Scarlett Rose And Kim Chamberlain Address Korean Veterans Association of Redding (KVAR) at Country Waffles

Scarlett Rose received the Harvey-Witchita Award.

The every third Saturday meeting of the Korean Veterans Association of Redding (KVAR), at Redding’s Country Waffles restaurant, proved not only to be inspirational, but also informative, as Scarlett Rose and Kim Chamberlain related their experiences and appreciation to approximately 22 KVAR members present on Saturday, June 20, inside the meeting room of Country Waffles restaurant in Redding.

As KVAR’s keynote speaker, Scarlett Rose, an associate member of KVAR, delivered the following remarks: “As Region 8 Vice President of the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV),  I attended their convention in Baltimore, Maryland, at the end of April of this year.  I received the Harvey-Witchita Award in recognition of my volunteer work for this group since 2018.”

Rose continued:  “The Harvey-Witchita Award is a top award to members who are actively supporting the effort of gaining long overdue recognition for the Merchant Marine. While the World War II merchant mariner has had Veteran’s status since 1988, the merchant marine of Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars are still not legally acknowledged as Veterans.

“California Representative, John Garamendi, and Arizona Senator, Mark Kelly, support the Ships for America Act, which seeks to revitalize US shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries,” Rose explained, “And the AMMV wants to encourage people to write to their congressional representatives to include Veterans status, for merchant marine, in this important maritime bill.”

Rose concluded:  “As the daughter and niece of World War II Merchant Mariners, I asked to be put on the list for Memorial Day—or Veterans Day—events, for which the  AMMV sends representatives.  I received a phone call in mid-April from the AMMV coordinator that a space was available if I could arrange my own transportation.  With donations from several private donors and the KVAR, Chapter 1, I was able to travel to Arlington, Virginia, for the Memorial Day weekend and participate in the Flowers of Remembrance Celebration and the Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day.”

Following Rose’s remarks, associate KVAR member and Anderson resident, Kim Chamberlain, who was eight years old in South Korea when the Korean War began in June of 1950, and is a widow of a Korean War Veteran, thanked the KVAR members for all of their contributions.

Photos courtesy of KVAR

Are you a Veteran who served in Korea?  If so, and you’d like to explore membership in the KVAR, Commander Richard A. “Dick” Wilkinson, Jr. is available for a conversation; call him at 530-246-9131.  The KVAR meets for lunch every third Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. at Country Waffles, 2300 Athens Avenue, Redding, California, 96001.  And if you, or someone you know, wants to be a keynote speaker at a Korean Veterans Association of Redding (KVAR) luncheon, contact KVAR member Frank Rose at 530-247-3844.