Local Korean War veterans honored in Gary Kass’ oral history
By Per Peterson
The Korean War might forever be referred to as “the “Forgotten War,” but for one day in Murray County last week, it was anything but.
More than 100 people converged on the 4-H Building at the Murray County Fairgrounds last Thursday to get a glimpse of the past of eight Korean War veterans from Murray County at the “Lunchbox Series Lecture” titled Korea: The Forgotten War.
Gary Kass was the featured speaker at the event and said it’s important to share the veterans’ stories and experiences from the war and preserve our heritage. Kass, retired from the Army National Guard, grew up in rural Tracy, the son of the late Kenny and Betty Kass and brother of Douglas Kass of Garvin. The men he interviewed for his book included Dean Bundy, Delwin Moore, Rueben Anderson, Richard Lanners, Alvin Hoffbeck, Charles Toner, Paul Beech and Ken Borgstahl. All but a couple of the veterans were on hand last week to share a bit of their personal recollections and listen to stories of their brothers.
“This is the story of us, the story of our families, the story of these men who gave a portion of their early years to serve our country and keep our country free,” Kass said to open his presentation. “Perhaps my study is a little bit morbid, but some of this is morbid. All these guys have seen some stuff.”
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.