Coppersmithing Memorial Day Weekend at Lincoln Log Cabin

Extended summer schedule begins May 31

LERNA, IL – Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site will resume its seven-day-per-week summer schedule during Memorial Day weekend, and for those looking to encounter the past, this year’s Visiting Artisan Series kicks off with a flash of sunlight on copper May 29 and 30 as the site welcomes coppersmith Tom Ward.  The event is free and open to the public.

Visiting artisans Tom and Sherry Ward of West Lafayette, Indiana will be at the Lincoln farm Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to demonstrate coppersmithing, also known as redsmithing due the color of the copper.  They specialize in reproductions from the 18th and 19th century.  Every piece is cut by hand, formed and soldered, making each one unique.  Solid copper rivets are used to secure brackets and handles.  Containers are functional and can be used to store and serve food.  Items will be offered for sale to the public. 

Realizing the Dream

The Reconstruction of Lincoln’s New Salem to be celebrated June 12 – 13

PETERSBURG - The struggles, joys, heartaches and accomplishments of dedicated individuals who refused to let the six years Abraham Lincoln resided in a small log village be lost to history will be celebrated during “Realizing the Dream” scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 12 – 13 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg.  The event is free and open to the public.

Join the New Salem villagers as they demonstrate the traditional trades, crafts and domestic skills of the 19th century that have been kept alive at New Salem.  The reconstructed village of New Salem, which is visited by hundreds of thousands annually, was originally envisioned by a group that called themselves “The Old Salem Lincoln League.”  The reconstruction of New Salem is a continual process that is still being carried out to this day, but it was the dream of a select few so many years ago that has made it the reality that so many have come to appreciate.

There will be numerous activities carried out over this two day event which will include a demonstration on log home construction, traditional trades and crafts of the 19th century, and a Civilian Conservation Corps display with an interpreter.  Historian Mark Johnson will make a presentation about the reconstruction of New Salem each morning at 10 a.m.  Archaeologist Robert Mazrim will lead an archaeology walk on Saturday at 1 p.m.  The Carding Mill will be ion operation from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.  Ice cold lemonade and kettle corn will be available for all to enjoy each day of the event.

A play by Mark Mathewson, “The New Salem Harmony,” will be performed at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13 behind the Second Berry-Lincoln Store in the village.  The play represents the “Pageant” that was held at the same location on September 6 and 7, 1918.  The original play was written by Florence Magill Wallace, an experienced pageant master, who was recommended by the Lincoln Centennial Commission.  Wallace worked with Thomas Reep, who put together a large manuscript history of New Salem which was published as “Lincoln and New Salem” in 1918.  The 1918 pageant and published history helped direct more public attention to the Old Salem Lincoln League and their quest to rebuild the 1830s log village.  

The June 12 and 13 event is free and open to the public, but a donation $2 per child, $4 per adult and $10 per family is suggested.  It is co-sponsored by the New Salem Lincoln League.

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a reconstruction of the 1830s log village where Abraham Lincoln spent six years of his life.  It is located about 20 miles northwest of Springfield and two miles south of Petersburg, on Route 97.

Putting the Bloom in Bloomington-Normal

Fourteenth annual Glorious Garden Festival June 18-19

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL – Support for historic preservation will bloom again in Bloomington-Normal during “The Legacy Garden Tour,” the fourteenth annual Glorious Garden Festival Garden Walk on Friday and Saturday, June 18 and 19.  Hosted each year on the third weekend in June, the Festival is a fundraising event benefiting the David Davis Mansion Foundation, which provides private support for the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site.  This year’s Festival will feature walk-through tours of ten private gardens.

The community Garden Walk will be held Friday, June 18 from 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The walk begins on the grounds of the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site, 1000 E. Monroe Drive, Bloomington, home to its own unique historic garden!

Tickets for the garden walk are $12 in advance, $15 the weekend of the event, and $7 for children 17 and under.  Tickets may be purchased in advance at a variety of vendors throughout Bloomington-Normal and at the David Davis Mansion on the weekend of the event.  Walkers must pick up maps and programs at the mansion.  The event will be held rain or shine.  Easy ticket and map pick-up is available with drive-through service and free parking on the Mansion grounds.  For more information about this year’s ticket sale locations, contact the Davis Mansion at (309) 828-1084. 

