Cape Cod Korean War vets meet for what may be the last time on armistice anniversary

Graham Krewinghaus, Cape Cod Times
·3 min read
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HYANNIS — Roy Thomas had been studying to be a funeral director when he enlisted in the military in 1952, he said Thursday.

“But when I went in and took all the tests, I was a better radio operator than I was a funeral director,” Thomas said.

So a radio operator he became —in Korea during the final year of the war, then in New Jersey for more than three decades after. Thomas said at Thursday’s commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice that a lot has changed in that span.

“Now they don’t use Morse code,” he said.

Korean War veteran Larry Cole listens to speakers during a ceremony Thursday at the Korean War Memorial in Hyannis. Cole is a former Harwich resident, selectman and marathon runner who now lives in Weymouth. The ceremony marked the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, and was sponsored by the Korean War Veterans Association Cape Cod chapter.

In 2023, the Cape Cod chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association is coming to terms with everything that has changed in recent years, from radio technology to their numbers. When the chapter was started in 1996, Thomas, the chapter commander, said they had around a hundred members.

Now, there are just four who can still get out to events like the one Thursday. Though secretary Larry Cole said the group would reunite in 2025 for the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the war, if they are able, Thomas, 92, conceded that may not be very likely.

If Thursday was the last meeting of the chapter, Cole said they do still have a few things to attend to.

“We haven’t stored a bottle of champagne for the last surviving member,” Cole said, chuckling. “That’s unfinished business.”

The armistice brought the complete ceasefire

Thursday marked 70 years since the armistice of the Korean War, signed in 1953 by delegates of the United Nations, North Korea and China. The armistice brought a complete ceasefire in the war that killed approximately three million, including over 36,000 U.S. military deaths. The armistice also established the Korean Demilitarized Zone, which today remains among the most heavily guarded borders in the world, separating North and South Korea.

Korean War veteran Max Sarazin, of South Yarmouth, center, is surrounded by members of the local Marine Corps League Detachment 125 listening to speakers during a ceremony Thursday in Hyannis to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.
Korean War veteran Max Sarazin, of South Yarmouth, center, is surrounded by members of the local Marine Corps League Detachment 125 listening to speakers during a ceremony Thursday in Hyannis to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.

Another important landmark fell just a day prior: Wednesday marked 75 years since the armed forces were officially desegregated, in 1948. Many Black soldiers served during the Korean War, though desegregation was easier said than done in many units during the war.

A salute and a prayer

The Thursday event began with a salute, then a prayer from Joe Fallon, a Korean War veteran who serves as the group’s chaplain. Then, Thomas delivered a speech, thanking Barnstable for the memorial statue around which the group congregated and the view of the harbor it overlooked.

The memorial, dedicated in 2000, was based on a photo taken by Don Duquette, a commander from Centerville.

Thomas told several stories of other war veterans from the Cape, including that of Don Ryder, a corporal from Harwich and lifelong Cape resident who was captured as a prisoner of war.

Ryder was held for 28 months, Thomas said, and endured indoctrination classes after being labeled as a "reactionary." Eventually, he was released because he refused to cooperate, never ceasing to resist the North Korean soldiers’ attempts to indoctrinate him into anti-American beliefs.

A ceremony was held Thursday morning in Hyannis marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, sponsored by Korean War Veterans Association Cape Cod chapter.
A ceremony was held Thursday morning in Hyannis marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, sponsored by Korean War Veterans Association Cape Cod chapter.

The event concluded with another brief prayer before the veterans left for lunch. On the way out, Greg Quilty, district director of Barnstable Department of Veteran Services, greeted them and showed them a hat he’d brought with him.

Quilty’s late father-in-law, he said, served in Korea but was always cagey about his time there until Quilty himself joined the U.S. Marines. That’s when he showed Quilty all his memorabilia from his service and told him his story.

Quilty’s father-in-law was wounded in the final battle of the war, he said, and taken for dead. He survived and lived until around a decade ago, Quilty said. When he died, he gave Quilty and his wife his uniform and more, including a green hat with his battalion and unit.

“I wanted to bring him here,” Quilty said Thursday, dutifully holding the hat at his chest.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Korean War Veterans group meets in Hyannis, 70 years after armistice