Korean War veteran Paul Cunningham still remembers the day a lieutenant from his Air Force radar unit was shot down on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, resident will honor that fallen officer Wednesday when he joins 300 to 400 other veterans of America’s “forgotten war” on the National Mall for the dedication of a Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
The name of the lieutenant, whom Mr. Cunningham declined to identify, is listed on the wall with those of 36,634 American GIs who died during the 1950-1953 conflict. The wall also lists 7,174 Korean soldiers who died while serving in U.S. military units.
“They were good and faithful servants who laid down their lives. More than that, I don’t know what to say,” Mr. Cunningham, 92, said in a telephone call before falling silent.
Mr. Cunningham, who served as president of the Korean War Veterans Association from 2018 to 2020, unveiled the wall’s first granite slab of names at a May 2021 groundbreaking ceremony.
He spent 18 months in Korea, starting in September 1950, supporting U.S. troops in battles against North Korean and Chinese invaders. His radar unit of 220 enlisted men and 30 officers earned a presidential citation for carrying out surveillance throughout the Korean Peninsula.
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“I’m lucky that I’m still walking 2½ miles a day in good health, with a few spare parts replacements like a heart valve and pacemaker,” Mr. Cunningham said.
The $22 million wall, funded by private donations, features 100 4-by-5½-foot panels, each weighing as much as 8 tons and displaying about 450 names. The Army has 84 panels, the Marine Corps 10 panels, the Navy two and the Air Force four.
Retired Coast Guard Capt. Steve Froehlich said he is looking forward to seeing the name of his “Uncle Bobby” — Robert Schoening of Seattle. The Army posthumously promoted him to corporal after he disappeared in a November 1950 battle.
“For him to be recognized on a national level for his sacrifice is a big deal and very emotional for us,” said Mr. Froehlich, 71, who lives with his wife in Montclair, Virginia. “We’ve been to the memorial before, but they never had all the names until now.”
The wall is the focal point of a larger $24 million renovation that Congress authorized in 2016 to update the memorial, which opened in 1995.
The renovation also has replaced engraved names of participating countries and casualty figures with stainless steel letters, refinished the stainless steel statues, upgraded the memorial’s lighting and planted fresh linden and juniper trees.
Retired Army Col. Rick Dean, who supervised the memorial construction, said it was an honor to build a wall that features his grandfather on panel 100.
The construction manager said Air Force Col. John R. Lovell, 47, was declared missing in action in December 1950 after his bomber was shot down during an aerial photography mission along the border of Korea and China. The family later learned from KGB records that Chinese troops handed him over to the Soviets, who interrogated him before he was stoned to death in North Korea.
“I never had the opportunity to meet and interact with my grandfather, so the memorial is hallowed ground for me to interact with him,” Mr. Dean said.
About 7,500 Korean War servicemen whose bodies have never been found are still listed as missing in action — about 1 in every 5 Americans killed in the war, he said.
“There’s no grave marker for them, but now their names are on this wall,” Mr. Dean said. “It brings some closure to all the families who never recovered the remains of their loved ones.”
Jim Fisher, executive director of the Korean Memorial Veterans Foundation, said he expects about 2,000 people to attend Wednesday’s dedication, which is open to the public. That includes the families of veterans and officials from the U.S. and South Korean governments.
“We want to show the cost of war to these young people who gave up all their tomorrows and paid the price to preserve our freedoms. They never had a chance to come home and go to a ballgame with their kids,” Mr. Fisher said.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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