John's Open Letters Vol. 1 #31

July 10, 2002

A man ordered my book and his return address had two possible destinations on it. I wanted to be sure of the correct address so I called him on the telephone and discovered he recently joined the K.W.V.A. After I got the correct address I asked him if he voted. He said he didn't know anything about the Election. Then I asked him to check his Mar/Apr 2002 Graybeards for information and the Ballot. He told me he received his first magazine and that was the May/June 2002 issue.

Then he said he would like to vote if he was eligible. I instructed him to make a call for his Ballot. Learning a Ballot was not available from the usual channels he was told to call Mr. Krepps or Mr. Coon for a Ballot. I did not have a chance to follow up on this but I found that Ballots were no longer available from the usual source and only Mr. Krepps or Mr. Coon "might" have a Ballot. I find this procedure too controlling and I feel the Election Committee Chairman should be issuing Ballots when needed. I hope he gets to vote for it is his right to do so. He said a group in his home town was planning to organize a K.W.V.A. Chapter as soon as they get some more Korean War Veterans involved.

After our last Graybeards I received a large number of e-mails that complained about the Hq. pictures in the Graybeards. They all said it looked phony. I also noticed it appeared wrong and a friend of mine in the K.W.V.A. who lives in the Ohio area, took pictures and sent them to me. There is no sign about the Korean War Veterans Association (or Organization!) on the building. The only sign he could see was HarCo Industries over the entrance door. I know I reported this in my last letter but I felt I should let you know what else has been going on since that phony picture was put in the Graybeards.

I received a copy of an e-mail from a Member who was not impressed with Mr. Coon's remarks about the large amount of funds in the K.W.V.A. He says: "To me this smacks of the librarian who feels content when she sees all her library shelves filled with books when she ought to be pleased if her shelves were empty with so many people checking them out for use." I find this to be a great analogy about the whopping amount of money in our Treasury. He further quotes Mr. Coon's President's message, in Graybeards, May/June, 2002, where he states, "As long as I am President your money will be used for the benefit of KWVA members." When is this going to start? With the Election soon over Mr. Coon will not have any time left to back up his words, if he ever intended to.

This Member's e-mail, which contained several recommendations on use of the funds, was sent to Mr. Krepps, Graybeards Editor for inclusion in "the next Graybeards". Mr. Krepps answered, "Sorry but your statement below will not be printed in the Graybeards during my time as editor at least not the way it is presented." The writer of the e-mail got the usual run-around: " Your message needs to be properly presented to our board, then membership then it may be printed in the Graybeards if approved through proper channels. " More of the same run-around. What are proper channels after al the rest has been complied with? Why doesn't Mr. Krepps just tell this very concerned Member his letter will never be printed in the Graybeards? Time for a change in many positions.

The following is a sequence of e-mails that I have received that some of you may not have. It starts with a letter from Ken Buckley, Chapter President, Bangor, Maine with a reply from Graybeards Editor Vince Krepps titled "Go to Hell". Then I will add a commentary about some of the questions raised by Mr. Krepps' letter plus a couple of brief remarks on the possible meaning of the letter.

----------------------------------- From: KBuc263924@a... Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2002 12:35:16 EDT Subject: How to go Vince! To: nickandjan@w...

I have sent this letter to Graybeards Editor Krepps & Warren Weidhahn. The latter forwarded me a letter announcing his return from Korea and telling President Coon that the South Korean government wants him there next year for the celebration. My letter is as follows:

