South Korean freedom, democracy is tribute to U.S. soldiers' efforts: Colin Powell

CEDAR RAPIDS – As the nation marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, former Gen. Colin Powell says it's time to remember the men and women who preserved South Korea's freedom and allowed it to become one of the “great democracies of the world.”

Powell, a former secretary of state, national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will speak in Cedar Rapids on June 1 to help dedicate a new monument honoring the more than 700 Iowa natives who died in the Korean War. In all, 33,000 Americans died and 105,000 were wounded.

FYI: Colin Powell, the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Commission, PMX Industries of Cedar Rapids and the Korean War Veterans Association will dedicate a new Korean War Veterans Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park, 950 Rockford Road SW, Cedar Rapids, at 10:30 a.m. June 1. All veterans and residents are invited to the unveiling and dedication ceremony. This event is free and open to the public.

The monument, about six and a half feet high, will display the names of all those in the military who were born in Iowa and died in the Korean War. The monument will be placed in the Veterans Memorial Park outside Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. The monument and Powell's visit are being paid for by the PMX Industries Inc., a Cedar Rapids subsidiary of a Korean company.

“It's always important that we remember what the men women of various generations of American have done to preserve freedom,” he said in an interview May 27. “It was a case of a war that broke out five years after we thought we had ended major wars in our lifetime.”

Although the men and women who fought in that war are “phasing out,” the recent sinking of a South Korean ship by North Korea is a reminder “we are still at a state of war,” said Powell, who consults with the Obama administration on national security issues.

Despite that relationship with the president, Powell balked at assessing Obama's presidency.

“Are we talking about Memorial Day or are you just looking for a political angle?” Powell asked. “I don't give presidents grades. I've worked for five of them and I've never graded any of them. They all do the best they can.”

Powell's also involved in a venture capital firm “looking at what's next in the information revolution, what's next with respect to green energy and conservation.”

He and his wife, Alma, continue to address education issues through America Promises, which they started 12 years ago. They are focused on reducing high school dropout rates, “which we better do something about as fast as we can.”

He also lectures, works with the Powell Center for Policy Studies at New York City College and speaks to business groups.

“But there's no full-time job that requires me to be anywhere at 7:30 in the morning and stay there until 8 o'clock at night anymore,” Powell said.

To measure the significance of the effort and sacrifice of those who fought in Korea, Powell said one only has to look at what South Korea has become – “the 10th largest economy, one of our best trading partners, a great ally and a democratic nation.

Compared to the poverty and despair that exists in North Korea “that is the greatest tribute to the men women who fought in that war and they should never be forgotten,” Powell said. “Because of them, democracy was saved for that country.”

American soldiers, along with United Nations' allies not only “stopped Communism in its tracks at that point in that part of the world, but more importantly, created conditions that 60 years later produced one of the most successful countries in the world.”

He's glad to be part of remembering the Korean War generation. Powell will pay tribute to the men and women who served in the war during the 2010 National Memorial Day Concert from the west lawn of the Capitol, which will be shown at 7 p.m. May 30 on PBS.

“The World War II generation is phasing out rapidly and the Korean War generation is just a few years behind,” he said. “So this is an opportunity to recognize and remember what they did.”