Charleston was a successful reunion for our Association. We had over 400 registrants, with 400 banquet attendees. The Tiger Chop Chop had 84 attendees including a family of 12 and a family of 9, and 2 surviving spouses. Here are some other highlights:
Impressive attendance
Irvin and Rita Weber had with them 24 of their family members: daughters, spouses, and grandchildren!
Reunion First Timers:
- David Mills
- Jim Jones
- Gerald Doyle
Resolution passed to make the following persons honorary members of the Association:
- Tim Casey, Association Roster Manager
- Phil O'Brien, JPAC
- Stephen Thompson, JPAC
Newly Elected Officers:
- President: Fred Liddell
- First Vice-President: Lloyd Pate
- Second Vice-President: Franklin "Jack" Chapman
Newly Elected Board Members:
- James Ball
- Cindy Chapman
- Shorty Estabrook
- Betty Sitler
- Edward Smith
- Carlos Lugo, alternate
The following couples are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year. Congratulations!
- Harold & Jean Beerbower
- Larry & Eleanor Donovan
- Troy & Beulah Williams
The Charleston Gazette did a nice article about our reunion. Here's an excerpt and a link to the full story.
They’re not forgotten
Former Korean War POWs remember those left behind
By Rusty Marks
Staff writer
The last thing Jack Chapman remembers before waking up in a hut full of prisoners was shoving his last shell into the back of a 75 mm recoilless rifle.
“We got ambushed on our way to the Chosin Reservoir,” the 73-year-old former POW said.
Chapman jumped up on the back of a truck and took over the gun after the original gunner fled a Chinese ambush in November 1950.
Frank Kaiser was lying in a gully next to the road when a Chinese mortar round slammed into the vehicle. Chapman was hit in the head by sub-machine gun fire and tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Kaiser was sure he’d been killed.
Outnumbered by a margin of 10 to one, Maj. John McLaughlin bowed to the inevitable and surrendered in the middle of the night.
“We were just overrun,” recalled Kaiser, 74. “We ran out of ammunition. We just couldn’t kill them all.”
Kaiser, Chapman and hundreds of other Americans would spend the rest of the Korean War in prison camps throughout North Korea. This week, the Korean War Ex-POW Association is meeting at the Charleston Marriott for a reunion and to remember their fallen comrades. About 400 former prisoners, their wives and families are expected to attend.
Read the rest of the story at The Charleston Gazette.
Reprinted with permission
©The Charleston Gazette