PORT ANGELES — More than 60 years since members of the Korean War Veterans Association in Port Angeles saw active service, they were honored for their community service to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma.
Chapter 310 of the Korean War Veterans Association received a framed plaque in an April 29 ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for helping wounded service members transition back to civilian life or further military service.
Chapter President Gerald Retella and other members take clothing to Madigan about once a month.
They were looking for other ways to serve about five years ago when hospital personnel mentioned that some of the recovering airmen, soldiers and sailors would like to go fishing.
Fishing weekends
Charles Gagnon, a retired Coast Guard lieutenant commander, said he and others in the chapter began organizing fishing weekends for the wounded warriors.
The project started small, Gagnon said, with Madigan transporting about 10 servicemen at a time to Port Angeles for fishing weekends on the Strait of Juan de Fuca that started on Thursdays and ended on Sundays.
Soon enough, the service members said they would like to include their families. The fishing groups grew from 10 to about 30.
The association chapter members scaled up their operation.
Gagnon said that between members’ boats and those of others who have volunteered, they have 10 to 15 vessels available.
When the fishing groups arrive, they’re fed and housed, mostly at the chapter’s expense. Gagnon noted the participation of the Elks Naval Lodge in Port Angeles, which has provided many breakfasts for the group.
Through the chapter’s successful fundraising, the service members and their families have stayed at no cost at Olson’s Resort in Sekiu and other locations, Gagnon said.
“All they had to do was show up,” he said.
Many of the service members or their families have never been fishing and just want to experience it — or see something beyond the confines of the hospital walls.
Most have received a variety of injuries during service in Afghanistan, Iraq or other locations.
The chapter also has opened the program to a few Canadian veterans over the years, Gagnon said.
Time to talk
In the evenings, the Korean veterans have had opportunities to talk with their younger counterparts, he said, sometimes with tears in their eyes.
Talking together, he said, “makes them feel welcome and friendly.”
Gagnon is prepared to organize fishing weekends for service members this year in July, August and September or October but is waiting to find out what kind of fishing the state will allow.
Command Sgt. Maj. Beau Buford of the Warrior Transition Battalion said the Port Angeles chapter is one of a number of community partners that works hard to support Madigan “in a number of ways.”
“We’re always thankful and appreciative of what they do for us,” he said.
According to Retella, most of the members are in their 80s and served during the Korean War, from 1950-53.
But that doesn’t mean they have stopped serving their community, he said.
They march in parades, like this weekend’s Sequim Irrigation Festival parade, to remind others of the sacrifices veterans make.
Monthly trips
Every month, members of the group continue their trips to Madigan and drop off clothing at the American Lake Veterans Administration Hospital in Lakewood.
With a grin, Retella said they also purchase hot dogs and buns to drop off at the USO facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport so visiting service members can have a bite to eat.
Retella said the group has also worked successfully with state representatives to have state highways named after veterans’ service.
State Highway 112, for instance, is also named the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.
The Korean War Veterans’ Blue Star Memorial Highway was likewise designated in 2007 to include Highway 113 from its beginning at Sappho at U.S. Highway 101 to its junction with Highway 112 and continuing to the Makah Reservation at Neah Bay.
Renaming highways
Currently, the group is drafting language to have a portion of state Highway 104 on the Kitsap Peninsula named for the service of veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The chapter loses about three members a year.
On Friday, the group welcomed three daughters of Port Angeles veteran Mike Scarano, who died recently, to their monthly luncheon.
A number of veterans stood up to tell stories about Scarano, whom they said bravely drove a truck to evacuate American soldiers who had escaped being surrounded by advancing Chinese forces at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea in December 1950.
These memorials are also a part of their service, Retella said.
“So we’re active,” he said. “Extremely active.”
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Assistant Managing Editor Mark Swanson can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55450, or mswanson@peninsuladailynews.com.