William Weber
Bio
William E. Weber was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925. He enlisted in the Army in 1943 upon graduation and served as a paratrooper during WWII. He served in the Korean War as part of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team with the rank of Captain and took part in many battles and military campaigns including Incheon Landing, Seoul Recapture, and occupancy of Pyongyang. He was evacuated from Korea in 1951 due to wounds and retired from the Army with thirty-eight years of service at the rank of Colonel in 1980. He took on civic and military volunteer work, notably serving on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation Advisory Board and as President of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, following retirement. He details his role in the creation of the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and comments on its symbolism. He quantitatively compares the Korean War to other twentieth century wars and describes the personnel utilized during the war, sharing that this information and these statistics are largely lost in American history. He expresses his frustration of the placement of the Korean War in American history despite the honorable conduct by the United States and feels it has slipped through the cracks. He is proud of his service and hopes that more content on the Korea War will be included in American history books so that students will be able to appreciate what the war meant and demonstrated.
Video Clips
A Very Special Honor
William Weber talks about his role in the creation of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the honor of being selected as a model for one of the nineteen statues (Statue #16). He shares that the sculptor was instructed to include the differing ethnicities serving in the United States Armed Forces during the Korean War. He details the unique symbolism associated with the statues and the accompanying wall.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It-O5yptGaw&start=112&end=377
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/william-weber#clip-1
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Forgotten and Unknown War
William Weber quantitatively compares the Korean War to other twentieth century wars. He comments on the personnel utilized during the war and shares that this information and these statistics are largely lost in American history. He elaborates on the need for an additional Wall of Remembrance for Korean War veterans on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It-O5yptGaw&start=1264&end=1588
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/william-weber#clip-2
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Through the Cracks
William Weber expresses his frustration of the placement of the Korean War in American history despite the honorable conduct by the United States. He shares how he feels it even exceeded the United States' conduct in WWII. He comments on how the Korean War has fallen through the cracks and is only given a few paragraphs in textbooks.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It-O5yptGaw&start=2528&end=2705
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/william-weber#clip-3
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The Portrayal of the Korean War
William Weber discusses how the generation of Korean War veterans is not portrayed as a generation of heroes in American media. He comments on the lack of Korean War focus in education and shares how students will never be able to appreciate what it meant and demonstrated due to this reality. He adds that Korean War veterans are merely guest lecturers rather than seen as significant additions to the curriculum as students are not required to learn about the war.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It-O5yptGaw&start=2943&end=3038
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/william-weber#clip-4
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