Current issue Graybeards Page 4 displays picture of "Korean War Veterans Organization." The sign appears to be on the front of this building. However, it is nothing more than a paste-over on the photo' itself. The person pasting it over obviously ignored the fact that he/she pasted over a flagpole in the foreground. Why was this done? If it was done to ID the structure, then why wasn't an explanation given that the title had been pasted over the picture. A photo like this is a misrepresentation of fact. It is done obviously to credit Harley Coon with setting up a national KWVA HQ in Beavercreek, Ohio. Bangor, Maine Chapter 1, MKWVA., is meeting at noon Monday. This picture, already discussed by members, will be shown at that meeting so that members can consider what action to take for what is obviously nothing more than a fabrication of the truth. Harley Coon, and Graybeards Editor Vincent Krepps should be relieved of command. That same edition is used as a political platform to enhance Harley Coon's jockeying for re-election for national president, which in itself is illegal. There is a violation of trust here, wantonly displayed by both Mr. Coon and Mr. Krepps. Why would two editions be used for the promotion of candidates favored by Coon and Krepps, not once, but twice? Why would an editor allow Harley Coon to run promotional pieces for himself and other friends without allowing competitors to run their releases? Obviously this is a violation of all by-laws. And if there aren't any by-laws covering such actions - then some need to be drawn up. Graybeards Magazine has been used illegally to promote Harley Coon's candidacy to a third illegal term. It has also been used to portray Harley Coon as the architect of the national HQ based in his hometown in Ohio with a false banner on a photograph to mislead readers into believing that the building carries such a banner in which Harley Coon has created a national HQ. There may be $500,000 in the bank account, and 14,000 members. But it wasn't all created by one man, as Graybeards asserts. Those members were added by Chapters and members, as was the cash.

Ken Buckley Bangor, Maine.

...and now, this message from Mr. Vincent Krepps, editor of that esteemed one sided magazine Graybeards.

---------------------------------------- Subj: GO to Hell Date: 02-07-07 10:59:33 EDT From: Vkrepps@e... (Vincent Krepps) To: KBuc263924@a... (KBuc263924@a...)

Who cares what you think. When Harley and I are out of office we can say we did our job well. I am starting my 6th year. Harley has been President for 4 years beating your friend Pappas. He also spent at least 3 or more years on the board. We are in a WIN-WIN situation. If we are out then we can just sit around and complain about others like you, which is nothing positive. You have done nothing ever.

Just go away. I do not need you or John K and the other ilk's in your worthless group of sick mindless people in my life.

I see your members send me much mail like the over 250 other chapters and 18,000 members praising my work on the Graybeards. These are the people I respect.

You will like my next issue of the Graybeards also, it is similar to the last 2 but this time we are saying our good-byes if by chance that happens for we honor our veterans that supported us over the years. These are the veterans we respect and will miss.

Just remember you and your worthless group of e-mailers of lies are not included in our good-byes and thanks.

VK ------------------------------------------

My commentary: first, even the Members who were told their letters would never be printed in the Graybeards as long as Mr. Krepps is Editor have said the magazine is nice appearing and was a well put together publication. Second, does Mr. Krepps know something that we don't know about the outcome of the Election? His remarks about "saying our good-byes" and including Mr. Coon, plus saying "If we are out" makes me feel like the dark cloud of doom has overwhelmed his thinking. In the close-knit group of Mr. Coon and his Coonites there remains the possibility of information leaking out that we are not privy to.

Nothing would surprise me about this self-centered group anymore. I base my thinking on their past performances with K.W.V.A. address labels, letters to voters, trash letters, improper use of the Graybeards for their own personal gain, restrictions to the opposition candidates in their equal use of the Graybeards, and calling everybody who sends e-mails troublemakers and liars.

The K.W.V.A. needs a change of not only some of the Officers but also some of the Staff and Committee Members. I for one do not like dictatorial controllers and there is no place for them in the K.W.V.A.

There should be a large turnout at the next Meeting and it is not too late to make your plans.

From now on I will try to be patient and wait for the Election results but as soon as I hear them I will be passing them on to all on my list. Waiting for my next copy of the Graybeards won't be soon enough for me and many others. Here's to a successful Election for Mr. Adams and his fellow Candidates.

Please make your plans to attend the National Meeting in July. It is important.

Your personal opinion is greatly appreciated. Freedom is not free and it never was.

Respectfully, John Kronenberger