The Public Speaks

This page was established to give the general public a way to share their sentiments about the Korean War with the veterans who fought and served in it. If you would like your essay or opinion posted on this page E-Mail Zach Waters.

Dear Heroes of Our Past,

I would like to start out by saying that not of us who make up the younger generation have forgotten about the men who gave their lives in order to preserve the American way.  I am no more than a 16 year old young man whose dream is to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps. I don't know what it was like in Korea and I do not pretend to understand the horror of warfare.  I do, however, try my best to educate myself on the wars of the 20th century so that I may come as close as possible to comprehending those horrors.  I do all that I can to ensure that I, and those around me, do not forget the wars in which our soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice.  I know that it doesn't mean much, but I thank-you all for keeping me safe and all of us in these United States.  Thank-You!

Sincerely,

Mach Lock

I doubt many of us think of ourselves as heroes but it is gratifying to know that there are young people like you who do, and who are ready to take up the mantle of U.S. Marine. A nation can suffer a worse fate than sending its young men and women to war. The end will only come when a nation's young people no longer are willing to bear the burden and carry the flame of liberty for ourselves and for those who yearn for freedom but are denied. An hedonistic nation will die like ancient Rome, in the hands of the barbarians. As long as there are young men like you we will survive and prosper.

May your future bring you all you desire, and if you become a Marine, I know that you will bring honor to yourself and your country.

Semper Fidelis!

Ray L. Walker

USMC 1948/52

Dear Friends, Veterans and Comrades

Please read the letter following: and I pray that you will take time out to write to your Rep. and Senators asking them to step in and do something for Mr. Hagler. I have been writing to all possible individuals you can imagine. I got on this case about year and a half ago, It seems that things have gone quite downhill for Mr., Hagler recently. Not to mention the forced resignation of Dr. Moskowitz, who went beyond the call of duty top prolong Mr. Hagler's existence.

I pray that you will take time to write to either get Mr. Hagler his medication he needs or a contract with Dr. Kevorkian (it seems that, that is exactly what the VA wants to do to Mr. Hagler.    Please write!!!!!!

Andy Andrews

Subj:    Re: READ WHAT THE VA IS DOING TO THIS MAN!
Date:  1/22/99 10:26:02 AM Eastern Standard Time
From:   (David Moskowitz)
To:    

 Thank you very much indeed! May I suggest that you also contact the Chairman of the House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, US House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515 (attention: Mr. Art Wu), as well as your local newspaper.

Best regards,

Dave Moskowitz, MD
St. Louis, MO

___________

Subj:   re: Mr. Lawrence A. Hagler, a Korean War veteran
Date:  1/20/99 12:19:17 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:     (David Moskowitz)

Dear Sir,

 I'm a former VA physician, a nephrologist and general internist. Mr.  Hagler is a patient of mine from the St. Louis VA Medical Center with end-stage emphysema. When I first saw him in October, 1995, I thought  that he was going to die in less than a month. In large part because  of the research my lab had been doing, I started him on an ACE  inhibitor called ramipril (brand name, ALTACE). Although it was a non- formulary medication, the Pharmacy let me give it to him provided  that I fill out the usual paperwork. Mr. Hagler did unexpectedly and  extremely well, to the point where I think he represents a new and much more effective treatment for emphysema than now exists.

 A year and a half later, in January, 1997, the St. Louis VA closed  its formulary. It was the first in a number of managed care changes.  Now, no matter how many hoops you jumped through as a physician, you  couldn't get non-formulary medications for your patients. In  February, 1997, the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee fortunately renewed the prescription for Mr. Hagler's ramipril, as it had done  for the previous eighteen months. By now, Mr. Hagler was taking 100 milligrams of ramipril a day, an astronomical dose, but it was  keeping him alive and his blood pressure beautifully controlled.

 Then, in April, 1997, the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee decided  to stop Mr. Hagler's ramipril, over my most vehement protestations, in order to comply with the closed formulary edict. Mr. Hagler ran  out of his ramipril in early July, 1997. But when he tried taking the ACE inhibitor on the formulary, quinapril, it didn't do the job, and  Mr. Hagler got acutely short of breath.  The problem with end-stage emphysema is that you're operating without a safety net. If Mr. Hagler got truly short of breath, to the point  where he would need intubation and mechanical ventilation, his lungs  were so shot that he would never have gotten off the ventilator, and he would have died. So I couldn't afford to let Mr. Hagler get worse.  Unfortunately, the VA refused to give Mr. Hagler his ramipril that day in mid-July, 1997. Nor has it given him his full dose of  ramipril, which now is 140 milligrams a day. The St. Louis VA will  only give him the FDA-recommended maximum dose for hypertension,  which is 20 milligrams a day. The VA Undersecretary of Health, Kenneth Kizer, wrote an official memorandum of October 17, 1997 specifying three reasons why Mr. Hagler should still be getting his  high dose of ramipril, and why it should never have been changed. Yet when I appealed directly to Dr. Kizer and to others within Central  Office, I was told not to bother them anymore, and was harassed  further by my VISN and local administrators.