The garden walk offers self-guided tours through ten private gardens in the Bloomington-Normal community.  This year’s gardens include sun-loving, shade-loving, perennial, and water gardens that range from small, backyard plots to larger landscapes filled with unique designs and water features.  Many of the gardens incorporate elements reminiscent of this year’s Legacy theme — Japanese art, the play of light on color, the use of stunning color contrasts and harmonies, and the appeal of woodland and wildflower meadows.

“One of the unique and exciting things about the event is this year’s theme, ‘The Legacy Garden,’” said Dan Barringer, one of the coordinators for the Garden Walk.
“We chose this theme because we wanted to honor the legacy left by impressionist painters, such as Renoir and Monet, who had such a revolutionary impact on 20th and 21st Century garden design.  Many of these artists were themselves dedicated and passionate painters of gardens.  Inspired by new technologies, they not only revolutionized the subject matter and techniques of painting but also taught us creative new ways of looking at gardens.”

Artists like Monet and Renoir used plants as they used their paints:  To introduce new color schemes and manipulate color and light, creating striking, new visual effects.  As a result, many of these artists planted large and complex gardens of their own, some of which can still be seen today.  One of those—Monet’s garden at Giverny in France—was not only painted hundreds of times by the artist in his lifetime, but is today the most visited garden in the world. 

If they didn’t design and plant their own gardens, impressionist artists, such as Van Gogh and John Singer Sargent, painted other people’s gardens using stunning combinations of color and light in ways that had never been seen before.  It is Sargent’s painting, “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” that serves as the special inspiration for this year’s theme because it features the three plants that Sarah Davis particularly adored:  The cottage pink (Carnation), the white Madonna lily (Lily), and the old-fashioned rose (Rose).  These three plants were themselves a legacy to Sarah Davis from the British gardens tended by her ancestors in earlier centuries.

The Legacy theme was also chosen because gardeners and landscape nursery sponsors have designed gardens that in one way or another represent some kind of special legacy—from the gardeners’ families, from the historical past, or from some of the great gardens that exist all over the world.  One garden on this year’s tour is an inspirational legacy of the garden designer’s father and grandparents; another garden was inspired by the landscapes of Tuscany; while a third pays homage to the Japanese landscapes that also inspired the work of many impressionist painters.

Several events on the Mansion grounds are also new this year.  Garden Walk patrons may visit vendor booths where garden-related items will be for sale (for example, charming, artisan-made birdhouses and unique floral arrangements), and they may also enjoy bidding on several pieces of art work, created by artists Doug DeLong and Sean Thornton, especially for display outdoors in a garden.  Mackinaw Valley Vineyard will also be on the Mansion lawn on Saturday, offering complimentary wine tasting.

“There will be a new food event at the Mansion this year,” said David Davis Mansion Site Manager Marcia Young.  “We are hosting a Twilight ‘Lilies and Lanterns Tea’ on the David Davis Mansion lawn—under a tent adorned with colorful Japanese lanterns.  During this elegant event, which will last from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday evening, Garden Walk patrons may take tea in the grand style of the British tea ceremony and sample other delicious teatime desserts that were once a favorite of the Kings and Queens of England.”

The tea and other delectable treats will be served compliments of Lancaster’s Restaurant, Schnuck’s Supermarket, The Great Harvest Bread Company, and Janet’s Cakes.  Sandy Schrof of Pontiac will be catering the special Friday evening event.

“WJBC AM 1230 and FM 93.7, a corporate sponsor of this year’s event, will also be doing a live remote broadcast from the Davis Mansion during the event weekend,” according to event chairperson Beth Whisman at the Bloomington radio station.  “We hope that everyone who loves gardens in McLean County will come to the mansion over the weekend to support this unique community event and listen to the show 12-2 p.m. Friday live from the mansion grounds.”

Landscape nurseries that are corporate sponsors of the event—Casey’s Garden Shop, Chizmar Landscaping, Green View Companies, Grieder Sod & Landscaping, and Wendell Niepagen Greenhouses and Garden Center—may have experts on hand at select gardens to provide information about the more unusual plants.  Other corporate sponsors include Chasin’ Rainbows Gifts and Home Accents, Original Smith Printing, Osborn & DeLong, Westminster Village, WJBC AM 1230 and FM 93.7, and Zimmerman & Armstrong Investment Advisors.
 
“This is the Glorious Garden Festival’s fourteenth anniversary, and we have an incredible diversity of high-quality gardens this year,” said Marsha Fogarty, landscape designer and vice chairperson of the Davis Mansion Foundation’s Garden Walk Committee.   “During the past twelve years more than 13,000 visitors have toured more than 130 of Bloomington-Normal’s loveliest private gardens, and the event has netted nearly $130,000 for the non-profit David Davis Mansion Foundation and David Davis Mansion State Historic Site.  Moreover, we are featuring such a wide variety of gardens this year that our garden walkers will be inspired by the many imaginative ways in which they will be able to transform their own gardens over time.”

There will also be tours of “Sarah’s Garden” on the Davis Mansion lawn conducted by members of the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners in McLean County.  These experts will help visitors learn how to create Victorian gardens in their own back yards, using heirloom plants from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and other famous American gardens.  The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners in McLean County is working on the restoration of Sarah’s Garden and its members have provided much of the work needed to get Sarah’s Garden ready for this event.
 
Event proceeds will enable the David Davis Mansion to continue the restoration of the historic Sarah Davis Garden, a long-term project that involves ongoing research and the reintroduction of difficult-to-find heirloom plants and seeds.  Proceeds will also be used to develop new school programs featuring the garden and to help keep the mansion open to the public.  

“The Glorious Garden Festival is more than just a fundraiser, however,” said Whisman.  “The Festival provides enjoyment and learning for everyone.  You’ll have a chance to discover new plants for Midwestern gardens and talk to experts from local nurseries who can tell you how to plant and care for everything from the traditional to the exotic.  The Garden Walk is a great place to borrow other people’s imaginative ideas, become more knowledgeable and creative yourself, and have fun—all at the same time!”

For more information about the Glorious Garden Festival call (309) 828-1084 or visit www.daviddavismansion.org.

The David Davis Mansion State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (www.IllinoisHistory.gov), was built in 1872 for Supreme Court Justice David Davis and his wife, Sarah.  It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

Summer flag lowering and retreat ceremonies every Tuesday evening at Lincoln Tomb

SPRINGFIELD – Every Tuesday night this summer, one visitor will leave Lincoln Tomb with a flag – and many more will leave with memories of a touching, colorful ceremony performed by men dressed as Civil War era soldiers.

Beginning June 1 and ending August 31, a flag lowering and retreat ceremony will be performed at Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site by members of the 114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry Reactivated.  The 7 p.m. ceremony, which will last approximately half an hour, is free and open to the public.  The Tomb will be open to the public until 8 p.m. following the ceremony.

The U.S. flag flying over Lincoln Tomb will be lowered during the colorful, solemn ceremony and presented to a visitor following each Tuesday night program.  The ceremony will include period music and the firing of a Civil War era mortar.

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site is located in Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery and is open daily for free public tours.

Lincoln Troubadours to perform at flag lowering and retreat ceremonies at Lincoln Tomb

SPRINGFIELD – Some a cappella music will add to the atmosphere of a popular summer event at Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site.

Every Tuesday evening beginning June 15 and ending on August 17, the Lincoln Troubadours a cappella group will sing from the balcony of the Lincoln Tomb prior to each Tuesday evening’s flag retreat ceremony.  The musical performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the flag retreat ceremony will start at 7 p.m.

The Lincoln Troubadours are a singing group employed by the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  Members include sopranos Mariah Kaplan and Molly Mathewson, altos Morgan Williams and Taylor Fishburn, tenors Damien Kaplan and Cameron Millburg, and basses Jared Grimble and Will Whalen.  They have performed at
numerous venues, including several events in connection with the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial.
 
The flag lowering and retreat ceremony is held every Tuesday evening through August 31 at Lincoln Tomb.  It is performed by members of the 114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry Reactivated, and is free and open to the public. 

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site is located in Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery and is open daily for free public tours.

Illinois remembers “The Forgotten War” during the 60th anniversary of the Korean War

Information about Illinois’ participation in the war, including those killed in action and Medal of Honor recipients, will be supplied monthly

SPRINGFIELD – “The Forgotten War” is forgotten no more in Illinois.

The State of Illinois is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War by supplying information each month about the state’s involvement in the conflict.  Starting in June 2010 and running through July 2013, the state’s newspapers, radio and TV stations will be provided with the names of Illinois service people killed in action 60 years ago that month, key developments in the war, accounts of Illinois’ Korean War Medal of Honor recipients, and other information designed to inform citizens of the war that killed 1,754 Illinois and 54,246 United States citizens.

“We must always remember the brave men and women who served honorably and paid the ultimate price defending our freedom during the Korean War,” said Governor Pat Quinn, who has proclaimed June 25, 2010 as Korean War Remembrance Day in Illinois.  “Monthly history lessons about the heroic contributions of our service members during the conflict in Korea, a war too often forgotten, will ensure that this generation, and those to follow, never forget these heroes and the values they fought for.”

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Illinois Korean Memorial Association, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are sponsoring “Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War” along with media partners the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association.

“The purpose of history is to remind people where we’ve been and what we’ve done.  We couldn’t be more proud to remind Illinoisans where the members of our armed forces went and what they did during the Korean War,” said Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Director Jan Grimes.  

“The State of Illinois has a long and distinguished history of military service to the nation, and the Korean War is no exception.  We remember, with gratitude and honor, the men and women from Illinois who answered the call to duty and courageously and selflessly served.  They will never be forgotten,” said Dan Grant, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The first information series follows, covering the months of June and July 1950.  The next information will be distributed in July 2010 and will cover August 1950.  For more information, or to access information that has already been distributed, visit www.Illinois-History.gov or  www.veterans.illinois.gov.

Illinoisans killed in action in Korea, June and July, 1950

By county of residence (Source: U.S. Department of Defense records by county)

SPRINGFIELD – “The Forgotten War” is forgotten no more in Illinois.

The State of Illinois is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War by supplying information each month about the state’s involvement in the conflict.  Starting in June 2010 and running through July 2013, the state’s newspapers, radio and TV stations will be provided with the names of Illinois service people killed in action 60 years ago that month, key developments in the war, accounts of Illinois’ Korean War Medal of Honor recipients, and other information designed to inform citizens of the war that killed 1,754 Illinois and 54,246 United States citizens.

“We must always remember the brave men and women who served honorably and paid the ultimate price defending our freedom during the Korean War,” said Governor Pat Quinn, who has proclaimed June 25, 2010 as Korean War Remembrance Day in Illinois.  “Monthly history lessons about the heroic contributions of our service members during the conflict in Korea, a war too often forgotten, will ensure that this generation, and those to follow, never forget these heroes and the values they fought for.”

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Illinois Korean Memorial Association, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are sponsoring “Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War” along with media partners the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association.

“The purpose of history is to remind people where we’ve been and what we’ve done.  We couldn’t be more proud to remind Illinoisans where the members of our armed forces went and what they did during the Korean War,” said Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Director Jan Grimes.  

“The State of Illinois has a long and distinguished history of military service to the nation, and the Korean War is no exception.  We remember, with gratitude and honor, the men and women from Illinois who answered the call to duty and courageously and selflessly served.  They will never be forgotten,” said Dan Grant, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The first information series follows, covering the months of June and July 1950.  The next information will be distributed in July 2010 and will cover August 1950.  For more information, or to access information that has already been distributed, visit www.Illinois-History.gov or  www.veterans.illinois.gov.Alexander

Pvt. Jack E. Poole, Army, July 25.

Brown

PFC William E. Calaway, Army, July 16.

Cass

Pvt. Robert W. Murphy, Army, July 24.

Champaign

Sgt. Harold L. Evans, Army, July 27.

Clinton

Pvt. Daniel E. Luebbers, Army, July 16 Cpl. Ralph L. Parks, Army, July 20.
Pvt. Harry R. Reed, Army, July 29.

Cook

Pvt. Vincent A. Vega, Army, July 5.
1st Lt. John G. White, Jr., Army, July 5.
Pvt. Michelo A. Macino, Army, July 7.
1st Lt. Arvid O. Munson, Army, July 7.
Pvt. Spencer R. Watt, Army, July 10.
Pvt. Stanley G. Durachta, Army, July 11.
Pvt. Narcisco Chavis, Jr., Army, July 12.
Pvt. Edgar S. Heffley, Army, July 12.
PFC Richard A. Kadlec, Army, July 12.
Pvt. Ernest A. Wendling, Army, July 12.
PFC Rudolph M. Canales, Army, July 16.
PFC Ronald D. Dusek, Army, July 16.
Pvt. George E. Eustis, Army, July 16.
Pvt. Thomas J. Healy, Army, July 16.
Pvt. Adrian J. Kusiolek, Army, July 16.
SFC Edward W. Matchett, Army, July 16.
Pvt. Donald A. May, Army, July 16.
PFC Kenneth Sutherland, Army, July 16.
PFC Gerald Smith, Army, July 17.
1st Lt. Brownell E. Baker, Army, July 20.
PFC Raymond J. Bartley, Army, July 20.
PFC Frank Cohan, Army, July 20.
Sgt. Robert F. DeHaan, Army, July 20.
Pvt. Robert G. Green, Army, July 20.
PFC Michael J. Hart, Jr., Army, July 20.
Pvt. Robert E. Lorenz, Army, July 20.
Sgt. Ernest Siudzinski, Army, July 20.
Pvt. Richard J. Tugman, Army, July 20.
Cpl. Jacob Vanderlaan, Army, July 20.
Capt. Frederick B. Wirt, Army, July 20. 
SFC Joseph E. Stancel, Army, July 22.
Cpl. Robert S. Boras, Army, July 24.
Cpl. William Jones, Army, July 25.
Cpl. Richard F. Yagac, Army, July 25.
PFC Frank P. Janowitz, Army, July 26.
1st Lt. Alfred K. McIlquaham, Army, July 27.
PFC William R. Steger, Army, July 27.
Pvt. Edmund Synski, Army, July 27.
1st Lt. Howard W. Cantrell, Army, July 29.
PFC Louis C. Toribio, Army, July 29.
PFC Marvin R. Hoffman, Army, July 30.
Cpl. Peter M. Janettas, Army, July 30.
PFC Leeroy Whitlow, Army, July 30.
PFC Edward Wolfe, Army, July 30.
PFC Eugene Young, Army, July 30.
PFC Harry L. Bowers, Sr., Army, July 31.
Cpl. John H. Garvin, Jr., Army, July 31.
Cpl. George A. Johnson, Army, July 31.
Cpl. Charles W. Nelsen, Army, July 31.

Crawford

Pvt. Joseph L. Beel, Army, July 25.

DeKalb

Pvt. Sigurd L. Carlson, Army, July 21.

DuPage

PFC Patrick J. Rawlings, Army, July 16.
Pvt. John J. Lemes, Army, July 28. 

Edwards

Sgt. Roy D. Axton, Army, July 16.

Effingham

Sgt. Frank L. Ludwig, Army, July 20.

Fayette

Pvt. George R. Haslett, Army, July 31.

Franklin

PFC Albert E. Rose, Army, July 7.
Pvt. Paul A. Frost, Army, July 20.

Gallatin

Pvt. J.W. Browning, Army, July 29.

Greene

PFC Walter R. Baker, Army, July 12.
PFC Kenneth J. Edwards, Army, July 20.

Grundy

PFC Arthur T. Hannon, Army, July 26.
PFC Milton R. Grieff, Army, July 31.

Hamilton

Pvt. Eugene Jordan, Army, July 19.

Henry

Pvt. Keith Echelberger, Army, July 24.

Iroquois

Maj. Fred E. Marlowe, Army, July 12.

Jackson

PFC Carol R. Myers, Army, July 7.
SSgt. Lewis O. McNeill, Air Force, July 28.

Jefferson

Cpl. Darrell M. Duff, Army, July 16.
Pvt. Emery B. Northcutt, Army, July 27.
Pvt. Harold L. Waters, Army, July 31.

Jo Daviess

Pvt. Elwyn G. Broege, Army, July 24.

Kane

Pvt. Wayne W. Hill, Army, July 20.
Pvt. Dale H. Brooks, Army, July 28.

Kankakee

Pvt. Arthur W. Helderman, Army, July 18.
PFC Frank V. Bonomo, Army, July 25.
SFC John Y. Ellison, Army, July 27.

Knox

Pvt. Kenneth L. Skinner, Army, July 6.
PFC Paul E. Hoots, Army, July 7.

LaSalle

Cpl. Carl W. Pitts, Army, July 20.
PFC Stanley Samolinski, Army, July 27. 

Lawrence

Pvt. Robert G. Faith, Army, July 11.
Pvt. Thomas J. Maidens, Army, July 16.
SFC James L. Glidewell, Army, July 22. 

Livingston

1st Lt. Gerald McPherson, Air Force, July 1.

Logan

PFC William S. Boyer, Army, July 20.

Madison

PFC Robert L. Brewster, Army, July 8.
PFC James C. Williams, Army, July 20.
Cpl. Wilbur F. Harris, Army, July 25.
PFC Robert H. DuChemin, Army, July 29.

Marion

Pvt. Richard McKelvey, Army, July 10.

Mason

Pvt. Melvin H. Lane, Army, July 5.

McLean

Cpl. Raymond Morrissey, Army, June 30.
PFC Charles R. Conley, Army, July 11.
Pvt. William V. Croke, Army, July 27.
PFC Melvin E. Lipscomb, Army, July 30.

Montgomery

Pvt. Glenn M. Clark, Army, July 12.

Morgan

Cpl. William A. Bennett, Army, July 7.
PFC Jack J. Witwer, Army, July 16.

Peoria

Cpl. Robert O. Bristol, Army, July 19.
PFC Dale A. Demmin, Army, July 20.

Rock Island

Pvt. Warren F. Haskins, Army, July 12.
PFC James E. Marler, Army, July 20.
Pvt. William McCracken, Army, July 27.

St. Clair

Pvt. John R. Stovall, Army, July 7.
1st Lt. Louis W. Armstrong, Army, July 16.
PFC Herman B. Mueller, Army, July 27.
PFC John Jarrett, Army, July 29.

Saline

Sgt. Gordon C. Russell, Army, July 14.
Cpl. Melvin L. Bristow, Army, July 20.
PFC Robert E. Carpenter, Army, July 25.

Sangamon

Pvt. Marion F. Batchelor, Army, July 11.
PFC Richard E. Abbey, Jr., Army, July 20.
PFC Edwin E. Miller, Army, July 20.
PFC Perry A. Skaggs, Army, July 23.

Stephenson

PFC Edward A. Cardinal, Army, July 5.

Tazewell

PFC Robert L. Barbour, Army, July 10.
Pvt. Kenneth L. Bennett, Army, July 27.

Vermilion

Capt. Clarence B. Odle, Air Force, July 1.
PFC Arthur L. Bishop, Army, July 11.

Whiteside

PFC John G. Krebs, Army, July 11.
PFC George J. Krebs, Army, July 12.

Williamson

Pvt. Jerry D. Lansford, Army, July 12.
Pvt. Donald L. Schaefer, Army, July 29.

Winnebago

Capt. Douglas R. Anderson, Army, July 12.
PFC Harry J. Radanovich, Army, July 12.
Sgt. John H. Darnell, Jr., Army, July 20.
Pvt. Bayard G. Phelps, Army, July 30.

Illinois Medal of Honor Recipient

Major General William F. Dean, U.S. Army Chester, Illinois

The first Illinois recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War was Chester, Illinois’ Major General William F. Dean. 

General Dean was the commanding officer of the 24th Infantry Division on July 20 and 21, 1950 during a battle with advancing North Korean forces in Taejon, South Korea. He commanded a unit that had been suddenly relieved of its occupation duties in Japan and had yet to see combat. They were faced with a highly trained enemy force with overwhelmingly superior numbers.

