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The Korean War veteran served as commander of the Korean War Veterans Association’s Chapter 137
BOARDMAN
The Mahoning and Shenango valleys lost a passionate leader in veterans affairs when John T. Pariza, a Korean War veteran, died Thursday. He was 83.
A strong and persistent advocate for veterans, Pariza, formerly of West Middlesex, Pa., was a proud Army veteran of the so-called “Forgotten War.”
Pariza arrived in Korea in August 1950, where he served for 16 months and where he spent his 18th birthday. His decorations included two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantry Badge. He also suffered severe frostbite on his feet.
Pariza, whose weapon in Korea was a Browning automatic rifle, was a member of the 5th Regimental Combat Team attached to the Army’s 24th and 25th Divisions during the drive through North Korea toward China early in the war.
Pariza saw a lot of combat, and was, for a short time, a prisoner of war.
In action north of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, he helped kill two Chinese soldiers and capture a third.
Also, while fighting the Chinese, he and some others were captured, but were rescued after about 45 minutes by Turkish forces.
On the home front, Pariza was instrumental in renaming Interstate 680 the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.
He helped establish the Korean War Memorial in Austintown and was founder of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in West Middlesex, Pa.
He was active in the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 137, serving as its commander for 2011-2012, and was named 2010 Veteran of the Year by the United Veterans’ Council of Youngstown.
His second wife, Beverly, also very active in veterans affairs, was the United Veterans Council’s 2012 Citizen of the Year.
In an interview with The Vindicator, Pariza said the Korean War, the so-called “Forgotten War” sandwiched between World War II and the Vietnam War, is anything but forgotten by the men who fought in it.