One Medal of Honor recipient is still living, Corporal Rudolfo Hernandez. He was wounded by a number of pieces of shrapnel, grenades, bullets and was bayonetted in the face and back on the battlefield in Korea. He was declared dead when his comrades retook the hill they were occupying. But a medic saw his fingers moving as they were placing him in a body bag; they pushed his brains back into his skull and rushed him to an aid station. It took him many operations and three years before he could speak his first word and he had to learn to walk, speak and eat all over again.

Korean War Veterans are now in their 70s or 80s. Rudy turned 82 on April 14 and celebrated with a visit from members of Chapter 265 at his home in Fayetteville, N.C.

Another project of Chapter 265 is to build a Korean War Veterans Memorial to honor the 789 North Carolinians killed or missing in action during the Korean War.

The memorial is located in Mint Hill, N.C., at the Park on Fairview located at the intersection of NC Highway 218 and Interstate 485. The memorial will have a fountain surrounded by four columns containing the names of 788 veterans that are still missing in action and may never be found.

Once complete the Town of Mint Hill will maintain the memorial that will be open to the public at no charge. Visit www.koreanwarrnemorialnc.com for more information about the Korean War memorial.

– article submitted by Becky Elliott