Veterans Invited To Participate In Morris Co. 'Forgotten Wars' Project

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Morris County is planning a new project to honor veterans who served in America's "Forgotten War."

The Office of Planning and Preservation in Morris County is documenting its "Veterans of the Z," those who served in the formal Korean War and those who have served since 1953 along the volatile and dangerous Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2.5-mile wide, heavily militarized dividing line established by the 1953 armistice between North and South Korea.

The signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement 69 years ago officially ended the destructive, large-scale military operations that defined the Korean War, which killed over 5 million people in three years.

However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and hostilities continued for decades, particularly between Oct. 5, 1966, and Dec. 3, 1969, when North Korea launched dozens of violent, armed incursions into South Korea.

The US military was on the ground each time to repel the attacks, and they have remained there with nearly a hundred Americans making the ultimate sacrifice in what is now known as America's "Forgotten Wars."

“The Korea veteran listing is anticipated to be a unique one, encompassing not only the Korean conflict from 1950 to 1953, but the considerable tensions in the ensuing decades,” said Jan Williams, Cultural and Historic Resources Specialist for the planning and preservation office.

The Office of Planning and Preservation began compiling a list of Morris County veterans from various conflicts in 2012. The project was inspired by Peter Chipko, a WWII veteran from Rockaway, who stated that history would forget the military service and sacrifice that the men and women of Morris County made for the country.

The list, known as the Morris County Veterans Compendium, is releasing this latest effort to capture veterans’ histories regarding Korea.

“Along with the original soldiers that served during the 1950s, many veterans in the 1960s were sent to Korea instead of ‘Nam. The expectation is that the public will be submitting names of Korean veterans from 1950 all the way up to soldiers that served in ‘The Z’ quite literally through yesterday,” Williams said.

The criteria for inclusion in the Morris County Veterans Compendium remain the same: all applicants must have been born in Morris County or have lived in the county for at least ten years. If a veteran meets the criteria but has retired out of state or died, he or she is still eligible for inclusion on the list.

The basic information needed for listing is the veteran's name, the municipality of birth or residence in Morris County, and the military branch in which they served, Williams said.

If anyone wishes to donate personal Korean War items or provide original or scanned photographs and documents, they are asked to contact the Morris County Historical Society at (973) 267-3465.