Korean War

On June 9, six members of Korean War Veterans Antietam Chapter 312 met with eight students from Northern Virginia high schools to talk about the Korean War and the various experiences the veterans encountered during and after the war. The gathering of students and veterans took place at the home of Vice Cmdr. Les Bishop of Hagerstown. The meeting was prompted by a student inquiry after viewing the chapter's website. All of the students are Korean-American descendants and are united in a project to write a book about the Korean War. Their interest in talking to the veterans was to hear how and why the veterans entered military service, their recollections from the war and the affect the war had on their life afterwards.

Local Korean War veterans say they felt a sense of  urgency a few years ago when they started planning to build a monument to honor the men and women who served in that “forgotten” conflict. “The Korean War veterans are rapidly becoming an endangered species as we are losing more than 900 Korean War veterans each day,” Korean War veteran Lew Ewing said Tuesday during a groundbreaking ceremony for the monument at Mealey Parkway in Hagerstown. “If we the veterans who are still living today do not get it done now, memorials like this will never get built.” About 70 people, most of them members of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, gathered for the ceremony.

Editor's note: On June 25, 1950, communist forces of North Korea attacked South Korea to begin the Korean War. Early in the fighting, South Korean defenses were pushed back to a small pocket of resistance on the southeast coast of the country until United Nations forces, led by U.S. troops, mounted a successful counterattack at Inchon in September 1950. The war lasted until July 27, 1953, when both sides agreed to end hostilities. The country remains divided today. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that 36,574 Americans were killed during the conflict.

A large motorcade of 12 tour buses and motorhomes rolled in to Hagerstown's Clarion Hotel and Conference Center on Monday afternoon, carrying 200 men and women who served the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Along with 100 assistants traveling with the veterans, the group left Beloit, Wis., Sunday morning and made a stop in Pittsburgh that night before arriving in Hagerstown for the second year in a row, according to Mark Finnegan,...

Wilbur Snyder dropped out of Hagerstown High School in the ninth grade and went to work for the railroad. On May 7, 1951, he was drafted by the U.S. Army and sent to Camp Gordon, Ga., to be a signalman. But when he was sent to Korea later that year, his military occupational specialty changed. “They handed me an M-1 (rifle) and said you're an infantryman,” the 82-year-old Snyder said recently at his Funkstown home. “I had to get on-the-job training.” The Korean War had been raging for about nine months before Snyder arrived at Pusan in March 1951.

The recognition was 60 years in coming, but the Marine receiving it was no less proud. Still trim and fit in the U.S. Marine Corpsuniform he had custom-made in Okinawa in 1966 on his way to Vietnam, retired Capt. Robert “Bob” Glausier, 80, proudly wears the Gold Star he finally received for combat action in the Korean War. It is the second combat action award he has received. Still, Glausier is hesitant to make much of his latest recognition. “Bob is awfully modest.

By BRUCE HAMILTON / Staff Writer photo: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer Ernest Richard Rider walked into St. Josephs Catholic Church carrying a personal history in a brown paper bag. [cont. from front page ] He slowly removed old papers and mementos, emptying the bag's contents onto a table in the parish hall. He dug a handful of metal from the bottom, setting down his dog tags and shrapnel. "That piece was hot when I picked it up," he said, pointing to a jagged shard that landed in his bunker.

The Korean War Veterans Association is seeking members to start a chapter in Washington County. To be eligible, prospective members must have served in the U.S. military in Korea between Sept. 3, 1945, and the present day. This includes veterans who served in Asia, Europe or the continental United States from June 25, 1950, through Jan. 31, 1955. The association will be at Valley Mall in front of The Bon Ton today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call Bob Miles at 301-371-7769.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- In at least 60 years of riding motorcycles, the late William R. "Red" Berryhill Jr. never was much of a Harley-Davidson devotee, his son, William P. Berryhill, said Wednesday. "Back in the day, he was a fan of the old Indians," William P. Berryhill said, two days after his 77-year-old father died in a motorcycle accident. Indian owners didn't tend to switch to Harleys, he said. On Monday about 3:20 p.m., Berryhill, of Glengary, W.Va., lost control of a 1978 Kawasaki motorcycle as he rounded a curve while traveling east on Apple Harvest Drive near Parkinson Drive and his Berkeley County home, according to police and his son. The motorcycle's kickstand struck the pavement and caused Berryhill to be thrown from the vehicle and into a guardrail, West Virginia State Police First Sgt. E.D. Burnett said Wednesday in a press release.

