| I am very pleased to be with you today to speak on behalf of the KWVA TELL AMERICA Program. It was just
about a year ago that I was appointed the role of National Coordinator for this program. It has been a great
experience talking with many of you about your programs. We have a large number of Chapters who are very
actively telling the story of the Korean War and emphasizing that FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. Believe me,
you are making a difference and I commend those of you who are taking the initiative to make this happen. It
takes perseverance and hard work but it is certainly a rewarding effort for the cause is noble and for many
students in the schools, this is the only way they will hear about what we did more than 50 years ago. This
gives them a chance to gain some understanding about the precious FREEDOM we enjoy in this country.
For those of you who do not have a program going in your chapter, I encourage you to give it strong
consideration. Even though we have a very limited budget, I think we have done some good things that will
help publicize the program and provide assistance to those who need help in getting started. The
Graybeards Editor Art Sharp has done a great job giving us recognition in The Graybeards. In
each issue we are trying to feature at least one Chapter with a write up and pictures. We really appreciate
the chapters who are providing this information. We would like to have more - even though we have a little
back log for now we will try to get them all published. I hope you have noticed we have a section on the
KWVA Website. There we like to show what some of the chapters are doing as well as provide material for
scripts that can be downloaded and adapted for local programs. I would like to put in a plug for David DePew,
former Tell America chairman, who provided some of this to us. We also have written material provided by
Chapters in Texas, Ohio, Missouri and New York. If you have something you are willing to share, please send
it to me and we will try to get it posted as well.
We have two videos that are good - an 11 minute segment of the 50th anniversary tape that works well in
the class room and the 30 minute "Bloody Korea" that David DePew used several years ago. Let me know if you
are interested in either of these. Marvin Dunn and I also have with us some posters and maps left over from
the 50th anniversary material that we will be glad to give you, as long as it lasts. Jack Walker’s book "A
Brief Account of the Korean War" is also a great memento to leave with the schools for their
library. He sells them for $1.00 if you order at least 50 copies.
I would like to mention 4 people and their Chapters that I have heard from recently and who have provided
some good material and have a lot of enthusiasm about what they are doing - Frank Shively, Western Ohio
Chapter, Piqua, Ohio; Victor J. Haas, Mid Florida Chapter 173, Sanford, Florida; Irwin Braun, Nassau County
Chapter No. 1, Long Island, New York and James Yaney, Chapter 1, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
I asked Jim Yaney to come today because he is so enthusiastic about their program and likes to talk about
how great is has been for their chapter. (Jim Yaney talked for several minutes about their visits with the
schools and also their involvement in the civic community.)
Just for your information we have had a slight reorganization in the Tell America Committee. This next
year we will be under Executive Council oversight of Director Bill Mac Swain - I am now Chairman, Irving
Breibart, New York and Marvin Dunn, Texas are additional members of the committee. If you need help, please
call on any of these people.
One last comment - we are all getting along in years and probably don’t have too many years left to tell
the story of the Korean War. We have two great opportunities right now to do something about that - one is
to go ourselves and carry that message, the other is to bring in some of the younger Korean DMZ veterans
that we have been talking about and get them involved. This is certainly a great way to partner with some of
the Korean veterans and to go to the schools with you and share some of their experiences.
We continue to solicit information from you about your programs and appreciate any help you can provide
to help make this program better.
Larry Kinard
Tell America Committee Chairman
|
Life Member Jim Yaney, Combat
Medic in Korea and member of Indiana #1 (KWVA Chapter 30) made an outstanding presentation of the Tell
America Program to the Annual Meeting as part of the Committee’s presentation.
Visit