Korean War memorial to be dedicated in Oregon

Ronald E. Rosser of Roseville, Ohio s only Medal of Honor recipient in the Korean War, will deliver the keynote address.

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Ronald E. Rosser of Roseville, Ohio s only Medal of Honor recipient in the Korean War, will deliver the keynote address.

Nearly 60 years after Army Pvt. Robert Beale was killed in the Korean War, in which many others from Oregon and Jerusalem Township served, a memorial is being erected at Clay High School.

The Korean War memorial at Clay High School's Memorial Stadium will be dedicated Saturday, and local Korean War veterans will be honored for their service. Ronald E. Rosser of Roseville, Ohio's only Medal of Honor recipient in the Korean War, will deliver the keynote address.

The $3,500 pink granite monument, which will look red when wet, is engraved with the names of five soldiers and an inscription.

"The monument incorporates some of the characteristics of the national Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.," said Jerry Eversman, event organizer.

Army Pvt. Robert Beale was killed in the Korean War.

Mr. Beale, an Army private first class, is the only known eastern Maumee Bay soldier killed in the Korean War, and his name will be inscribed on the monument. He was raised on Stadium Road in what is now Oregon.

A former Marine Corps Reserves member, Mr. Beale was drafted in May, 1951. He was a member of the Army's 38th Regiment, 2nd Quartermaster Company, 2nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on Oct. 9, 1952.

The dedication ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, the traditional Memorial Day date before Congress created a federal Monday holiday in 1968. The ceremony will take place at Clay High School's Memorial Stadium, and a military aircraft flyover has been authorized.

Various military organizations and veterans are expected to attend the ceremony, along with Oregon Mayor Marge Brown, state Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), and other officials.

For decades, Memorial Stadium had a World War II memorial but nothing to honor more recent war veterans. Last year, a memorial was dedicated to honor several servicemen from Oregon and Jerusalem Township killed in Vietnam.

Many people asked about having a Korean War memorial as well, said Mr. Eversman, who also was involved in the Vietnam memorial project.

"We heard the voices of the Korean War veterans and their wives and the people who lost loved ones," he said.