CHAPTER CHATTER
The Official Newsletter of the
Shenandoah Valley Chapter #313
Korean War Veterans Association
Pukyong University Students
On Thursday, January 28th, four of our members, Bill Scott, Leonard Laconia, Charles Hoak and Lew Ewing had the opportunity to travel to Chantilly, VA to meet with a group of outstanding students from Pukyong National University in Busan, Republic of Korea. They are members of a student group known as "The United Nations Supporters" whose mission is to honor and to thank the veterans from all of the nations that sent men and women to Korea to fight and die to keep their country free from Communist aggression during the war.
We spent about one and one-half hours in a very informal round-table discussion with the eleven students, three adult advisors and a student from the American University in Washington, DC who served as an interpreter. The students were interested in our experiences during the time we served in Korea.
The students presented each of us with a gift and also a notebook containing short letters each of them wrote. We plan to publish one of the letters each month in the next few issues of our Chapter Chatter.
Leonard Laconia, Charles Hoak, Bill Scott and Lew Ewing with the students and Advisors
Letter from a Pukyong University Student
Hello, my name is Seehyun Lee. I'm a student from Pukyong National University in Republic of Korea, the very country you fought for about 60 years ago. I could never thank you enough for what you did for my country. You fought for a country and its people you barely knew when you were my age. When you were around 20! I cannot even imagine how hard it would have been. What you did for my country deserves such respect and we Koreans sincerely appreciate your bravery. I hope my visit today represents my gratitude towards you and your comrades.
We are merely more than a dozen, but please be aware that the whole citizens back in Korea still appreciate and remember You All. (Editor's Note: You can tell she is from South Korea.) I wish everything goes well for you and hope your comrades who passed away at the tragic war rest in peace.
Faithfully yours,
Seehyun