotherhood and justice, and the red flowers offered in memory of all departed comrades, according to the VFW proclamation.

A Grateful Nation

"I place upon our sacred shrine this wreath as a symbol of eternity," said Ted Czechowski, acting commander of VFW Post 1087. "Its color bespeaks life ever lasting. Thus do we say that the deeds of our soldiers, sailor, airmen and Marines, on land, on seas and in the air are immortalized in the hearts of grateful people."

The ceremony continued with a moment of silence followed by the playing of Taps offered to honor the nation's fallen heroes. It then moved to recognize the veterans of the Korean War conflict and pay tribute to local veterans from northern Niagara County who served in Korea, of which roughly 10 were in attendance at Tuesday's ceremony.

Mike Roemer, current commander of American Legion Post 1083 paid tribute to these local heroes, as well as those who have gone before us.

"The ceremony we just had was to honor our fallen heroes," Roemer said. "Today we are going to honor some of our living heroes that live here amongst us in Lewiston.

50th Anniversary

"The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950 and ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953. U.S. and UN troops fought under some of the most arduous conditions ever experienced on a battlefield. Thirty-three thousand, six hundred sixty five service men and women made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Our troops were ultimately successful in stemming the tide of communism and keeping the Republic of South Korea free.

"The Congress authorized the Department of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. The purpose of the program was to honor the nearly 1.8 million Korean War veterans and their families. American Legion Post 1083 is proud to be named a commemorative partner in this process. Today, together with VFW Post 7487 and the village and town of Lewiston, we will thank and honor the Korean War veterans of our community," Roemer concluded.

Town, Village Pay Tribute

He then introduced Supervisor Sandy Maslen from the town of Lewiston and Trustee Terry Collesano from the village of Lewiston who both read proclamations in honor of the Korean War veterans, including the local participants in this conflict.

In her proclamation, Maslen stated, "...Whereas the Korean conflict lasted from June of 1950 and continued to November of 1953, and whereas 5.7 million men and women served our country along with United Nations forces to defend and preserve the Republic of South Korea, and whereas their actions expelled the communist premier of South Korea, and whereas 33,665 gave their lives for this cause and whereas 100,000 servicemen and women were wounded, as whereas the town of Lewiston recognizes their services, do now therefore proclaim that Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2003 be observed as the 50th anniversary of the Korean War conflict and honor all veterans of this conflict."

Collesano read a similar proclamation on behalf of village Mayor Richard Soluri and members of the village board who were in attendance at the ceremony.

Korean War Flag

At that point Roemer returned and paid recognition to the 50th anniversary of Korean War flag which was flying in the stiff breeze that morning next to the Stars and Stripes at Academy Park.

"Right now, I'd like to draw your attention to the flag flying behind me, next to our national colors," Roemer said.

"That is the official commemorative flag of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. The flag is symbolic of the united efforts of the United States, Korean and UN forces. The light blue streamer represents the UN battle streamer. The 22 stars represent the 22 allied nations who joined in the struggle. The flag states 'Freedom is not Free,' (and appears in both English and Korean on the flag.)

"This is added by our Korean war veterans, and if you have been to the Korean War monument in Washington, DC, you'll find those words etched in granite," Roemer pointed out.

The ceremony proceeded to the presenting of commemorative lapels to the Korean servicemen on hand and concluded with a salute by attending veterans to both flags and the playing of the U.S. National Anthem.

All said, it proved a moving experience for the roughly 75 residents on hand in the misty rain, and particularly so for the Korean servicemen, many of whom stood in quiet reflection of that time 50 years ago.

The Sentinel joins with our community in paying its respects to our nation's veterans, and in particular, those local heroes of Korea.