Korean War

James M. Cannon, a neophyte Sun reporter at the time, was remembering the other day how he pulled off a coup 60 years ago that freed him forever from the daily drudgery of local reporting and left his newsroom colleagues smarting with envy and wondering why they hadn't been so forward. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when communist North Korean forces swept into the Republic of South Korea, and a day later, Cannon made his own invasion of sorts. He screwed up his courage and walked into the small office of Bill Perkinson, assistant to Neil H. Swanson, who was the fearsome, no-nonsense executive editor of the Sunpapers, and asked to be sent to Korea.

The first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy has died, according to an announcement from the school Wednesday. Wesley Brown started at the academy in 1945, after the first five black men to attend failed to complete their first year there. He graduated 370th out of nearly 800 graduates in 1949, gaining national media attention, and went on to have a 20-year career in the Navy. Brown, who was in his 80s, was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and spent time with the Navy working in various other countries.

For Arizona Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan, there will be special meaning to the team's trip to Washington for the season opener Sept. 3 against the Redskins.Not because it's the opener, or that the Cardinals are seeking their third consecutive victory at RFK Stadium.What's special is that it will be Ryan's first chance to visit the new Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington.It's not the forgotten war for Ryan. He fought in it as a teen-ager, and the memories are still vivid.Ryan, who usually doesn't leave his hotel room on the road except to go to the stadium for the game, visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial last year when the team was in Washington.

Robert F. Fanto, a retired longtime Baltimore County public schools guidance counselor, died of cancer Wednesday at his Timonium home. He was 80. The son of a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad machinist and a homemaker, Mr. Fanto was born in Cumberland and raised in Piedmont, W.Va., and Keyser, W.Va. After graduation in 1949 from Keyser High School, he enlisted in the Navy. He served as a radioman to the commander of the 2nd Fleet in the Atlantic until being discharged in 1953.

The first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy has died, according to an announcement from the school Wednesday. Wesley Brown started at the academy in 1945, after the first five black men to attend failed to complete their first year there. He graduated 370th out of nearly 800 graduates in 1949, gaining national media attention, and went on to have a 20-year career in the Navy. Brown, who was in his 80s, was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and spent time with the Navy working in various other countries.

A monument dedicated to eight Carroll County men who died in the Korean War will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Gardens behind City Hall.The monument was donated by Joseph L. Mathias Monuments in Westminster.When it is dedicated, all county residents who died in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam will be recognized by name at City Hall or in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Garden.The eight county men who lost their lives in the Korean War were: Sgt. Charles L. Billingslea Jr., Pfc. Charles A. Chew, Pfc. Louis A. Damewood, Pvt. William H. Dotson, Sgt. Leslie L. Fairchild, Pfc. Charles E. Garver, Pfc. Harold E. Lugenbeel and Sgt. 1st Class Virgil Stambaugh.

Bill List, one of our own Linthicum neighbors, was part of last week's ceremonies to commemorate the Korean War. It happened somewhat by chance. Three years ago he learned that the Navy was naming a ship after one he served on during the war. One thing led to another for this veteran who ended up at the dedication of the Korean War Memorial in Washington.Call 437-4120 or 923-2655 by Wednesday to reserve a space.*New Orleans-style music will be featured at the next Concert in the Park, scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday in Linthicum Park.

Norman Charles Craig, a Marine who fought in the Korean War, died in his sleep Monday at his West Baltimore home. He was 73. Born and raised in West Baltimore, Mr. Craig graduated in 1949 from Frederick Douglass High School, where he had been a member of the school's boxing team. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1951 and, after completing basic training, was sent into combat with the 1st Marine Division in Korea. During his tenure in Korea, Mr. Craig participated in some of the most furious fighting of the war, including the assault on Pork Chop Hill.

