Korean American Foundation USA and a local chapter of Korean War Veterans Association hosted an annual veteran appreciation dinner in the town of Wallkill on Nov. 13.
The dinner was started 35 years ago to give thanks to Korean War veterans and has since evolved into an event for all veterans, according to Hubert Lee, longtime president of the foundation and sponsor of the annual tradition.
“I am so pleased and honored to have all veterans, not only from the Korean War, but also the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” said Lee, who was born in Korea and served as an instructor in the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army.
“Without your service, we would have no freedom, no peace, and no democracy.”
He recalled the historic role of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in defending South Korea and urged vigilance in the ongoing fight against communism.
“Our sacrifice and devotion to the cause of freedom and peace, unfortunately, has not killed communism. Rather than fading away from this world, evil communism grows well even today,” Lee said from a podium at the town of Wallkill golf club.
Wallkill Supervisor George Serrano said at the dinner, “Just two words that I have to say to our veterans, everyone here, from every conflict that has happened, ‘Thank you.’”
Most of the dozens of attendees were from the local Korean American community.
“What’s so nice about this event here today is that we have folks that raised their hand and went to war for this country, which may not have been their original homeland but has become their homeland,” said Lou Ingrassia, president of a local chapter of Honor Flight, an organization that sponsors flights to Washington D.C. for veterans.
An annual veterans appreciation event hosted by Korean American Foundation USA in Middletown, N.Y., on Nov. 13, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, who also serves as a Navy commander, recalled his deployment in South Korea in 2017 under President Donald Trump at the dinner.
“That was really my first real introduction to living with the South Korean people, who, as many have already expressed, are absolutely beautiful, kind, and wonderful people,” Neuhaus said.
“At least two a year, we do major exercises where we have an American and a Korean sitting side by side, and the only other person there, if we need to, is an interpreter.
“There is nothing better in the world, especially for the veterans out there that know this, to have friends and to have allies, and there is no better ally than the Korean people,” he said.
Arthur Deutsch, the only surviving Korean War veteran out of the 190 veterans who attended the inaugural appreciation dinner hosted by Lee in 1989, expressed a similar sentiment.
“I’ve been involved in veterans’ organizations for a long time, and one thing I’ve heard a lot from veterans is that the South Korean people are the ones that give more thanks to our country than any other country that they know of.”
Lee came to the United States in pursuit of higher education after serving in the military during the 1960s. He settled down in Orange County and worked as a finance professional.
In 2002, Lee founded the Korean American Foundation USA along with Sam Tucker, then president of the Orange County chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association.
According to Lee, the foundation had donated $260,000 to orphaned and handicapped children in different parts of South Korea as of May 2024.
Lee has a deep appreciation for classical Western literature and penned an English poem years ago in honor of Korean War veterans.
“Your courage and sacrifice for freedom and security lifted South Korea from the ruins like a Phoenix that rises from the ashes and takes flight from the blood-soaked battlefield ...
“And may we continue to strive together, Koreans and Americans, to fight for freedom and democracy, forever and always!” part of the poem reads.
Lee also sits on the Orange County Human Rights Commission.
