By Ryan Yantis
With the marking of the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the millions of veterans of that conflict in America still do not have a suitable, world-class museum to honor their service and sacrifice in the Land of the Morning Calm.
The Korean War National Museum (KWNM) in the U.S. faced insurmountable challenges to accomplish the mission of building a world-class museum to honor those who served, preserve their legacy, and educate people of the truth of the ``forgotten victory" of the Korean War.
The old board of directors stepped down. A new board was formed in January and Denis J. Healy, a Korean War veteran, was elected its president. The new board achieved synergy quickly and began taking immediate and positive steps.
We are working long and hard hours to get our organization on a firm footing and to honor the brave Korean, American and U.N. military personnel who served in the Korean War, and who set the stage for the ``forgotten victory" as best represented by the free, democratic and dynamic South Korea of today.
I am optimistic for the future of the museum. We held a successful fundraising event at Chicago's world famous Merle Reskin Theater in April. This performance, featuring television and movie actor James McEachin, was a dramatic presentation of ``Above the Call; Beyond the Duty," a one-man play about military service, sacrifice and honor.
McEachin knows this topic well, as he earned a Silver Star for valor, and the Purple Heart for his wounds, suffered in the defense of South Korea during the war.
We have engaged with ``Hugh Downs Great America" for a 30 minute TV documentary, scheduled to air later this summer on 200 Public Broadcast Stations (PBS) across the United States and in over 120 countries around the world.
The future looks bright for the museum. We are enjoying renewed interest from Korean War veterans and their families these days. Our Denis J. Healy Freedom Center is open to the public in Springfield, Ill., with exhibits and information on the conflict referred to as "The Forgotten War." Donations of papers, photographs and artifacts continue to arrive, helping us expand our collection of knowledge of those who served and lived in Korea during the war.
The KWNM leadership is working closely with the South Korean Consulate in Chicago as we prepare for future commemorations. The history of the Korean War is not a story only of the American military, but of the Korean people. We seek to tell the story of this great journey with a world-class, dynamic and interactive facility to visitors.
The writer is the executive director of the Korean War Museum in U.S. For more information, visit www.kwnm.org.