One of L Company, 8th Cav comes home - May 2006
The remains of PFC Henry D. Connell, MIA 2 November 1950, were returned to Hawaii for ID in 1993. He was recently ID'd by using family DNA and his remains were buried the weekend of May 14, 2006 in Springfield, Mass. He was in L Co, 8th Cav. MIA at Usan. Purple Heart w/OLC.
24th Division POW - March 2006
Friday 31 March 2006. Roger Dumas was a machine gunner in the 19th Reg. Charlie Company. He was captured on November 4, 1950. During Operation Big Switch, Dumas, like so many others were not released from Camp 5. The Pentagon never told Dumas' family that he was ever a POW. His brother, Bob, sued the Secretary of the Army in Federal Court in 1982 and presented evidence that Dumas was a POW and abandoned in N. Korea after the War. The Federal Judge ruled in Bob's favor and ordered the Secretary of the Army to reclassify Roger Dumas as a POW.
Missing POWs - 2006
In the past two years, Assistant Secretary of Defense Jerry Jennings reported that he has viewed over a thousand recent live sighting reports of American POWs in North Korea. This astounding story is told in the documentary film, "Missing, Presumed Dead: The Search for America's POWs," winner of the Best Documentary Award, Fort Myers Beach Film Festival. The film was also screened in Congress and a DVD has been distributed to every member of Congress and the Senate by Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Congressman Paul is hopeful the film will inspire his colleagues to become co-sponsors of HR 123, which will allow a House Select Committee to investigate abandoned POW/MIA's.
For more information on this documentary please go to Missing Presumed Dead.
Back to TopKorean POW elected to American Ex-POWs command – December 2005
Robert W. Fletcher, Korean War Ex-POW, has been elected, National Senior Vice Commander of American EX-POWs.
Back to TopDistinguished Service Cross Awarded – October 2005
PFC Florentino Gonzales was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company B, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, on July 5, 1950, near Chonan, Korea.
During an enemy attack which had been in progress for seven hours against overwhelming odds, his unit was ordered to withdraw as their ammunition was almost depleted. With no regard for his own personal safety, he volunteered to stay at his position and continue to fire his machine-gun to cover the withdrawal of his unit and to protect his assistant machinegunner, who had been seriously wounded. Undaunted, he continued to deliver effective fire on the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties.
He was last seen when his position was overrun by the enemy.
Back to TopTibor Rubin awarded National Medal of Honor – September 23, 2005
Rubin was first incarcerated at age 13 during World War II. He was forced from his Hungarian Jewish community to a concentration camp in Austria. Both parents and his two sisters perished in the Holocaust. Rubin survived until the camp was liberated two years later by American troops. Being liberated by the U.S. Army, Tibor felt that if he ever made it to the United States of America, he would join the Army.
Rubin immigrated to the United States in 1948 and answered the call to duty by volunteering for Army service. During numerous battles in Korea, Rubin's actions with the 1st Cavalry Division, engaging the enemy and tending to the wounded, were what officials described as "careless disregard for his own safety." In one such battle, Rubin single-handedly defended a hill, manning a machine gun for 24 hours, throughout the night and next morning, allowing the 8th Cavalry Regiment to successfully withdraw.
Rubin was severely wounded before being captured along with other soldiers. On November 2, 1950, Chinese troops captured Cpl. Rubin and other soldiers and he became a prisoner of war. For the next two and half years, Rubin risked his life daily to keep his fellow soldiers alive. He was nominated four times for the Medal, the nation's highest recognition for bravery in battle. On September 23, 2005, in Washington D.C., President Bush presented Rubin the Medal of Honor.
Back to TopHonored May – June 2005
- Clarence Young, 5th RCT was awarded the Silver Star on May 29,2005. The citation read in part that Young volunteered to stay back and cover his Unit's withdrawal thus enabling many to avoid capture. He was also awarded a Plaque as an Honoree for the Roll Call of heroes.
- A well-deserved honor was given to Dan McKinney by the Airmans Leadership School and placed on their Wall of Heroes, Cannon AFB, NM.
- William K. Norwood was the guest speaker at the Polk County, TN, Memorial Day Services.
Korean War National Museum and Library
If you are driving through Illinois you may want to check out the Korean War National Museum and Library. It is located at the once Chanute Air Force Base, in Rantoul, Illinois. All of the museum board of directors are Korean War veterans.
Illinois I-57 will bring you to the museum, and the Air Force Base's museum.
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