THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610070190
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 64 lines
More than 2,000 Korean War veterans will gather Oct. 15 to 19 at the Oceanfront to get reacquainted, swap war stories, pray for those who didn't return home and strut their stuff in an Atlantic Avenue parade.
The reunion will mark retired Army Master Sgt. Dick Gallmeyer's second attempt to rally combat buddies who served more than 40 years ago in a military conquest halfway around the planet.
The Virginia Beach resident has undertaken a one-man campaign to contact the soldiers, airmen and Marines who took part in a conflict that ended in a standoff July 27, 1953.
Gallmeyer, now a graying and slightly stooped 65, was with the 58th Field Artillery of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, stationed outside the coastal Korean city of Kunsan. He remembers the day the war ended as if it was yesterday.
``I got on the radio and called the (unit) together and told 'em, `Five . .
``And I could see guys coming out of trenches and foxholes and yelling and popping open cans to celebrate.''
Two years ago while recovering from surgery at a Veterans Affairs hospital, Gallmeyer said he became depressed and wanted to see some of his old Korean War comrades.
He asked his wife to bring him some old photographs and later conceived the idea of calling Korean War vets together for an annual Virginia Beach reunion.
Working from a cluttered computer room in his Kempsville home, Gallmeyer single-handedly organized the first reunion in 1995, which drew 1,000 veterans. This year he expects twice as many.
Responses indicate they will come from as far as California, Texas, Washington, Florida and Wisconsin.
Gallmeyer views the gathering as a family affair and has dubbed it the ``Korean War Veterans Family Reunion.''
His special concern is that an estimated 1 million Korean War veterans who have remained out of reach won't get the word because they have never joined any veterans' organizations or lobbying groups.
``I call them missing persons,'' he said, and expressed hopes that newspaper stories and electronic media exposure will prod some of these men and women to contact him about the reunion.
The event will include a get-together breakfast Oct. 16, tours of local military bases, a dinner-dance featuring 1950s music, a 1 p.m. memorial service Oct. 15 at the 24th Street Park and an Atlantic Avenue parade, starting at 1 p.m. Oct. 19.
This is not just for veterans of a long-ago war, Gallmeyer said. It's also for young people today, who know little of the conflict.
``We have young students today who don't know anything about the Korean War,'' he said. ``They don't teach it in school anymore.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
STEVE EARLEY/The Virginian-Pilot
Retired Army Master Sgt. Dick Gallmeyer hopes more than 2,000 Korean
War veterans will join him in Virginia Beach on Oct. 15-19 for his
``Korean War Veterans Family Reunion.''
Graphic
FOR DETAILS
Gallmeyer can be reached at P.O. Box 8946, Virginia Beach, Va.
23464 or by calling 464-1233 or 800-523-4715. by CNB