Area veterans recall Korea, prepare for parade

Korean War veterans and Manassas residents (left to right) retired Marine Col. Jack Liley, retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Boyd (Mike) McClure, retired Army Staff Sgt. Nick Sullivan and Navy veteran Jack Battle discuss the conflict June 21 at American Legion Post 10 in Manassas. This year’s Manassas Veteran’s Day Parade will honor those who served in Korea.

By: Julia LeDoux | Inside NoVA
Published: June 28, 2010

MANASSAS, Va. - The second annual Manassas Veteran’s Day Parade, set to step off this year at 11 a.m. on Nov. 6, honors veterans of the Korean War.
That’s especially poignant, given the fact that 60 years ago last week, on June 25, 1950, North Korean troops stormed across the 38th parallel into South Korea, launching a three-year conflict that culminated in an armistice in 1953, that never officially ended the war.
Manassas resident and retired Marine Col. Jack Liley enlisted in the Corps in 1947 and was placed in the Reserve program. He graduated college in June of 1950 at the start of the Korean conflict. After receiving his commission he attended The Basic School and arrived in Korea in April of 1951.
“I was a rifle platoon leader,” he said. “We fought back and forth across the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone].”
Retired Staff Sgt. Nick Sullivan was drafted into the Army in February of 1945. Following basic training, he was stationed in Berlin, Germany from January of 1946 to September of 1948. He arrived in Korea on Sept. 2, 1950, where he served with the 24th Infantry Division as an infantryman.
“We were up north, near the mountains, and watched the Chinese come across,” he said.
Sullivan was wounded in Kaesong on Dec. 24, 1950 when his patrol was ambushed.
“I was only there three months,” Sullivan said. “I tried to make it there, but couldn’t.”
Sullivan recovered from his wounds and later served in Vietnam, retiring from the Army in July of 1969.
During the Korean War, 36,516 American servicemen were killed; more than 92,000 were wounded; more than 8,100 were missing in action and an estimated 7,245 were prisoners of war
The Manassas Veteran’s Day Parade is sponsored by American Legion Post 10, BAE Systems, Summit Roofing Contractors, Inc., and Battlefield Automotive. For more information on the parade, visit its web site at manassasveteransparade.org.

Area veterans recall Korea, prepare for parade

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