 Since that day in mid-July, 1997 I have kept Mr. Hagler supplied with  ramipril from the drug manufacturer, Hoechst Marion Roussel. I bring the drug to his apartment about once a month. We are now in the 18th  month of the siege.

 Yesterday, I learned that ramipril had been transferred to another  drug company, Monarch Pharmaceuticals. Fortunately, Monarch has agreed to keep supplying Mr. Hagler with ramipril.

 Largely because of my outrage over how the VA was treating Mr.  Hagler, I no longer work for the VA. (How the VA harassed me for two years until I was finally allowed to resign is another story). I'm  writing to you because I cannot single-handedly keep Mr. Hagler alive any more. If I run short on his medicine, he gets short of breath  within a day or two.

 Could you please bring whatever pressure you can to bear to get the VA to provide Mr. Hagler with the proper dose of his medicine?  They could do it before April, 1997; why can't they do it now? The  Undersecretary of Health's official memorandum specifies three reasons why Mr. Hagler's medicine should never have been changed; why can't the Undersecretary of Health ensure that his memoranda are  carried out?

 The St. Louis VAMC physician now treating Mr. Hagler knew from the  start that he would lose his job if he made a fuss about the ramipril, as I obviously did. It is unfair to expect him to be ruined  too over insisting that the VA abide by its own rules of medical  practice.

 I have exhausted all other channels, from appeals to the White House  on down, and appeals to the House and Senate of the United States, who alone have jurisdiction over the VA. The Judicial branch of the  Federal Government has refused to enter the case, except if the VA  needs defending. There is absolutely no one speaking on behalf of my  patient's life. I am reminded eerily of Germany in the 1920s and 30s,  when patients were killed so as to lessen the financial burden on the country after World War I.

 It's been an eye-opening and fairly horrifying education; the country  does not work the way it is supposed to.  None of this is the way it is supposed to be. Finding an effective treatment for end-stage emphysema is not supposed to get one fired,  nor is it supposed to condemn one's patient to death.

Please help me help Mr. Hagler. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Sincerely yours,

David W. Moskowitz, MD, MA, FACP

St. Louis, Missouri
E-mail:

Dear Sirs: 

As a Korean vet I wrote my Congressman, Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R.-NJ) about a reported deterioration of the Korean War Memorial.  He replied on 12/8/98 that he had supported a bill, H.R.4103, that had been passed and signed by the President on 10/20/98, which included $2 million for repairs of the memorial.  He said that repairs are underway.    The report that I read on the Internet had depicted a picture of sad neglect.  I am glad this has been rectified and I hope organizations such as yours will help prevent a repetition of this attitude.

Regards,

Gene Newman
(3rd Comm Sqdn, 3rd Bomb Wing, Kunsan, Korea 1952-3)

A letter was forwarded to me from  Hardon M. Wade Jr.

560 Campbell Hill
Marietta, GA 30060
770-426-7883, 432-3632

"Currently I am researching American military men who are listed as Missing in Action and believed to have been Prisoners of War from the Korean War. It is truly difficult to believe our nation has allowed almost forty years to pass without bringing them home. There are nearly three hundred missing.

There has been a tremendous amount of interest in the MIA/POW from Vietnam.   Somehow those poor souls from Korea have been ignored, I believe it is to me for a serious effort to be made to find these boys and bring them home. Do you agree?

I want to make contact with others who share my concern.

I am interested in anything relating to Korean MIA/POW:

Remberances, clippings, recommendations of articles, reports or books, and anything else about this laudable subject." 

Cordially,

Don Wade

Dear Lynnita,

Thank you for alerting me to the forgotten victory site.  I can only assume you found through the Cold War Home Page.

Lynnita please help me advise Korean veterans of the action taken by Congress to authorize a Department of Defense Cold War Certificate of Recognition. This includes all veterans who served honorably between September 2, 1945 and December 26th, 1991.

God Bless you for the work you have done.  My father was a Korean veteran!

Mark Vogl 

As a veteran of WW-II I would like to say, "WELCOME HOME". I am proud to be a part of the men who defended our country, without question.  Joe Macchia  USN.

I would like to encourage all those that sign in our guest book to become museum members and join us in this great undertaking of building the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library. There has never been a National, to my knowledge, War Museum so this is the first one. Do not hesitate, please join us now and also check out our souvenirs and maybe purchase one or two items. For that I would be most grateful.

