My father used to say that you can pretty well tell about a person? character by what he/she talks about.

At the low end of the spectrum are people who constantly talk about people usually not about very flattering things. A step higher, there are people who talk about things their beautiful house, an expensive car, a fur coat, etc. At a still higher level, there are those who talk about events such as the Olympic Games, an orchestral performance, an election, etc.

At the highest level, there are people who talk about ideas such as truth, beauty, liberty, equality, justice, democracy, religion, discovery or an invention of significance. For sure, we will never run out of things to talk about.

Getting back to talking about people, is it necessarily bad if we say good things about people? Perhaps not. With this caveat, I would like to share with you a few stories about people whom I would like for you to know.

MRS. KANG

Dr. Kang, Mrs. Kang? husband, was the first Korean lawyer in America. In the 1900?, however, there were hardly any Koreans who needed a lawyer, and certainly Americans would not hire a foreigner to represent them in an American court of law.

Dr. Kang was too proud to perform menial work, so Mrs. Kang worked in a Chinese laundry, washing and ironing, so that their family of five could eke out a living. I am sure you can imagine the tough life her family must have endured. As tough as their lives were, she was the first Korean to take an interest in our welfare when we first arrived in America.

Our family arrived in Chicago in the latter part of December, 1940, and I was wearing spring clothing. Recognizing that the pastor of her church did not have sufficient funds to buy winter clothing for his children, as indigent as her family was, Mrs. Kang took us to the corner clothing store (I remember it well, the name of the store was the "Mark?") and bought me my first set of winter clothes. In fact, I grew up wearing her sons hand-me-down clothing.

Mrs. Kang, being an enlightened woman, also recognized the tough time that my mother was having coping with the new American environment and, more significantly, fending off criticisms of the under-educated parishioners that made up the resident membership of the Chicago? small congregation.

This strong willed lady, by working sometimes beyond human endurance, sent her three children on to college. Whereas her husband could not find work in his chosen field, one of her sons just one generation later successfully practiced law in the City of Los Angeles until his recent retirement. Her daughter was the homecoming queen at the Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, and she still resides in Chicago with her successful Korean dentist husband.

Mrs. Kang lived a life of working hard and helping others. To the end of her days, she was blessed with a cheerful disposition, good health and a wonderful family; she lived long enough to celebrate her 73rd wedding anniversary. She is someone that always gave from her heart. She is someone that is very special to me, someone that I would like for you to know.

LIEUTENANT SULLIVAN

Lieutenant Sullivan was a Marine? Marine, a designation reserved for the finest. He went through the U. S. Marine Corps Officers Training School and learned everything there was to know about leading men through combat and taking care of the men under his command. He was my platoon commander during my first four months stay in Korea in 1952-53.

Our Company was bivouacked on the southern banks of the wide ImJin River running along the 38th parallel line. Portions of the river were narrow enough for possible crossing attempts by the North Korean Army. These were also the sectors where their mortar bombardments could reach across.

Because of the potential for crossing, one squad was assigned to guard the area. Occasionally, we would receive in-coming mortar. Believe it or not, we were delighted to receive the enemy fire because, by regulation, we would receive "combat pay" if the area we were occupying received 20 or more rounds per month.

When we had received the require 20 rounds, Lt. Sullivan would rotate a different squad into the area. His report noted, officially, that the men were rotated so as not to expose some Marines in "Harm? Way" more than others, thereby spreading the jeopardy. But, of course, we knew otherwise. He was our leader; he took care of us. We respected him; we would go to hell for him.

One day, our platoon was carrying heavy lumber across an open area to build another bunker on the far side of the open area. That? when the bombardment started. We were subjected to greater rounds of mortar than usual, and some of us were hit, including the Lieutenant.

The Purple Heart, a military medal, is awarded for receiving a wound in combat. Whether the wound is slight or it causes death, the award is the same. It is a medal held in high esteem; it signifies that a Marine has put his life on the line for his country and for what he believes in. The citation looks good in one? military record and the medal looks good on one? chest.
Recognizing that our wounds were only superficial, we all declined to accept the medal, all except one the Lieutenant. The chill between the Lieutenant and us was instant and it was deep. For weeks after the incident, we continued to obey his orders, but things were never the same again. Within a month, he requested a transfer and he was gone; it was a loss for all of us.
In retrospect, if I have any regrets about my military service, it is this one instance, where if I had been more mature, if I had at that earlier stage of my life been more of a man, more of a leader, I could have done something to give this episode a different direction.

This experience has added much to my personal development. I learned, later in life, that it is important to speak up and say the right things, at the right times, and do the right things, if at all possible, at all times.
Unlike us, the Lieutenant was a career Marine. The Purple Heart would stand out in his record; it would validate his combat experience. It was an important career move, and an important part of his resume.
I sometimes wonder how he is, and how his Marine Corps career has progressed. He was a good officer and he was a wonderful man, someone I would like for you to know.


DR. OH
Dr. Kong Dan Oh is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analysis and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She conducts policy research in South and North Korean politics and economy, inter-Korean relations and unification, and U. S. foreign and security policies toward East Asia. She has published more than 50 book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.

Dr. Oh earned a B.A. in Oriental History at SoGang University and an M.A. in Korean Literature at Seoul National University. She subsequently earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

I first met her on November 16, 2000, at a presentation of the Chicago Council of Foreign Relations. The promotional material for the event indicated that Dr. Oh would speak on the subject "North Korea Through the Looking Glass." The previous time I was at the Council was when, several years ago, the Republic of Korea President Kim, Young- Sam was the speaker.

The presentation was well attended. The disappointment was that only three Koreans were in attendance.

During the question and answer period that followed her presentation, I posed a question about President Clinton? desire to visit North Korea during the midst of the current South-North Korean dialogue relative to Korean reunification, in an attempt to enhance his dismal foreign policy legacy.

I argued that when the U. S. gets involved with the North Koreans, they ignore the South Koreans thereby hurting the progress the Koreans themselves are making toward reunification, that people in the know generally agree that real progress, in any discussion, can only be achieved by the two parties that are directly and intimately affected.

My question was intended to put President Clinton in an unfavorable light, but it also had the effect of putting Dr. Oh in an awkward position; after all, being a consultant to the U. S. government, she is, in a way, working for President Clinton.
She answered the question in a way that responded to the question, but in a way that put no one in a bad light. She said that North Korea is not ignoring South Korea and the needs that the process demands; it is simply that North Korea does not have the diplomatic and the managerial capacity to deal with more than one major issue at a time.

During the midst of her presentation, earlier, an elderly gentleman pleaded for her to speak a little slower. Dr. Oh responded to this request with aplomb and humor. She said she would try; that "I speak broken English but I talk fast because, during high level briefings, the advisors are always reminded that we have 5 minutes. How can you advise on subjects of world-wide implications in 5 minutes? That? why we all learn to speak as fast as we can."

Knowledge, perception, humor and humility; what a great combination. We learn simply by being in the presence of people like Dr. Oh, and I wanted you in the crowd with me; and I wanted you to know her.