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Adirondack Korean War vets say last goodbyes

Korean War veteran Stuart Queen, center, takes off his hat while speaking at a ceremony in Crandall Park Wednesday morning. Paul O’Keefe, left, commander of the Adirondack Chapter No. 60 of the Korean War Veterans Association, and veteran Edward Vrana, right, listen as Queen talks about the disbanding of the association. (Photo provided — Gretta Hochsprung/The Post Star)

GLENS FALLS — Stuart Queen took off his cap that indicated he was “Forever Proud” to have served in the Korean War.

“I wear this in memory and in honor of all the people, all the troops I was over there fighting with,” Queen, 90, told a group that assembled to officially dissolve the Adirondack Chapter No. 60 of the Korean War Veterans Association at Crandall Park Wednesday morning.

The chapter announced in June that it would be disbanding due to its aging membership. The organization had five open officer positions and could not find anyone to fill them.

At least 20 of the 100 members died in the last two years, some from COVID-19 and others from old age.

The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. The fighting ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953.

The Korean War — often referred to as the “forgotten war” — never officially ended, said Paul O’Keefe, commander of the Adirondack Chapter.

“South Korea, the country that we all fought for and defended, was the only country involved that refused to sign the armistice, as strange as it seems,” said O’Keefe, noting that 28,500 American soldiers, airmen and Marines are in South Korea, many stationed on the DMZ.

O’Keefe wiped tears from under his eyes as he talked about the organization.

“God bless each one of you for attending. God bless our troops who are currently deployed. God bless the innocent people of the Ukraine. God bless South Korea. And God bless the United States of America, the land that I happen to love and my great-grandchildren love also,” O’Keefe said as he grabbed the hands of his great-grandchildren Blake Bedard, 11, and Raidyn McLean, 8.

State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, said after the short ceremony that he was happy to see so many Korean War veterans in attendance.

“It’s sad that this will be their last gathering as they’re getting older,” Stec said, “but inspiring to see them so healthy.”

State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, noted that many of the Korean War veterans have been active members of their communities.

“When you talk to these guys, they’re active in their American Legion club or in a VFW hall, and they’re involved in the community in so many ways,” Woerner said. “This generation really was amazing in so many ways.”

Two representatives from the office of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, also attended the ceremony.

The veterans and their families gathered after the ceremony at the Ambrosia Diner for lunch.

Eugene Slavin served on the destroyer USS John R. Pierce DD-753 when he went to Korea in 1952. One of his first assignments was to bomb the power plants in North Korea.

“They sent out over 400 planes and every one came back,” Slavin said. “The lights in North Korea went out that night.”

Slavin started the Adirondack Chapter in 1990 after originally joining a chapter in Troy. Early meetings were held at the VFW in Glens Falls and later moved to Saratoga VFW.

The members marched in parades, attended patriotic ceremonies and held a luncheon meeting once a month. They also visited high schools to talk about the Korean War.

The organization built the Korean War Memorial in Glens Falls, honoring 80 KIA-MIA soldiers from the Korean War.

The Adirondack Chapter chose to stand in front of the memorial on July 27 to officially disband, exactly 69 years after the conflict ended.

“I was hoping that we would stay for another year and have the 70th anniversary, but some of us are kind of fading away,” Queen said. “Like MacArthur said when he got out of the Army there, he said, ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ We get older, and we fade away too.”

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