To: Letters Editor, Newsweek

   Of the 38 pages covering "Americans Go to War" in the March 8, 1999 issue, only a little over 700 words are devoted to the Korean War while 7 1/4 pages are given to our involvement in Vietnam. 

   This is a shame...an outrage...an insult to the 5.7 million Americans in military service 1950-1953.  Of this number 1.5 million served in Korea.  In this 3 year war 33,627 Americans were killed in action as compared to 47,367 for the 10 year Vietnam War.

   In Korea communist military aggression was defeated.  Had the enemy succeeded how many other attempts would have been made to add to the Soviet block through a force of arms?  A degree of stability came upon the world scene which cannot be calculated.  In 1990 President Bush said, "It was a war in which we turned the tide against communism for the first time.  Our defense of freedom laid the foundation for the march of democracy we're seeing today around the world." 

   And Newsweek gave it 700 words out of 38 pages.  THIS IS A SHAME...AN OUTRAGE..AN INSULT TO 5.7 MILLION AMERICANS!  Under separate cover a highly recommended booklet on the war is being sent to your chairman, Richard M. Smith.  Please...have your writers read it.

Jack D. Walker, Korean War Veteran

Korean War Association
5353 Cane Ridge, Suite 115
Antioch, TN 37013

Ph. 615-731-8795

For Immediate Release - 1 April 1999

Contact Robin L. Higgins, Lt.Col. USMC (Ret)

850-906-0117

MURDERED MARINE'S WIFE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT CAPTURE OF U.S. SERVICEMEN IN YUGOSLAVIA

Tallahassee, Fla. - With the news of the capture today of three U.S. servicemen in Yugoslavia, I recall the capture in 1988 of my husband, Col. William R. (Rich) Higgins who was serving with a U.N. peacekeeping operation in Lebanon. He was held by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists and later murdered, a picture of his body hanging from a noose released to the news media in July 1989. His remains continued to be held until they were released in December 1991.

I have heard from more than one President, U.N. Secretary General, Defense Secretary and Joint Chiefs Chairman what I am hearing today, that "we have long memories," that "we will hold these captors accountable," " that we will go after them." Sadly, I haven't found this to be true.

When I tried to find a voice for my story, no major publisher would publish my book, saying that the story is "too old" and "not relevant." Sadly, they are being proved wrong today. I fear for and I pray for the safety of these brave men, and my heart goes out to their families.

Colonel Higgins was never declared a Prisoner of War by his country, and it seems that is the case with the men being held today. It is my contention that when servicemen or women are captured, they are "prisoners of war," not "hostages" or "detainees." A "hostage" is a civilian caught in the line of fire, and held for some sick political or financial reason.

Servicemen are held because they represent to those who would harm us, all the perceived weaknesses of democracy.

When a man or woman in the uniform of our country are captured, they behave as prisoners of war. They live day by day by the code of conduct that says "I am an American, fighting in the Armed Forces that guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.... I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America."

Because Rich was always a "hostage" and never a "prisoner," there were never any demands of international rules of treatment, no Red Cross visits, no insistence on medical care or humane treatment.  Because neither the U.S. nor the U.N. wanted to give "legitimacy" to the terrorists, insisting that neither the state of Lebanon nor Syria had anything to do with it, they put no special pressures or demands, placed no sanctions on them or anyone else.

The State Department, not the Defense Department, had the lead. That meant diplomacy, not military might. There was no retribution, no retaliation, no rescue.

Servicemen and women wear the uniform of this country and leave their families behind to fight for this country because they believe this country will come after them when they fall. I believe we broke this pledge to Rich - and I hope we don't break this pledge to the three brave men who are now being held.  My points are

1. We must acknowledge whenever we commit American service members outside our shores, they will be subject to those who would harm them, whether in combat or terrorist acts.

They are Americans, and whether they are armed with multiple rocket launchers, rubber bullets, or blue berets, nothing will disguise the fact they are Americans.  When taken, they are "prisoners of war."

2. We must not attach American troops to U.N. command and control.  The U.N. was never designed to be a military force.  Our military men and women join our armed forces to fight and defend our country, our people, our flag, not the United Nations.

3. Only by publicly pursuing, relentlessly tracking down, and punishing those who commit terrorist acts will we begin to deter them.  My book, Patriot Dreams, details my quest to get information and support from the United States government and the United Nations. It portrays a woman in crisis. It explores the schizophrenic conflict I faced - how to maintain my patriotism in the shadow of disappointment and seeming betrayal by our own government and the U.N.  The book has been published by the Marine Corps Association and is immediately available by calling them at 1-888-BE-PROUD.

You immediate attention for Retired Vets is required

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