Korean War Memorial Earns Nod; Now Organizers Need to Get Funds

With their proposed Korean War veterans memorial finally passing muster in San Pedro, organizers of the long-debated project have now turned their attention to another formidable challenge:

Raising money.

On the heels of Monday’s preliminary approval of the $3.6-million project by Los Angeles’ Recreation and Parks Commission, officials of the International Korean Veterans Memorial Committee said they are poised to launch a worldwide fund-raising effort for the memorial, planned for the southwest corner of Angels Gate Park.

“Hopefully this (commission decision) will unshackle our project,” said Jack Stites, one of the monument’s organizers.

Before the commission’s action, the group had collected $1.25 million, Stites and other committee members said. But the group’s efforts to raise more money were hampered by the project’s stormy history and uncertain future.

First approved in 1987 by the parks commission, the proposed monument quickly sparked criticism in San Pedro. Its design, critics said, was too violent because it featured huge bronze soldiers in the heat of battle. Its proposed location was also considered inappropriate because it was less than 100 yards from the Korean Friendship Bell, a symbol of good will given to the city by the people of South Korea.

By 1989, the controversy had become so fierce that organizers agreed to change the monument’s site, size and design. The project approved Monday calls for a monument depicting life-size soldiers during a lull in combat and includes a female nurse--an addition that recognizes the women who served in the war. The proposed location has also been changed to a site about 300 yards from the Korean Friendship Bell.

Although those changes have quelled the original uproar over the memorial, the past two years of controversy--and uncertainty whether the project would advance--have taken their toll on fund raising for the monument, according to committee members.

“After what happened in 1989, we had major contributors tell us, ‘Get back to us when the project is approved,’ ” Stites said.

Now, committee members say, they intend to do just that.

With only one-third of the project’s cost raised so far by the committee, organizers said they will begin an aggressive campaign for funds on several fronts--locally, nationally and internationally.

In late summer, retired Marine Col. Joseph Smith, president of the memorial committee, and Roger Rothrock, its international liaison, will travel at their own expense to South Korea and the Philippines to talk with government officials, military veterans and corporations about contributing to the memorial, Smith said this week.

The trip, and a subsequent visit to the United Nations, is designed to marshal support for the project from officials and corporations in the 22 nations that participated in the Korean War, Smith said.

“We are first trying to get the Koreans behind us, and then to bring in the others,” said Smith, who said the project has already drawn interest from many Koreans and Korean-Americans.

In addition to that effort, Smith said, the committee intends to launch a national fund-raising campaign via mail targeting veterans organizations and individuals who may not know about the proposed monument.

Finally, Smith said, the memorial committee will redouble local efforts to raise money for the monument. Those efforts have included annual dinners, such as one in March that raised $10,000 for the memorial.

Although another group’s plan for a Korean War memorial in Washington is forcing the San Pedro monument to compete for donors, Smith and other committee members are upbeat about raising the remaining $2.35 million needed to build their project.

As they await construction permits from the state Coastal Commission and final city approval, organizers believe they are now in a position to aggressively seek funding for the project of their dreams.

“I think we have broken the logjam,” Smith said.

“If I didn’t believe we could do it . . . I wouldn’t be going through all of this,” Smith said. “I’m the same as the other guys who are pouring their heart and soul into this.”