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In The Memory Of The Author

You will Always Be Remembered

Semfer Fi

Kenneth "Kal" Kalnasy, Korean War veteran, served with the First Marine Division, making the Inchon landing, fighting at the Chosin Reservoir (among the "Chosin Few"), participating in the withdrawal of the Marine forces and the evacuation of Hungnam. He received three Purple Hearts.

While part of the Second Battalion First Marines, Kalnasy landed at Inchon on September 15, 1950, and in the battle for Yong-Dong-Po, he received his first Purple Heart.

He was medi-vaced out and spent time aboard the hospital ship U.S.S. Repose.

After returning to his unit, he landed in Won-son where, on the drive towards the Reservoir, he received his second Purple Heart. His unit was part of the 1st Regiment, dug in, to protect and hold the Marine lines at Koto-ri. After the forward elements of the division, the Fifth and the Seventh Marines fought their way back to Koto-ri. Kalnasy and the rest of the First acted as rearguard, holding the Chinese-attacking forces at bay. The units fought their way to the port of Hungnam where they were evacuated.

Kalnasy continued on with the division until April 1951 where, during Operation Ripper, he received his third Purple Heart. He was medi-vaced out and returned to the United States.

Because of the trauma involved in Korea and the loss of so many of his men and comrades, Kalnasy was transferred to the naval hospital in Philadelphia. He spent many months in a psychiatric ward.

In 1954, he was discharged from active duty. For wounds and physical disabilities incurred during the Korean War, Kalnasy receives a 100 percent service-connected disability.

Like many veterans of the Forgotten War, Kalnasy proceeded to bury any and all memories of that period.

It wasn’t until February 2000, after his son Steve asked for information on the Korean War, that the dam holding back those memories finally burst. The poem "From the Beach to the Reservoir" is a narration of the author’s own combat experiences during the period when he received his second Purple Heart.

Specially framed copies of the poem were presented to the Marines at the Marine Corps Base (MCB) in Hawaii on June 15, 2000, at a special ceremony.

On December 7, 2000, another specially framed copy was presented to the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.

Kalnasy lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his wife Anette who helped him write the book "Korea, the Last of the Fun Wars: From the Beach to the Reservoir & Other Heroic Events".