KOREAN WAR VETERANS NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY PURPOSE. MISSION. AND OBJECTIVES

KOREAN WAR VETERANS NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

         The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library planned for construction in Tuscola, Illinois, will be among the first museums of national scope devoted entirely to the subject of one particular war. A long overdue tribute, the museum will be the only national repository in which to house three-dimensional artifacts such as books and manuscripts, maps and photographs, and military and civilian documents associated with the Korean War.
          The purpose of the KWVNM&L is to preserve a record of the participation of the United States in the Korean War, to educate and disseminate information to the general public about the Korean War era and the country of South Korea, and to promote good relations and friendship among Korean War veterans, the citizens of other United Nations allies who participated in the research, care for, and interpret Korean War information and artifacts for Korean War veterans, their descendants, and the general public.
          The primary objectives of the KWVNM&L are to build a museum facility, a library, and a convention center; to advertise throughout the United States, in South Korea, and in Allied Nations for outright donations (no permanent loans) of objects associated with the Korean War; and to hire museum professionals to catalog and preserve all donations. Veterans trying to locate those who served with them in various units will be assisted by Korean War veterans registry. A nation-wide oral history project to tape the memoirs of Korean War veterans and DMZ veterans in the United States and throughout the world will also be one of the primary objectives of the museum and
library. A research library will be established in the museum for books that relate perspectives of the American, Allied, and Korean history pertinent to the Korean War; reference books which provide historical information: movies and video tapes; photographs and slides; documents, and other such items associated with the Korean War and DMZ eras, and their participants. General public use of the library, as well as scholarly research, will be encouraged. Traveling educational programs for schools will be established, and visitation by school groups will be encouraged. A museum store will sell Korean War-related educational materials.
          The KWVNM&L incorporated in the state of Illinois in Sept. of 1997, and fund-raising efforts are currently in progress. The establishment of the KWVNM&L is not financially supported by federal legislation. Fund-raising for the museum and library is entirely the responsibility of the board of trustees. Most of the funds will come from individual and corporate sponsorship, and the sponsors will be recognized on inscribed tiles incorporated into the convention center walls. The KWVNM&L is a non-profit, federally tax-exempt, historic preservation agency. Because interest in the museum is not limited to veterans, its membership is open to the general public.
                    The constitution of the organization includes a clause requiring five (5) percent of all membership dues to be set aside, in the Endowment Fund until the year 2000. Beginning in that year, the amount increases to ten (10) percent. The convention center fees will, for the most part be placed into the Endowment Fund to increase that permanent funding base. The museum is expected to receive numerous reunion groups each year. Other funds to operate and maintain the museum will come from admission fees (no person will be prevented from utilizing the museum due to inability to I>ay admission fees), private and corporate donations, federal and state grants, bequeaths, and museum store proceeds. (Most of the general operating fund, which covers postage, office supplies, and the like, is generated by membership dues. Donation contributed to the Wall of Remembrance and Wall of Honor tile program go to the Building Fund.)
          The museum will not glorify war. Instead, it will explain that war has often been necessary
 :0 safeguard freedom. The Korean War, considered by many to be "The Forgotten War", ;successfully secured freedom for the people of South Korea and helped stop the spread of :communism. Impressive state and local Korean War memorials have recently been built throughout :he United States, but the proposed KWVNM&L, centrally located on a main transportation artery n an area of high tourism in Illinois, will have the power to educate the general public about the Korean War in a way that no visit to a statue or memorial can equal.
           For more information contact the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library, ~.O. Box 16, Tuscola, n. 61953. Phone (217)253-5813 or 1-888-295-7212, Web-site www.theforgottenvictorv.org Contact people: Sharon Corum and Dorothy McCumber
kwmuseum@advacnenet.net

PURPOSE: The purpose of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library is to preserve a record of the participation of the United States in the Korean War, to educate and disseminate information to the general public about the Korean War era and Korea, and to promote good relations and friendship among Korean War veterans, the citizens of other United Nation countries who participated in the Korean War, and the people of Korea.

MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library is to provide accurate historical information and educational resources to Korean War veterans, their family members, students of every level from grade school to Ph.D. candidates and the general public. This facility will house the only full-scale educational resource center of its kind devoted entirely to the preservation, study, and understanding of the Korean War.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library are to: