Villager Carl McClellan was a “kid in Kentucky” when Uncle Sam came calling with a draft notice.
McClellan spent 1954 and 1955 serving in the U.S. Army in Korea.
Saturday morning he gathered with fellow veterans and others at Veterans Memorial Park of the Villages remembering the end to the war in Korea 60 years ago.
The ceremony was put on by the Veterans Memorial Park of The Villages.
“I was at Ashland Junior College when I got my draft notice,” said McClellan who served as a medic.
Today, he is proud of his service in what is often referred to as “The Forgotten War.”
Featured speaker, Harold Oakley, retired Lt. Col. U.S. Army, was also a young man in the Bluegrass State when a judge told him to make a choice — serve in the military or spend time behind bars.
“I didn’t even know where Korea was,” he told the audience.
“It’s not even called a war. It’s called a conflict,” he said of our nation’s military involvement in Korea.
“Today, the citizens of the United States are better off because we served. Our service mattered. We saved a country and we saved a people.”
Villager Marvin Smiley served in Korea. He said it was important to honor the anniversary and remember those who didn’t come home.
“I was lucky enough to come home. Not everyone was,” he said.
Ceremonies are taking place around the country to honor the 60th anniversary of the end of war in Korea.
Villager Harold Sievers, who served in Korea, is in Washington D.C. for national ceremonies honoring the anniversary.
It was 60 years ago that Sievers was part of the group that picked up the cease-fire order at the 5th Air Force Headquarters and took it to the 502nd Tactical Control Group.
On Saturday, Sievers represented the state of Florida at ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Veterans Memorial Park of The Villages is a group Sievers has helped lead through the years.
You can learn more about the Villages Memorial Park ww.thevillagesmemorialpark.org
