The Korean War has been called “the forgotten war,” but a local veterans group wants to make sure Korean War veterans are never forgotten.
The Korean War Veterans of Lycoming County is accepting and compiling information about county residents who served during the Korean conflict, which lasted from 1950 to 1953.
The group intends to publish the stories in a book.
“Our goal is to get the stories of everybody in the area who has been in the Korean War, whether stateside or overseas,” William Witmer, member of the organization’s board of directors and public information officer, said Monday.
“We want to know in a brief, one- or two-page resume what their duties consisted of, the rank they attained — their whole career in the military, including photos,” Witmer said.
The organization already has compiled information on some veterans, but hundreds of others who served have stories that never may be told, he said.
“We want to ensure that as many Korean War veterans as possible are represented in the book,” he said.
Although the stories of veterans may not seem important today, they will once those veterans have died and their stories become lost forever, Witmer said.
“Once they die, those memories will be gone. We want to preserve history,” he said.
Time is running out. The Korean War began only five years after the end of World War II, so those who served during the war already are in their twilight years and may not have long to tell their stories, he said.
“We’re in the yellow light of the stop light,” he said.
The Korean War Veterans of Lycoming County was formed in 1997 as an offshoot of another organization.
According to to Fred Schaefer, president of the organization, five charter members — Schaefer, Howard Wilt, William Welter, John Kellenstine and William Kast — met and decided to found the group.
“We met at Burger King,” Schaefer said. “That’s when we decided to form the Korean War Veterans of Lycoming County. We had no money, so we each threw in $20 to get a post office box and some stamps.”
Kast was the group’s original commander, Wilt was treasurer, Welter, secretary and Schaefer, chaplain, Schaefer said.
Kast, Welter and Kellenstine have since died.
The group today has about 270 members. They meet at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday of every month in an old Lewis Township schoolhouse across the road from the Steam Valley Restaurant in Trout Run, Witmer said.
The hourlong meetings are open to any Korean War veteran, he said.
The organization raises money through a popular 50-50 raffle, Witmer said. Except for fundraising to erect a monument at the Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park on West Fourth Street, the group has never solicited donations, he said.
One of the most visible parts of the organization is the Korean War Veterans Honor Guard, a group that attends the funerals of veterans, regardless of when they served.
The honor guard, which was formed in 1999, recently surpassed its 700th funeral. William Emig was largely responsible for the honor guard’s formation, Schaefer said.
“He put a lot of work into the honor guard,” he said.
The group also does presentations for Memorial Day ceremonies, schools, nursing homes, churches and civic organizations, Schaefer said.
The presentation includes a flag-folding, during which the symbolism of each of the 13 folds are explained.
“We have different things to say. It might be a poem or something we read out of a history book,” Witmer said.
Those who want to submit information for the book may send it to Bill Witmer, 2077 Sheridan St., Williamsport PA 17701. For more information, they may call him at 323-6066.