HAGERSTOWN -- Lester Hart stood proudly on the pitcher's mound Friday night and threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the game between the Hagerstown Suns and Lake County Captains at Municipal Stadium. Hart, 90, had boasted that he could throw a baseball at about 99 mph. But on the 64th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe, his thoughts and those of the many veterans who attended Friday's game were focused on that larger contest known as World War II, where winning ensured freedom for future generations of Americans.

The president of South Korea thanked a group of local Korean War veterans for helping set the cornerstone of a 60-year partnership between her country and the United States during a dinner Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Les Bishop, commander of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said 27 members of the organization were among about 500 people who were invited to attend the event with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at...

A group of local Korean War veterans has been invited to have dinner with the president of South Korea on May 7 in Washington, D.C. Les Bishop, commander of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said the South Korean Embassy recently invited 40 members of the organization and some of their wives to dine with President Park Geun-hye at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “I couldn't tell you how proud I am and pleased that we received this invitation,” Bishop said.

William H. Snyder Jr., 78, of Grand Island, Fla., passed away on April 12, 2013.  He was born in Williamsport, Md., to the late William H. Snyder Sr. and the late Bessie Lee Snyder. William attended Hagerstown High School and was a veteran having served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a member of American Legion Post 211 of Funkstown, Md. William was retired from Potomac Edison Company (currently Allegheny Power). He was of Lutheran faith. William is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Delores M. Snyder; daughters, Kimberly Snyder, Diana Gift and son-in-law, Earl Gift and granddaughter, Mikaela Gift and is also survived by brothers, Gary Snyder, Danny Snyder and sister, Connie Pearman.

A local Korean War veterans association wants to remind aspiring college students about two scholarships that have been offered for the last several years. V. Joseph Startari, scholarship committee chairman of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said the organization is having a hard time getting high school seniors to apply for the $500 scholarships. “People just don't seem interested,” he said. Startari said students used to have to be a descendant of a Korean War veteran to apply, but Chapter 312 recently dropped that requirement.

A reader who called Mail Call last week asked about the meeting dates of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association. The reader wrote, “I would like to know if anybody knows ... where they meet, what day, what time ... and if there's a contact number for any of them.” Antietam Chapter 312 meets at 2 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at American Legion Dixon-Troxell Post 211 in Funkstown. The address is 12 N. Westside Ave. In addition, Antietam Chapter 312's board of directors meets at the American Legion in Funkstown on the third Wednesday of each month.

Norman Philip Grimes, 80, of Reading, Pa., died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in West Reading, Pa. Born Sept. 11, 1932, in Washington County, Md., he was the son of the late Cecil Leroy Grimes and Sarah Jane Herr Grimes Ambrose. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Grimes. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He retired from Polymer Corporation in Reading. He is survived by one sister, Annabelle Sword of Hagerstown; and three nieces and five nephews.

Harold L. Overcash, 81, of Mercersburg, Pa., died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Born Nov. 1, 1931, in Chambersburg, Pa., he was a son of the late Arthur L. and Anna C. Poe Overcash. He was a union pipe fitter/welder, working in various states around the country. He retired due to disability in 1981. Harold was a member of American Legion Post 517 of Mercersburg, Sideling Hill Sportsmen's Association and FOE of Harrisonville, Pa. He was an avid trapper for 60 years.

Virgil Lee Clark Sr., of Hagerstown, Md., passed away Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown. His parents were Harry Milton Clark and Illa Mae (Davis) Clark, both deceased.  He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy Jean (Gillespie) Clark; two children, Virgil Lee Clark Jr. and Susan Lynne (Clark) Eddy, and son-in-law, Craig D. Eddy; grandchildren, Mindy Clark, Andrea Sue Eddy and Lydia Marie Eddy; one great-granddaughter, Roxanne Marie Eddy; and a sister, Evelyn Elliott.

Ellis A. "Woody" Woodcock Sr., 83, of Washington Square in Hagerstown, Md., passed away Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, W.Va. Born Oct. 5, 1929, in Hagerstown, he was the son of the late Rufford M. and Anna (Townson) Woodcock. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Army. He retired from the Washington County Board of Education. He is survived by his wife, Joan M. Grove; children, Ellis Woodcock Jr., Mary Riggin, Roy "Sonny" Kerns, Robert Grove and Heather Grove; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Speaking about the war often referred to as the “forgotten war,” Hagerstown-area resident Les Bishop said the Korean War was one of the most significant events of the previous century and deeply affected the communist movement. Bishop was the speaker at Sunday morning's Veterans Day ceremony in front of the Washington County Courthouse in downtown Hagerstown. Approximately 130 people attended the 59th such ceremony sponsored by the American Legion auxiliary of Morris Frock Post 42 in Hagerstown.