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Chapter #299 of the KWVA
KVA Commander McCarthy
Commander Albert McCarthy
I graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1968 and was commissioned a second Lieutenant in the United State Air Force. I later served as commander of the 71 st Tactical Control Flight and at the time, was the youngest officer in the Air Force to command a flight. I then served as an instructor at the Advanced School of Weapons Control before deploying to Korea as a Master Weapons Controller serving in the 314 th Air Division, Command Advisory Function, attached to the National Security Agency.
Following active duty I began a career in Human Resources in the computer industry, receiving three national awards as Vice President of two different high-tech corporations and President of my own executive search firm.
Today I live in Worcester, Massachusetts with my wife of forty-two years. Ann and I have two daughters and two grandsons. She is retired and I’m still thinking about it.
As Commander of the Korea Veterans of America, Chapter #299 of the Korea War Veterans Association, I hope to lead us forward as the premier chapter of the organization. Linking the achievements of the KWVA with the generations which followed in Korea, will preserve their legacy and ensure that the “Forgotten War” will never be forgotten by generations to come.
All who served in Korea are welcome into our ranks!
July 4th, 2011
Declaration of Independence
The signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” in the pursuit of freedom.
So what happened to them?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Continental Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
What kind of men were they?
They were well educated men of means: twenty-four were lawyers and jurists;
Eleven were merchants; nine were farmers and large plantation owners. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnet, Haywood, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.
So take a few minutes and silently thank these patriots who paid dearly for our freedom and remember this July 4 th that Freedom is not Free.