CHAPTER HISTORY

The Korean War Veterans Association, Treasure Coast Chapter 106 was founded in 1995 by Robert McCaffrey (now deceased) and began meeting in local restaurants. Later the meetings were moved to the AM Vets, Route 1, Fort Pierce (rent free).

1995 to early 2003 Commanders/Presidents
Robert McCaffrey, Founder, President 1995
Fred Shear, President November 1998; November 2000; January 2001; 2003; 2004
George Hill, President – April 2000
1996, 1997 and 2002 – no record of who was President these years

1999 - $1,500 donation given to The Salvation Army of Martin County for Kosovo Refugees

2000 - Raised $1,570 which was donated to the World War II Memorial Fund in Washington, DC

2000 - Dedicated a monument in Veterans Park in Port St. Lucie, FL which was a plaque of the country of Korea set in a cement base. (This plaque today resides in a larger memorial dedicated at that site in January 2006.)

Despite failing health Fred Shear made a valiant effort to keep the chapter intact.

In 2003 the chapter was going through difficult times. Their Commander, Fred Shear, was struggling with health problems and the members who attended the meetings (approximately 6 - 7) were not interested in volunteering their time to help. Fred’s wife, Pat, helped by taking the minutes and John Holdorf was the Treasurer with approximately $77 in the treasury. There was no Vice Commander or any other officers. Fred was considering disbanding the chapter and returning the Charter. Tony Ricigliano came to his first meeting after being an officer and quite involved in a chapter in Clermont, FL where he had lived prior to his recent move to Port St. Lucie. He was looking forward to joining a chapter and was prepared to help where needed. He presented Fred with some ideas he had for publicity and fundraising and Fred immediately appointed Tony as Secretary and later Acting Vice Commander and encouraged Tony to move forward with his ideas. Tony took the initiative to be the Publicity Chairman, created a Constitution and By Laws for the Chapter since no one knew if they ever existed, applied for and received Federal Tax Exemption status for a non profit organization, published a monthly newsletter, and began a full fledged effort in fundraising at Wal-Mart, Sams, and Publix stores. In addition he organized a concert with the Treasure Coast Symphony Orchestra as a fundraising effort and also to get publicity for the chapter. Tony also started a Speakers Bureau of one where he was invited to speak at schools and clubs to get out the message of the Korean War. Later that evolved to include other chapter members. As Fred’s health declined Tony ran the meetings when Fred was not well enough.

Charlie Sauter, who joined the chapter shortly after Tony, was very supportive and became Tony’s partner in fundraising efforts at Sams, Wal-Mart and Publix stores weekend after weekend. In those days the two of them would fundraise both Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 or 9:00 am until 4:30 pm or even later sometimes week after week. Fred Shear and John Holdorf also provided support to this effort.

Tony met with friends Bob Jock and Ron Knepshield, officers with the DAV, and they volunteered use of the building for the KWVA chapter meetings rent free until the chapter was able to pay rent. Tony organized moving the meeting location in May 2004 from the Am.Vets, Rt 1, Ft. Pierce to the DAV, California Blvd., Port St. Lucie. The new location was not only a better facility but the location an opportunity to grow the chapter. It would require the existing members to travel not even half the miles that Fred was already traveling to get up to Ft. Pierce from Stuart. One of the members who lives in Vero Beach followed the chapter down to Port St. Lucie for the monthly meetings.

At this juncture Tony contacted Ed Marmitt who he knew had many contacts and asked him if he would join the chapter and take on the responsibility of recruiting new members. After some discussion Ed agreed to join and became the Treasurer as well as recruiting new members.

Ed Marmitt became a dedicated worker and his recruitment efforts were evident since the chapter grew by leaps and bounds. In late 2005 there were approximately 80 members and where attendance in Ft. Pierce was approximately 6 the average attendance was 20 to 27. So the move was a positive one in keeping the chapter not only alive but flourishing.

Several times in 2004 as Fred’s illness progressed he asked Tony if he wanted to officially take over as Commander. Tony’s reply was “just let me know what you need me to do.” A few months before his death Fred resigned as Commander and Tony became Acting Commander for the remainder of that year. In late 2004 Tony was elected Commander and took office in January 2005.

Our fundraising efforts at Sams, Wal-Mart and Publix stores continued and we also were awarded grants from Sam’s and Wal-Mart. As the treasury began to build we were able to support other Veterans’ programs such as Food for Veterans, Telephone cards for military personnel, and to provide support to the County Veterans’ office when we were contacted regarding a need. We also helped support the United Veterans in their effort to transport veterans to the VA Hospital in West Palm Beach. In addition we made donations to the Victory Boot Camp for troubled teenage boys and awarded scholarships to JROTC students at local high schools.

In 2005 Tony organized the 2nd Annual Treasure Coast Symphony Orchestra concert to raise money towards a new, larger upgraded Korean War Memorial to be located at the site of the existing Memorial. Ed Marmitt successfully recruited sponsors for the concert and obtained a grant from the Frances Langford Foundation in the amount of $5,000 for the memorial.

