BECKLEY, W.Va. — Although the Korean War officially ended nearly 54 years ago, the fight, for many veterans who served on the front lines, has continued as they struggled to gain recognition for what is often referred to as “the forgotten war.”

With Sunday’s opening of the Korean War Memorial in downtown Sophia, however, members of Chapter 156 of the Korean War Veterans say they hope to raise awareness of the war that left 54,246 dead, including 801 West Virginians.

“How do you forget 54,000-plus soldiers that died?” KWVA State President Frank Goff asked those who attended the dedication. “We’re a forgotten people. We don’t want the world or America to forget that we did have a war and we did fight for a cause.”

The three-section black marble monument was a project 10 years in the making.

KWVA member David Frame, who was charged with heading up the project, said the monument was funded by donations, including the Sophia Building Commission’s donation of the land on which the monument sits.

Despite the outside help, Frame said support of the local chapter’s members is what really pushed the project over the top.

“We (members) really struggled and taxed ourselves,” he said. “Each member made a pledge and met that pledge every year. Every one of our members had a hand in this.”

Sunday’s event featured several speakers including George Weidensall, one of 540 soldiers who participated in the war’s first battle on July 5, 1950, as part of Task Force Smith.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” Weidensall said, adding that only 250 soldiers returned from that first battle.

Goff, speaking of the importance of the Korean War, said he believed the end of communism in Germany and Russia began “when we confronted communism in a little peninsula called Korea.”

Weidensall, who visited South Korea in 1998, said he was amazed by how much the country had changed since he fought that first battle in 1950.

“South Korea looks like New York City now,” he said. “It was amazing to see how much the country had improved because of what we did.”

Keynote speaker Congressman Nick Rahall praised the town of Sophia and everyone responsible for the construction of the monument, which he said will ensure “the bravery and sacrifices of men and women in the Korean War will be remembered for a long time to come.”

“It’s quite a moving event to have recognition of those who fought in the Korean War,” Rahall said. “It reminds us all of the sacrifices veterans of all wars have made for this country.”



Michelle James writes for The Register-Herald in Beckley, W.Va.