Korean War vets recognized by Congress

KWVA OFFICIAL:
The Korean War Veterans Association’s Northern California District Commander Bill McKinney announced the passing of KWVA’s charter by U.S. Congress last week at the Anderson VFW hall. Here, he stands at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Congress passed a bill June 17 that would grant a federal charter to veteran advocacy group, Korean War Veterans Association, Inc. The bill has yet to be signed by President Bush. Formed in 1985, KWVA had worked aggressively towards earning a charter for the last six years, said KWVA Department of California President Mike Glazzy.

“We kept trying, but for some reason the bill never got out of committee in the House to get to a vote,” said KWVA Northern California District Commander Bill McKinney about the difficulty in getting Congress to pass their charter.

“All military organizations chartered by congress form a coalition and present their viewpoints to congresspersons regarding veterans’ issues,” Glazzy said. “Once chartered, the organization can help vets seek service-related benefits, and we can assume the liability required to help them.”

“We must never forget the contributions of those who served in the Korean War. They have earned our utmost respect and are well deserving of this charter,” said U.S. Representative Wally Herger. “I am proud to support this charter because it will help provide needed resources to the veterans and recognize their service and sacrifice on behalf of our nation.”

The KWVA expects to help veterans apply for service-related benefits that they were already allowed. The only cost to the government, then, would be from the veterans filing for claims who otherwise would not, said Glazzy.

Now that KWVA has its charter, it will be on equal footing with other veterans’ organizations, such as Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion, and Vietnam Veterans of America.

“We lose 1,500 World War II veterans a day and 6,500 Korean War veterans a day,” McKinney said, “so we’ve opened up our organization to include all vets stationed in Korea.”

Despite the armistice signed in 1953 which ended the Korean War, about 30,000 American troops are currently stationed in Korea, Glazzy said.

McKinney encouraged any interested veteran stationed in Korea to contact the organization and “join the cause.” McKinney can be reached at 530-365-3656.