State Senator Gayle Slossberg
November 10, 2009
Local Veterans, Public Officials Unveil and Dedicate State Memorial to Korean War
Senator Gayle Slossberg of Milford leads ceremony in recognition of veterans’ noble service
Senator Gayle Slossberg joins Barbara and Mark Gordon in front of the new Korean War Memorial sculpture at the unveiling ceremony. Mark and Barbara worked closely with Senator Slossberg to make sure that the sculpture project went forward.
Three hundred and fourteen Connecticut servicemen gave their lives and another 80 are missing in action from their service in what is often referred to as America’s ‘Forgotten War.”
For more than five decades, Connecticut’s Korean War veterans have gone unacknowledged in the halls of the State Capitol in Hartford. Their service, however, was honored and recognized in a ceremony Monday that unveiled and dedicated the state’s new Korean War Memorial sculpture.
“It has been five long years since many of us embarked on the journey to create a lasting tribute to Connecticut’s Korean War veterans, a tribute that will stand in the concourse between the Legislative Office Building and the Capitol,” said state Senator Gayle Slossberg (D-Milford), former co-chair and current vice chair of the General Assembly’s Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “And while some of us have been working and waiting for this day for five years, most of you here have been working and waiting for this day for a lot longer.”
In front of a crowd of more than 250 veterans, servicemen and women, their families and public officials, Senator Slossberg hosted the ceremony in honor of Connecticut’s more than 30,000 veterans who served in active duty in Korea.
The sculpture was the brainchild of Korean War vet Mark Gordon, who approached Senator Slossberg with the proposal to memorialize service in this American conflict. Mr. Gordon was on hand to personally unveil the sculpture, which was created by artist Clayton Fuller of Massachusetts.
Local veterans in attendance said that the ceremony brought long-awaited recognition and a renewed sense of camaraderie with their fellow servicemen.
“This, to me, is a great time to see my fellow veterans up close,” said Don Lewis, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who resides in Orange. “I heard a few voices toward the back of the room when they mentioned, “Forgotten, forgotten,” and they were saying, “Yes.” So this brings it, I think, to the front again. It was 55 years ago, but those that were there will never forget it, and now hopefully some of the citizens in the state won’t also.”
Art Streit of Milford, a Korean War veteran, recalled his return to from active duty in Korea.
“It’s called the ‘Forgotten War,’ but Gayle made us felt remembered,” said Mr. Streit. “It’s just recognition, mostly, for what we’ve done. I remember when I first got back, I just came from a small town and I knew the druggist — he had a drug store next to where I worked. And he said, ‘Oh gee, I haven’t seen you around for a while. Where have you been?’ I said I was away on vacation. That’s what it meant to everybody. To have it remembered now is really wonderful.”
Also in attendance were public officials including Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn), Comptroller Nancy Wyman and Select Committee of Veterans’ Affairs Co-chairs Senator Andrew Maynard (D-Stonington) and Representative Ted Graziani (D-Ellington).
The ceremony also featured a rifle salute from the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard Military Honor Squad Rifle Team, the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 1 Color Guard and the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard Band.
The Korean War lasted from June 1950 to July 1953. More than 54,000 Unites States military servicemen and women lost their lives in the conflict and another 103, 284 were wounded. Three Connecticut servicemen were awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in Korea.
The Korean War Memorial Sculpture now stands in the State Capitol Concourse in Hartford with memorials to every other American conflict.
|
Senator Slossberg’s |
Listing of Senator Slossberg’s recent press releases and a Press Kit with official head shots and bio. |
Press Aide Jaclyn Falkowski |