During the battle, General Dean and his men attacked North Korean tanks with the only anti-tank weapons they had, 2.36-inch bazookas that were ineffective against the modern North Korean armor. General Dean personally attacked and knocked out a tank using only a hand grenade, then directed the fire of his own unit’s tanks from a position that was exposed to artillery and small-arms fire. When the town of Taejon was overrun, General Dean organized his unit’s retreat, directed stragglers, and was last seen assisting the wounded to a place of safety.

The Congressional Medal of Honor was presented to Dean’s family because he was officially listed as missing in action. However, the next year, it was learned that Dean was a prisoner of war, and he was among those prisoners released in 1953. He was the highest ranking American officer captured during the Korean War. Dean returned to the United States and died in 1981. 

Key events during the Korean War
June and July 1950

North Korea launched its invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950 with 135,000 men supported by tanks. The South Korean forces numbered 98,000. The United Nations Security Council immediately called for an end to the aggression and a withdrawal of North Korean troops. Two days later President Harry Truman authorized U.S. air and naval operations in support of South Korea south of the 38th Parallel, the border between the two nations. In the first aerial dogfight of the war, a U.S. Air Force plane shot down a North Korean fighter on June 27.

North Korean forces rapidly advanced against the hopelessly outnumbered and under-equipped South Koreans. The South Korean capital of Seoul fell on June 28, just three days after the invasion began. On June 29 President Truman authorized a naval blockade of Korea and the bombing of targets in North Korea. The U.S.S. Juneau conducted the first U.S. Navy bombardment of the war, and U.S. bombers attacked an airfield near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, destroying 25 enemy aircraft on the ground and one in the sky.
British and Australian ships joined the U.S. Navy in the waters surrounding Korea. On June 30, President Truman authorized the commitment of U.S. ground troops to combat in Korea, called Armed Forces Reserves to active duty, and extended the military draft through 1951. That same day, the first Illinois serviceman was killed in action in Korea. He would be the first of 1,754 Illinoisans to lose their lives in the war, and one of 54,246 U.S. soldiers to be killed in combat in Korea.

United States soldiers that had been on garrison duty in Japan began arriving in Korea on July 1, including the Army’s 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions and the First Cavalry Division. Ill-prepared and under-equipped to face battle-hardened North Korean soldiers and their tanks, the American troops suffered heavy casualties.

Major General William F. Dean, an Illinois native and the commander of the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, landed with his troops in Korea on July 3, the same day the South Korean port city of Inchon fell to the North Koreans. Two days later the 24th Division met North Korean forces at Osan in the first land battle for U.S. troops in the war.

The United Nations Security Council on July 7 asked the United States to organize a U.N. command to fight the North Korean invasion. The next day President Truman named General Douglas MacArthur to head the U.N. command. Meanwhile, U.S. and South Korean soldiers stalled, but did not stop, the North Korean advance during heavy fighting. During the July 20 – 21 battle for Taejon, General Dean was reported missing in action following a heroic stand defending the city, for which he received the Medal of Honor; he was later confirmed to be a prisoner of war.

A draft call was issued July 27 for 50,000 inductees for the U.S. Armed Forces. With North Korean forces poised to conquer all of South Korea and U.S. and South Korean troops backed into a corner of the country around the city of Pusan and along the Naktong River, Eighth U.S. Army Commander General Walton Walker issued his famous “stand or die” order on July 29. Under his leadership the defensive perimeter held until a daring amphibious invasion in September took the pressure off of his forces.

60th Anniversary Observance June 27, 2010
Illinois Korean War Memorial

A special 60th anniversary observance will be held Sunday, June 27 at 11 a.m. at the Illinois Korean War Memorial in Springfield. The public is invited to attend. 

The Illinois Korean War Memorial is located in Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery, the same cemetery that contains the Lincoln Tomb. Oak Ridge is the nation’s second most visited burial ground behind only Arlington National Cemetery.

Dedicated on June 16, 1996, the memorial consists of a 12-foot-tall bronze bell mounted on a granite base. At the circumference of the base are four niches, each with a larger-than-life figure representing a branch of the armed services. Inscribed on the base are the 1,754 names of Illinoisans killed in Korea.

