The remains were recovered on Nov. 5th by a joint U.S. - North Korean team operating 100 miles north of Pyongyang.  This is the fifth joint operation in North Korea during 1998, and the ninth overall since these recoveries began in 1996.  It is the largest number of remains recovered from any single operation.   Since July 1996, these joint teams have recovered what are believed to be the remains of 27 soldiers.

     With more than 8,100 servicemen missing in action from the Korean War, the department of Defense has mounted a massive outreach effort to locate families of the missing from the Korean  War and from the Cold War to accomplish several goals.  First, family members reference blood samples are needed to compare to mitochondrial DNA sequences from recovered skeletal remains.  Second, family members often possess personal or wartime documents that may aid in identifying an unaccounted for service member.  Finally, the military services are seeking to keep family members updated on specific recovery operations and if remains are recovered and identified, families will be asked to make decisions regarding the burial of the service member.

     Beyond the Korean War outreach effort, families of Cold War unaccounted-for servicemen are also being sought.  Through the work of the U.S. - Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIA, the remains of 18 servicemen shot down during the Cold War have been recovered and identified, with more than 120 still unaccounted for.

     Each of the services has established a toll-free number to keep these families fully informed on Korean War and Cold War remains recovery operations.  For details on how to contact the individual services call Veteran Services at 252-728-8440 or by e-mail at ccvso@coastalnet.com.

N.C. State Scholarship Program

     The N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs headed by Charlie Smith administers an outstanding program of scholarships for children of certain disabled, deceased or POW/MIA Veterans.

     Many children apply each year for the scholastic aid offered by this fine program which provides benefits at public and private institutions in North Carolina.  The following information is necessarily general in nature.  There are several classes of scholarship eligibility and briefly stated they are:

Class I & IV -- Children of certain veterans who died or are 100 percent disabled as a result of service in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, or children of peacetime veterans whose death or 100 percent service-connected disability was incurred (1) as a direct result of armed conflict; or (2) while engaged in extra-hazardous service or children of certain veterans who were prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.   The veteran must have been a legal resident of North Carolina at the time of entry into service, or with certain exceptions, the child must have been born in North Carolina and continuously resided here.

Class II -- Children as described above whose parent was a war veteran who has or at the time of death had a 20 percent or more but less than 100 percent service-connected disability or a statutory award for arrested tuberculosis.  Certain children of peacetime veterans may qualify based on the nature of their parent's disability.

Class III -- A.  Eligible children as described above whose parent was a war veteran and who is receiving or at the time of death was receiving nonservice-connected disability pension benefits.  B.  The veteran parent is a deceased war veteran who was honorably discharged and who does not qualify under any other provision within this synopsis, provided such child is less than 23 years old at the time of application for such scholarship.

     The scholarships may be used at schools located in North Carolina which are (1) state-owned institutions of higher education, community colleges and technical institutes; or (2) privately owned, non-profit colleges and universities.

     Scholarships, with one exception, provide free tuition, certain fees, and a room and board allowance in state-owned institutions and $4,500 per academic year in private institutions.  Awards under the 100 percent service-connected disability provision provide free tuition and certain fees in state-owned institutions and $1,500 per academic year in private institutions.

     Interested persons are urged to contact County Veteran Services at 728-8440 or by e-mail at ccvso@coastalnet.com.

VA Health Care Enrollment

     The Carteret County Veterans Council plans to conduct a fifth in-county VA Health Care enrollment.  UPDATE . . .  the date for this health care enrollment is January 26, 1999 at the Civic Center, Morehead City from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.   In anticipation of this enrollment opportunity, if any veteran desires a health care enrollment package or would like to be notified of the particulars of the event once finalized, please contact the Veterans Service Office at 728-8440.

     If you would like assistance in getting established in the VA Health Care System for treatment, and/or medications, a good resource for assisting a veteran is the Carteret County Veterans Services Office at 728-8440 or by e-mail ccvso@coastalnet.com.

World War II Memorial

     The design for the National World War II Memorial recently received approval from the District of Columbia's National Capital Planning Commission which put this long planned and long overdue memorial one big step closer to realization.   It will commemorate the significant sacrifice of the entire World War II generation and will be at the east end of the Reflection Pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.  Ground Breaking is scheduled for Veterans Day 2000.  For more information, call 1-800-639-4WW2.

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