Korean War armistice
Ceremony commemorates 50th anniversary of
Korean War armistice
JEFF GRANIT Frank Staknys was one of more than 60 veterans honored for their service during the Korean War. The ceremony was held Friday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conflict’s armistice.
It’s never too late to say, "Welcome home." Fifty years after the signing of the Korean War armistice, members of the community gathered to do just that in a ceremony for the local veterans who served in the conflict. The event was held Friday at the Brick Civic Plaza, Chambers Bridge Road.
More than 60 local veterans were honored with certificates and words of praise for their service. Two wreaths were laid at the veterans memorial in front of the municipal complex afterward.
"Whatever we gave you would never be appropriate for the sacrifices you made when you fought for this country. It’s a small token of our appreciation," Mayor Joseph Scarpelli told veterans in attendance.
The Korean War began in 1950 when the communist North Korean army invaded its neighbor to the south.
Many historians regard the war as the first major test for the United Nations, whose members made a pact to uphold collective security after World War II. If the North Korean act of aggression went unchecked, the organization risked becoming a paper tiger like the League of Nations before it.
To the United States, repelling the invasion was also viewed as crucial to showing its former ally, Joseph Stalin, that it would not back down to communism. With World War II only a few years behind, the lessons of the early appeasement of fascism were still fresh on the world’s mind.
"If we had not intervened, God knows, nine-tenths of the world may have come under communist rule," said Frank Staknys, department vice commander for the State of New Jersey American Legion. "In Korea we showed [the communists], ‘Don’t mess with us.’"
By the time the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, United Nations forces sustained over 550,000 casualties, including 33,686 Americans killed and 103,284 wounded, according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Estimates on the communist casualties exceed 1.5 million. Of those, 900,00 were Chinese, including a son of Chairman Mao Zhedong.
Despite those incredible losses, the Korean War is often overshadowed in history by the world war before it.
"They said it wasn’t a war. Believe me, it was a war –– a forgotten war," said Walter Andrews, a veteran of the U.S. Army 9473 Signal Service.
But families of the veterans on hand showed that their valor and service was not forgotten.
Michael Bocchino, son of 1st Marine Division veteran Anthony Bocchino, was one of a few who attended and accepted certificates on their relative’s behalf. Bocchino proudly carried a framed portrait of his father with him at the ceremony.
"Me and my mother are proud of him, and we want to keep his honor alive," Bocchino said.