The Korean War is often called "the Forgotten War." This Veterans Day, a Hempfield veteran will share his story to help keep memories of the conflict alive.

Paul Cunningham, a Korean War veteran and former president of the national Korean War Veterans Association, will speak on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Hempfield United Methodist Church, 3050 Marietta Ave, Lancaster. The program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 1 p.m. in the church sanctuary.

Cunningham, a Lancaster native and current resident of East Hempfield Township, served in Korea from September 1950 to February 1952. He will share his reflections on the war and South Korea today, offering a personal perspective on the conflict and its lasting impact.

"I am looking forward to meeting with members of Hempfield United Methodist Church this Veterans Day," he said. "In my remarks, I plan to review the chronology of events leading up to the outbreak of the Korean War and my experience in the period of 1950 to 1952."

After graduating from McCaskey High School in 1948, Cunningham enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, training as a radar repairman with the 502nd Tactical Control Group, Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. When he deployed to Korea, he was 20 years old, and it was his first time leaving the United States.

In 1952, he returned to Lancaster, earning his teaching degree from Millersville University. He began his long career in education in the Hempfield School District, where he served for nine years as a history teacher and then an administrator. After holding various administrative posts throughout the region, he ultimately retired as superintendent of schools in Dorchester, Md.

Cunningham co-founded a local Korean War veterans association and served as president of the national group from 2018 to 2020. He has twice visited South Korea, in 2022 and 2023, where he and fellow veterans received a warm welcome and outpourings of gratitude. He helped to create a memorial garden for Korean War veterans at Woodcrest Villa, where he lives with Ruth, his wife of 73 years, as well as a plaque at McCaskey that honors former students who served in the war.

"What I would like to leave (the Veterans Day audience) with is the length to which the people of South Korea go to express their gratitude for the military support we provided in their darkest hour, as well as their efforts to impress upon each successive generation that without intervention they very well might be living in a communist country," he said.

Community members are invited to attend Cunningham's Veterans Day talk, and no preregistration is required. Kathy Spradlin, who helps to coordinate the program, said Hempfield United Methodist Church has featured different speakers each Veterans Day for several years. Many of those programs have been related to World War II.

"We realized that we don't have too many Korean War veterans, or even Vietnam veterans, who are still living, so we need to start to hear from them," she said. "Their stories are important."