Home » Santa Clarita News » Hometown Heroes - Our Veterans » Santa Clarita Korean War Veterans Honored By President Donald Trump

Santa Clarita Korean War Veterans Honored By President Donald Trump

Santa Clarita Korean War veterans were honored by President Donald Trump last month. 

The Greatest Generations Foundation (TGGF)
Last month I was contacted by The Greatest Generations Foundation’s CEO and Founder Timothy Davis who asked if I could nominate a few local Korean War combat Veterans since he was involved in an event hosted by President Donald J. Trump in Washington D.C.  

So, I nominated Santa Clarita residents and combat Veterans George Patton and John Coleman, both of who were delighted when learning that they were only two of ten Veterans chosen to attend among thousands of Korean War Veterans across America.  George served with the 25th Infantry Division primarily along the 38th Parallel and John served with the 40th Infantry Division also at the 38th Parallel.  

Over 1,789,000 U.S. troops served throughout the short-lived Korean War with 36,754 U.S. troops killed in action, including 8,200 missing in action or lost at sea, and over 103,000 wounded in action.

Off to Washington D.C.
On the morning of June 24, 2020, George Patton and John Coleman met TGIF Ambassador Jim Hackett of Valencia and two other California Korean War Veterans at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  Soon they were airborne headed to Washington D.C. on an experience of a lifetime.  Jim Hackett’s role was escorting the four Korean War Veterans to ensure that their every need was met.  

It’s noted that my friend Jim Hackett is a USMC combat Vietnam Veteran who joined me and four other Vietnam Veterans from Santa Clarita who met President Trump in Danang, Vietnam for Veterans Day 2017.  Joining George and John were Chuck Wiley of Placentia who served with the 1st U.S. Marines at the infamous Chosin Reservoir and Ronnie Fukuoka of Westminster who served with the 11th U.S. Marines also at the Chosin Reservoir.

June 25, 2020 Activities
Following an early morning breakfast on the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, our Veterans traveled to D.C.’s Korean War Memorial.  There, they met President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as part of the Korean War Commemoration.  President Trump, with Melania in tow, separately saluted each Veteran and thanked them for their service.  

George Patton, at age 88 years, was simply mesmerized and practically speechless as they stood before him but George managed to blurt, “We love you guys.”  George freely admitted that he was overwhelmed with the entire outstanding three day TGGF program.  

Next, the President stood before John Coleman, age 89, also saluting him and thanking him for his service which moved John to state, “I’m John Coleman from Santa Clarita, California home of Congressman Mike Garcia.”  

That prompted Melania to ask, “Who is that?” whereby President Trump promptly answered, “He’s a new Congressman and he’s a good man.”

Afterwards, TGGF’s Veterans returned to their hotel for an afternoon of relaxation and a tremendous meal complete with numerous adult beverages at Café Milano in Georgetown.  It’s known among a great many Veterans that Timothy Davis is fully committed to royally indulging and honoring America’s war heroes.

June 26, 2020 Activities
At 8 a.m. our Veterans arrived at Arlington National Cemetery where they met Army General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for a Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Joining General Milley was Senior Enlisted Advisor Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez.  They also experienced the solemn and historic changing of the guard at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  

Next, our Korean War Veterans received a personal tour of Arlington’s Museum by the curator and then returned to their hotel and soon departed for Dulles Airport for flights back to their home towns.

Days later I met John and George for lunch and they were still gushing over their amazing experience and how well they were treated by their Veteran escort Jim Hackett, Timothy Davis and The Greatest Generations Foundation.

Eternal Valley Banner Static


Sponsored Articles


Vietnam Veteran Bill Reynolds is our KHTS Director of Veteran’s Affairs. If you know a local veteran, please email us at Hometownheroes@hometownstation.com.

Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox.

Hometown Heroes - Dignity Memorial

Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 - Santa Clarita News - Santa Clarita Radio

Santa Clarita Korean War Veterans Honored By President Donald Trump

7 comments

  1. Thank You to all the Veterans????❤️

    MAGA 2020

  2. How can that be an honor from a clown who just commuted the prison sentence for a guy after being CONVICTED of lying under oath to Congress? No offense to any Veterans at all! I’m just saying, how could anyone be proud of getting praised by him and his brainless twit of a wife?

    • Well your comment IS an insult to us veterans. As a retired Marine and Korea and Vietnam Veteran, I was also one of the ten selected for this memorable occasion. To those of us and all others in attendance it was NOT a political event though you are trying to make it one. Shame on you, save your blistering political attacks for a political event and leave us veterans out of it. I was never more proud than being at those events and honored that the President and First Lady of the United States made us so very welcome!

  3. Thank you to our veterans and our president Donald J Trump 45.

  4. Although, personally, I did not see the event which did appear on FOX NEWS on June 25th, and the fact that most of the local papers had the pics and stories available. There were some other negative intents to “shed” rejections from the media. These comments were not given in an editorial nor did they cast a shadow on the Vets present. Examples were: “we can’t use the pics because we don’t know who took them” although they were on u-tube and the internet. The event occurred precisely at 12Noon, June 25th. An example of the negative nature from the media; “Why is everyone NOT wearing MASKS?” , “Why are the ten standing at attention!”, “Why are they not all in uniform?”, etc., etc.,
    This was held at Arlington Military Cemetery and it was conducted in a military manner. I don’t know Arn’s background but I do agree with Gerry’s opinion that you dishonored the Vets present. You can’t say “no offense to any Vet” but “how can anyone be “proud of getting praised by him and his brainless twit of a wife?” at the very least, can you honestly say that that statement shows ALL the ten Vets fail to have any sense of judgement?? ONLY YOU DO! I would have loved to see you as one of the ten and what attitude you would have presented. No one ever asked me what political party I support. Again, I say it was conducted in a military manner by the POTUS in charge and the did behave as such. i.e asking us “who we might vote for in the coming election?” Regardless, why POTUS would commute the sentence is his business–but you certainly have the RIGHT to write and ASK HIM!
    Incidently. I believe there was an error on the article about yours truly. “Operation Clam-up” occurred
    in the winter of 1951, not 1953. The plan was to make the Chinese believe we had abandoned Hill 812. The result: it was a huge success–they bit! and came in very nonchalantly and we gave them a real surprise party!

  5. Thank You, Gerald Merna?? We are forever grateful for your service and all veterans who fought for our freedom.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Bill Reynolds - KHTS Director of Veteran Affairs

I’ve lived in Santa Clarita since 1980 with my wife, with whom I have two wonderful children and five beautiful grandchildren.I’m the first son of a World War II veteran and an Australian WWII War Bride. Instead of being born in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Sydney, Australia, I was born in Mineral Wells, Texas. After moving around various small west Texas towns and having lived near Sydney, Australia, my family finally settled in the San Fernando Valley in 1955. I graduated from Cleveland High School, attended Pierce College and worked at General Motors in Van Nuys. In the spring of 1966, I was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam. I recently starred in National Geographic’s Emmy nominated documentary, “Brothers in War” now seen on Netflix. Read about "Hometown Heroes - Our Veterans" series, click here...