The North Koreans have been playing a very dangerous game ever since June 1950, when Kim Il Sung, aided by the Soviet Union and with the approval of China, sent his forces across the 38th parallel.On that occasion, only massive intervention by Chinese troops saved the North Korean army from annihilation by U.N. forces under the command of Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur.Before the Korean war ended, more than 3,000,000 Koreans, 1,000,000 Chinese and 50,000 Americans were killed.Since the end of the war, North Korea has been responsible for extraordinary acts of state terrorism, including the assassination South Korean Cabinet ministers and the blowing up of a Korean Air Lines passenger plane.

In 1949, Charles K. Eckard, a shy 17-year-old who pumped gas at a Shell station in Westminster, yearned to see the world. He joined the Army Reserve and became one of the first troops to land in Korea in 1950.Two days after his arrival, he was killed in battle. His body was never found.Eckard was the first Carroll County resident to die in the Korean War. Ten more followed.In the years after the war, the 11 men were, for the most part, forgotten. It took more than 40 years before a memorial was built for them, and even then the memory was incomplete.

Kudos to reporter Alison Knezevich's excellent article on Ft. Howard's multi-use development project ("Fort Howard multi-use project marches on," March 18). Here are some other aspects of the future development that were left out: First, it must be made affordable to veterans on either Social Security or Veterans Administration monthly disability pension checks. So far, the quoted housing price ranges have not reflected that financial reality. Second, it will most likely affect veterans from the Korean War onward, since by the time it is built most of the World War II veterans will no longer be with us. Third, the partnering with non-veteran seniors is necessary to guarantee that it will be built at all, as the government will not have the funds for only vets to live there for another decade at least.

In response to letter writer Susan Brown, I would like to offer her an invitation to visit Mays Chapel Park so she can get an idea what is involved ("Mays Chapel school would be an asset to the area," March 11). First, she will not see many school children in the area during the day, nor many school buses since it is an adult community around the park, and most people are retired. Second, she will see a 20-acre park that is busy this week because there are lacrosse games going on for school children from all over the area.

James Monroe Cannon III, former reporter and foreign correspondent for The Sun who later became a top Newsweek correspondent and an aide to New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and President Gerald R. Ford, died Sept. 15 from complications of a stroke at Capital Hospice in Arlington, Va. Mr. Cannon, who was 93, lived in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood. James Myers Cannon was born in Sylacauga, Ala., and was raised in Athens, Ala. When he was in college at the University of Alabama, from which he earned a bachelor's degree in 1939, he changed his middle name to his father's.

Richard L. Starcher, a retired Howard County industrial arts teacher, died Aug. 19 of complications from pulmonary fibrosis at his Severna Park home. He was 77. The son of a coal miner and a homemaker, Mr. Starcher was born and raised in Carolina, W. Va., where he graduated in 1952 from Monogan High School. He attended college for one year before being drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1959 from Fairmont State University in Fairmont, W.Va.

Wilbur O. Miller, a career Army officer who fought in World War II and Korea, died Aug. 6 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. He was 95. Born and raised in Baltimore, he was a 1934 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. During the 1930s, he worked at Revere Copper & Brass Co., and was there until enlisting in the Army in 1942. He was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and later received training in guided missiles and nuclear weaponry.

Francis N. Viscardi, a retired insurance salesman and veteran who served in the Army during World War II and the Korean conflict, died Sunday of bladder cancer at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The longtime Woodlawn resident was 88. The son of Italian immigrants, Mr. Viscardi was born in New York City and raised in Hell's Kitchen. He was a 1940 graduate of Commerce High School. He was 17 when he enlisted in the Army during World War II and initially served with the Coast Artillery Corps before joining an infantry unit in Europe.

The Coldest Winter America and the Korean War By David Halberstam Hyperion / 736 pages / $35 The Korean War was a tragedy of errors. It began because Secretary of State Dean Acheson removed Korea from the defensive perimeter of the United States. Convinced that America would not intervene, the Soviet Union approved the plan of Kim Il Sung to attack South Korea. President Harry S. Truman then sent U.S. troops to the divided nation, under a United Nations mandate agreed to at a meeting boycotted by the Russians.