Tony had a dream of a larger Memorial that depicted the personal side of the war. He knew he wanted a large memorial with bronze figures patterned after an actual photo that was taken in Korea. He then approached Peter Popolizio, an appointed Executive Committee member who is an accomplished artist and asked him if he would be interested in working on the Memorial. Peter said “count me in.” They were then off and running for the next 8 months. They worked tirelessly on the project – the two of them would put their heads together to work out the details then Peter would go back to the drawing board. This new Memorial became a reality and was dedicated on January 14, 2006 after 8 months of tireless planning and managing the design and building of the project.

Additionally in 2005 the Chapter organized and sponsored a concert by the 13th U.S. Army Band Florida National Guard which was a huge success.

On January 5, 2006, just one week prior to the dedication of the new Memorial, Tony Ricigliano suffered a massive stroke while at the Memorial site with Peter Popolizio while overseeing the installation of the lighting and was unable to MC the Dedication Ceremony for the Memorial. Tony’s son, Robert Ricigliano and Vice Commander, John Holdorf (with the aid of Tony’s prepared speech and program) co-MC’d the Dedication Ceremony in Tony’s absence. Chuck Serra, an appointed Executive Committee member, was instrumental in planning the logistics of the Dedication Ceremony at the park.

Tony has since made a miraculous recovery at this writing – July 2007 and is responsible for the Memories and Experiences project that our chapter is creating. See website for Memories and Experiences for those members who chose to participate in this project.

In January 2006, following Tony Ricigliano’s stroke, John Holdorf, Vice Commander stepped up and became Acting Commander with Peter Popolizio becoming Acting Vice Commander. Ed Marmitt, Treasurer, continued to contribute greatly to the chapter until his sudden death in September 2006.

Under John’s leadership the chapter continued with their fundraising efforts at Publix, Sam’s and Wal-Mart stores; supported other Veterans’ programs such as Food for Veterans; Telephone cards for military personnel; and provided support to the County Veterans’ office when contacted regarding a need. We also continued to support the United Veterans in their effort to transport veterans to the VA Hospital in West Palm Beach.

Instead of sponsoring an annual Treasure Coast Symphony Orchestra concert, various members ushered at some of the concerts at Sunrise Theater where the Orchestra performs. This opportunity resulted from 2005 discussions and a one time donation was given by Sunrise Theatre for homeless veterans. The chapter continues to usher in 2007 for the Treasure Coast Symphony Orchestra which helps to give Korean War Veterans recognition and also promotes our chapter. The chapter again this year awarded scholarships to JROTC students at local high schools and sponsored a Little League Baseball team.

John was able to obtain for the Chapter a monthly donation from a local Bingo facility. This undertaking on John’s part, along with our continued fundraising efforts, will enable us to continue to support veterans in need.

Since the dedication of our new Memorial, our chapter now uses the site of our Memorial to hold events. One such event was a wreath laying ceremony held on July 27, 2006 to commemorate the signing of the cease-fire. Additionally, on November 4, 2006, we held a memorial service to honor Ed Marmitt, Treasurer and fundraiser, who died.

In January 2007, Peter Popolizio, who was very active as Acting Vice Commander in 2006, was elected and became the chapter’s new Commander. Chuck Serra was elected Vice Commander; John Holdorf, Treasurer; Joe DesRochers continues as Secretary; and Tony Ricigliano was immediately appointed as Commander Emeritus. (For a complete list of those who serve on the Executive Committee for 2007 see Events – 2007 – Exec. Committee picture.)

The chapter continues with their fundraising efforts at Publix, Sam’s and Wal-Mart stores. We participated in Sam’s grand opening and received a donation from Sam’s towards our veterans programs for the 3rd year in a row. (Ed Marmitt initiated the chapter receiving grants from Sam’s and it continues under the direction of the new Executive Board.)

The Chapter continues to provide support to the County Veterans’ office when we’re contacted regarding a need. We continue to donate to the United Veterans in their effort to transport veterans to the VA Hospital in West Palm Beach. In addition, this year we committed to making quarterly donations to four Fisher Houses where families of wounded veterans are housed on-site at VA hospitals. (This project was initiated by John Holdorf at the end of 2006.) This next quarter we will substantially increase our quarterly donations to the Fisher Houses.

For the fourth year in a row our Chapter has awarded scholarships to JROTC students at local high schools. Dan Barnes our Scholarship Chairman has successfully obtained grant monies for the third year in a row to greatly help in this endeavor.

The chapter honored those who crafted the memorial by having an informal reunion in February at the memorial site and then hosting a dinner in their honor.

A short presentation to JROTC scholarship recipients was made in June.

Peter has an additional responsibility this year as Commander. Our chapter was chosen by the United Veterans to be their host Chapter for 2007. This means that Peter is the MC and is responsible for planning all United Veterans’ events such as Four Chaplains, Memorial Day, July 4th, Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor.

The chapter participated at several funerals this year providing full Military honors to several of our veterans.

In addition, our chapter was approached by a family member of a Korean War veteran who is not a member of our chapter. This veteran is house bound and was in need of morale boosting. A few of our chapter members paid a visit to him and the camaraderie among everyone made the time spent rewarding for all.

We want to thank all those members who serve so faithfully at fundraising and who participate in our various events. You continue to help make our chapter the success that it is as we endeavor to make a difference to needy veterans and our community.

This history is in the making and will be updated as time goes on. We continually welcome new members and encourage eligible veterans to check out our membership application and meeting details on our Mission Statement page.