“Chosin Few” Veteran to Have Wish to Attend One More Reunion Granted
August 15, 2016 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mary Farrell, Director of Community Relations, (215) 230-8777 ext. 103
Doylestown, PA – United States Marine Corps veteran James Haun, 87, will have his wish to attend the upcoming “Chosin Few” reunion granted, thanks to national nonprofit Twilight Wish Foundation. A resident of Sherman, Texas, Haun is one of the few surviving members of the “Frozen Chosin,” a determined group of Marines and Army soldiers who survived two weeks of -60 degree temperatures, virtually no food and incredible odds while stranded in the Chosin Reservoir Valley in Korea. Every few years, these veterans have a reunion and this may be the last one as there are few survivors left. This may be Haun’s last chance to attend his reunion. Haun is also a veteran of World War II and Vietnam, but his time in Korea is the most memorable of his 20 years in the military.
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir is considered by many to be the Iwo Jima of the Korean War and Haun is one of precious few surviving members of this battle. In November of 1950, during the coldest winter North Korea had experienced in 100 years, U.N. forces, many of them U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine Division, were in pursuit of North Korea troops when they were surprised by Chinese forces. Surrounded and outnumbered 8-1 by Chinese forces, the Marines embarked upon a 78-mile journey to the Sea of Japan to reconnect with American forces. Cut off from support, the Marines were still able to fight their way through ten Chinese infantry division.
Thanks to the generosity of many donors, his wish will come true when Haun, his wife, and an aide travel from their home in Sherman, Texas to the reunion in San Diego via train because of his wife’s medical needs. The reunion runs from August 17th through August 21st. Twilight Wish would not have been able to fulfill his wish without many generous donors and, in particular, Take a Trip Foundation.