The Illinois Korean War Memorial is administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and may be visited daily free of charge. 

Korean War POWs: A Tragedy in Three Acts
Special Presentations June 3, 10, 17 and 24
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will present a series of Power Point presentations on the harrowing experiences or Korean War POWs, presented on three successive Thursdays in June by the Library’s Oral Historian, Dr. Mark R. DePue, who has conducted nearly 40 interviews with Korean War veterans, including several with POWs. In addition, the film Pork Chop Hill starring Gregory Peck, about a key Korean War battle, will be shown in the Museum on June 24.

The presentations, which are free and open to the public, will be held June 3, June 10 and June 17 at 7 p.m. in the Presidential Museum’s Union Theater. The series, entitled “Korean War POWs: A Tragedy in Three Acts,” features:

June 3, Act 1: From Catastrophe to Triumph, and Back Again – The War’s First Year. This will include a book signing by Carl Greenwood of Springfield, author of Once Upon a Lifetime, a memoir of his experiences as a U.S. Marine during the Korean War, including the landings at Inchon and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Greenwood will also sell the booklet Korea – The Forgotten War, which was prepared by the Illinois Korean Memorial Association.

June 10, Act 2: Brutal Captivity – US & UN Prisoners Endure Cruelty and Indoctrination. This will include a book signing by William Smith of Quincy, author of A Moment in Time: A Korean POW Survivor’s Story, a memoir of his experiences as a POW for two and a half years.

June 17, Act 3: No Middle Ground – The War within the UN-run Camps, and the Talks at Panmunjom.

If there is one aspect of the Korean War that is usually overlooked, it’s the war that raged in the respective prison camps, both north and south. Prisoners were forced to choose either collaboration or resistance, with their lives hanging in the balance. Why? Because of the UN’s (President Truman’s) refusal to repatriate thousands of North Korean and Chinese prisoners against their will. Peace talks began in July 1951, and continued in fits and starts for two more bloody years while the war dragged on at the front. The talks finally ended at Panmunjom in July 1953, resulting not in peace, but in a shaky armistice. The border that divides North and South Korea remains to this day the most heavily fortified border in the world.
Ultimately, the war fought in the POW compounds, both north and south, is the perfect microcosm of what the Cold War was about, a war between the world’s two superpowers and two diametrically opposed ideologies – with the prisoners servings as the pawns. 

The film Pork Chop Hill dramatizes the battle that occurred late in the Korean War and does an excellent job of portraying the type of combat that occurred when the peace talks dragged on. The 1959 film starring Gregory Peck will be shown free of charge in the Presidential Museum’s Union Theater on Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m. 

Korean War Veterans Oral History Project
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Oral History Program offers “Veterans Remember,” a collection of interviews with Illinois residents about their wartime experiences, at the Library’s website. www.alplm.org/oral_history/home.html

The audio interviews concern the experiences of Illinois veterans who fought in several conflicts, including the Korean War, as well as the experiences of those on the home front. Visitors to the website can listen to or watch the interviews in their entirety. Several of the interviews have transcripts, and most have still images as well.

Website visitors will need a computer capable of playing MP3 audio files or MPG compressed video files in order to listen to the interviews. The transcripts and still images are also accessible. Volunteers conducted and edited many of the interviews and developed the transcripts that accompany them. 

Korean War National Museum

The Korean War National Museum is being developed in downtown Springfield, Illinois just two blocks from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. When completed, the 55,000-square-foot, $18.4 million museum will feature artifacts and exhibits pertaining to the war. Donations are being encouraged to complete the facility. For more information or to donate, visit www.kwnm.org.

Korean War Booklet

The Illinois Korean Memorial Association, an all-volunteer organization, has published a booklet, A Brief History of the Korean War, copies of which have been provided free of charge to public libraries, high schools and junior high schools in Illinois. Individuals may obtain a copy by sending $10 in a check or money order to: Illinois Korean Memorial Association, P.O. Box 8554, Springfield, IL 62791. 

Tax deductible donations are welcome. One hundred percent of all donations go to the book project and to the upkeep of the Illinois Korean War Memorial.