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 John's Open Letters Vol. 2 #1 December 22, 2003 To: All the members of the Korean War Veterans Association and interested parties. The year 2003 will soon be winding down and a new year will be dawning which should bring a brighter future for the KWVA. This message is being sent to you so you will have a better insight into what is happening to our KWVA and how you can help right the wrongs and make it better. You are important, by your vote, in making a change for the better. There is so much I hardly know where to start, but here goes. This year has been one of turmoil created by the leadership of Harley J. Coon, illegal third term President, and some of the other officers and his Staff. Coon did not follow the procedures that are in the KWVA By-laws to be eligible to run for President. He circumvented the required steps and ignored the advice of JA and Legal Advisor Sherman Pratt. His resume for President was accepted by Mr. Kenneth B. Cook, appointed by Coon as the Nominations / Election Chairman, and due to the lack of information in the Graybeards by Editor Vince Krepps, also appointed by Coon, the voting members were not informed about this. They are being kept in the dark by a censored Graybeards. Some other issues this past year has been the refunding of Mrs. Lynnita Brown's money for her ad about the Korean War Educator. The ad was stopped by Krepps because Mrs. Brown printed material that made Coon and some others look bad. She has documentation to substantiate her information, but Coon repeatedly called them lies and misinformation. The web site established by Mrs. Brown is called the Koreanwar-Educator and can be seen on your computer screen at www.Koreanwar-Educator.org . There is a world of information to be discovered on this web site that you will never get in the restricted Graybeards. Other critical issues involve Mr. Cook, since he no longer is the KWVA Quartermaster, where he accepted money from various members and failed to supply them with their purchases. He even wrote a check on a KWVA checking account that was closed, I believe. There is a claim pending in court. Mr. Coon has ignored Cook's actions, claiming the KWVA is not responsible, Cook is. The suppliers are refusing to provide other Quartermasters with materials because of this. This too will be found in the Korean War Educator web site. The exclusive use of the Graybeards, except for the Candidates' resumes, was a disadvantage to many, including Presidential Candidate Dick Adams. It appeared the Election in 2002 was one-sided because of the actions of the Editor of the Graybeards. As of this writing, 1st VP Jack Edwards will run for President. His past actions against me casts a dark shadow over him. I received a letter from Glenn P. Walls, of Binghamton, New York, that was in reference to my Open Letters. It read:
This came about after I questioned Edwards about the meeting held in Arlington on July 26th, 2001, where Edwards was at the door checking IDs for proof of membership. Several well meaning members told me there was not a quorum at that meeting, thus making it not legal and any business non-binding. Edwards said he "swore and affirmed" that he counted more than the required 100 to have a quorum. The vote of the members to suspend Past President Nick Pappas was printed on page 7, July/Aug 2001 Graybeards showed proof there was no quorum. The vote was 57 for the suspension, 10 no, and 2 abstentions, making the total 69, not the required 100 or more he reported. Later he told me he only "spot checked" the members' IDs. He lied about this and Nick Pappas should not be a suspended member. Coon did nothing to correct this travesty of justice. This was not misinformation. Edwards flat out lied. I have the letter from Walls. I investigated Mr. Walls and learned he was a close friend of Edwards when he (Edwards) was a police officer in the Binghamton, NY area. I checked with the NY State Attorneys Registration Dept. and they told me Mr. Walls had not paid his fee since 1996. Edwards had a phony lawyer do this. Then I heard that Mr. Edwards had that letter sent to me only to "scare" me into stopping my Open Letters. This smells to high heaven. This man, by his actions, has proven he is not the type of person we need as the President of the KWVA. I am asking you all to not vote for him for he has proven to me that he has used the same tactics as Coon did when he threatened Mr. Brown and myself. A list of Candidates will be in the last page of this letter and I am endorsing all seven of them for I find the KWVA is in need of men who are sincere, dedicated, fair-minded, with integrity and who will uphold the BY-laws of the KWVA. Then Mr. Dechert will have the opportunity to replace the present Staff that appears to be off their rockers. The present Staff and some elected and appointed officials are loyal to Coon and I feel they should be loyal to all of the KWVA members. This should not be a one-man rule organization. It should be a democratically run Veterans Association, with elected officers that govern for the best interest of the members. Too many people have been suspended, expelled, and threatened with legal suits by the present leadership and it is time for a change. Near the end of this letter I will provide you who have e-mail the addresses for the "KWVA AD-HOC Group", and "The Ferret Newsletter" published by Ken Buckley of Bangor, Maine. The "AD-HOC" is a discussion group in which you can voice your opinion on any KWVA subject, and "The Ferret" is snail mailed to your home periodically. It too will have issues about the present officers that are questionable and controversial. This next article has got to be one for the books. At the Oct 23-26, 2003, Executive Council meeting held at Beavercreek, Ohio the following motion was made by Director Don Byers and seconded by Director Jack DeLap. This is in the Nov. / Dec. 2003 Graybeards on page 11.
I called Director Jack DeLap and he said, "I did not realize the wording of the motion. I would not have seconded it." He then sent out a letter to the AD-HOC Group stating, "I see in recent reposts that I seconded the motion to list candidates, I thought this was ALL candidates not just selected candidates. I can’t take back the second, but I did misunderstand." Jack, it takes a man to admit he could have been wrong. I am glad that you are in that category. Semper Fi. The address to receive "The Ferret" Newsletter is: To be put on the AD-HOC Group list, send an e-mail to Don Finch at DF7332@aol.com Don is the moderator and will welcome you to be on line with your fellow members. You will be surprised by some of the material coming from the AD-HOC group. His phone is 716-8875-9552 or pager 766-690-0541 if you need to call. E-mails are better. Coon wants to shut down the AD-HOC Group because it is covering issues that are ongoing problems for ALL the members in the KWVA. He does not want the members to learn that there are problems so he tries to stifle our right of free speech. That is our Constitutional right and no one can take it away from us, not even Coon. Please make copies of this letter and keep the recommended Slate of Candidates because your vote is needed to help straighten out the KWVA so it can move forward. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. John Kronenberger The following information is provided concerning the slate of officers who have agreed to file for KWVA 2004 Officer Positions, and I endorse each and every one of them. Vote for: __X__ President: Louis Dechert from Louisiana who is President of CENLA Chapter #180 __X__ First Vice President: Dick Adams from California who is Past President/Past Director of KWVA __X__ Second Vice President: John Crane from Florida who is President of West Florida Chapter #293 __X__ Director: Edward Cutler from Florida who is President of Richard Cronan Chapter #17 __X__ Director: Lee Dauster from California who is President of Tuolumne County Chapter #7 __X__ Director: Dean McClain from Ohio who is Past President of Mahoning Chapter #137 __X__ Director: Bob Morga from New York who is Past Director of KWVA /President of Central Long Island Chapter #64
Respectfully, John Kronenberger
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