Korean War memorial dedicated in Spokane
Ceremony held on 71st anniversary of U.S. joining conflict By Kip Hill, The Spokesman-Review
Published: June 28, 2021, 6:32pm
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Spokane Temperatures near the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena climbed to near 100 on Sunday afternoon, but you couldn’t get 93-year-old Dick Kirkendall to take off his sweatshirt.
“This sweatshirt was a Father’s Day present from my two daughters,” a beaming Kirkendall told a group of visitors to Sunday’s dedication of a Korean War memorial in Spokane.
Screen-printed on the front was an image of the USS Southerland, where Kirkendall was stationed during the war that America entered 71 years ago Sunday. The six-year effort to get a monument to what is often referred to as America’s Forgotten War culminated in the dedication, attended by Kirkendall and fellow Korean War veteran Tom Carter, an Army sergeant who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.