Veterans honor 122 Valley soldiers who died during Korean War

Photo

Photo by: Dustin Livesay

Commander John Pariza of the Korean War Veterans Association of Mahoning Valley Chapter 137 makes opening remarks at Veterans Park at Wickliffe Circle in Austintown on Sunday during the Korean War Veterans’ Laying of the Roses ceremony.

By Sean Barron

news@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

John T. Pariza still gets emotional when he talks about James E. Bobovnyk and Richard D. Whalen.

“It broke my heart when I came home [from serving in the Korean War] and found that they were dead. I still think of them every day.”

Pariza, however, also got to honor his two friends during Sunday’s 10th annual “Laying of the Roses” ceremony at Austintown Veterans Park on Wickliffe Circle just off Mahoning Avenue.

The Korean War Veterans Association of Mahoning Valley Chapter 137 hosted the solemn, two-hour ceremony, which took place to remember and honor Bobovnyk and Whalen, along with the other 120 soldiers from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties who were killed in the war.

Pariza, Chapter 137’s commander, recalled having attended Hayes Junior High School with Bobovnyk and Whalen, both of whom also lived in his neighborhood and were his friends.

Bobovnyk, who was captured in November 1950 and died in a North Korean prison camp, still has family in Girard, Pariza said, adding that Whalen was killed in 1951.

The event’s main speaker was retired Army Lt. Col. Walter Duzzny, who reminded those attending that the 122 killed in action also were others’ friends, neighbors and co-workers, and had occupations such as teachers, doctors and steel-mill workers.

After enlisting or being drafted, nearly every familiar aspect of their lives changed. Even common, everyday items were no longer looked at the same way, Duzzny explained.

“A hat was no longer a hat; it was a cover or a helmet,” he said.

Nevertheless, they accepted the challenges and took pride serving their country, Duzzny continued, adding that those in the military today also exude pride and commitment.

Fellow veterans placed one red rose next to a wreath as each of the 122 names was read, and a bell was rung.

The ceremony featured a table recognizing prisoners of war and those missing in action that was filled with symbolism, such as an inverted wine glass, a lemon, a salt shaker and a rose.

The glass symbolized the soldier’s inability to make a toast; the lemon represented the soldiers’ bitter fate; the salt pointed to the tears of family members awaiting their loves ones’ return; and the rose called attention to the importance of keeping the faith.

“They gave up their yesterdays and tomorrows so we could enjoy our todays,” said Robert Vitullo, Chapter 137’s second commander who also was the program’s master of ceremonies.

Additional remarks were made by John Boccieri, commander of the 773rd Airlift Squadron at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna; Jim Davis, Austintown Township trustee; and the Rev. Richard Koker, Chapter 137’s chaplain.