| The Korean War 50th Anniversary of the Ending of the: "Forgotten War" June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953 |
| In early 2002 my good friend MSG Joseph D. Colantoni (U.S. Army, retired) the current Veterans Services Agent for the Town of Abington, asked if I would like to be part of the committee putting together a three day event to honor the the Veterans of the Korean War and those who gave the Supreme Sacrifice. I was of course honored to be asked to participate in such an event. On July 25, 26, & 27 of 2003, we had our event. To follow is a brief photo description of the event. |
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| On Saturday July 26, 2003. In addition to a Howitzer, and some "beast" of a 10 wheeled truck. The Natioanl Guard also brought in a Huey (shown here ready to leave). Although certainly not Korean Vintage, it was certainly a crowd pleaser as it made several tree top passes before coming in. Add to that they let the "kids" of all ages play in it and was a success. However on top of the modern equipment brought in by the guard, Numerous vintage military vehicles were brought in by private collectors/owners over the weekend. Those vehicles were truly a sight to be seen. |
| Additionally, On Saturday there was a great display of small arms including the not so small 50 caliber Browning Machinegun. This was set up as a comparison of the US small arms of the Korean War as compaired to there current day counter parts. I owe a big "thank you" to Dom from D&T Arms and Carl from Provost's Precision Pistols www.p3llc.com for bringing up these firearms, maybe "next time" Dom will remember the M3 Grease Gun...Reguardless, many a veteran was pleased to be photographed holding thier old battle rifle, funny they all seemed to remember the guns being a lot lighter back then. |
| The entire weekend we saw not only a number of vintage military vehicles, but also a lot of vintage equipment and "vintage" soldiers, in the form of re-enactors. Some of these guys (and ladies) even camped out (in character) the entire weekend. They all looked great, it was hotter than 90 degrees, but these guys toughed it out, some in wool uniforms, many of the older veterans enjoyed showing there younger counter parts the way it used to be. My sincerest thank you to John and Ethal Simione and Norman Harbinson for thier tirelss work and effort to "put on a good (and accurate) show". |
| The event came to a close with a cerimony held Sunday afternoon. In addition to the ussual group of politicians, we were honored to have Captain Thomas J Hudner, Jr. (U.S. Navy, retired) a Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient as our guest and speaker. Capt. Hudner was a navy pilot during the war, when he witnessed one of squadron go down in enimy territory, he knew it would take time for a rescue mission to reach the downed airman. Figuring two had better chance of surviving in hostile territory, Capt. Hudner belly landed his own plane so as that he could assist the downed airman. He is truly an American Hero and Patriot. |
| I would just like to thank the other members of the Committee for putting together such a wonderful event, a special thanks to the Chairman Joseph Colantoni (pictured left) for allowing me to be a part of the planning. My deepest thanks goes out to Capt. Hudner, Joe, Grampi Rizzo, all Korean Veterans, and certainly those who who served in Korea but did not return.. Thank you for your service in this the "Forgotten War". |
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