Cozean Memorial Chapel to show Korean war documentary

Cozean Memorial Chapel invites the community to celebrate the lives of veterans with a complimentary showing of Larry Cappetto’s powerful Korean War documentary “Lest They Be Forgotten,” on May 23 at 2 p.m. at the Cozean Chapel.

The eighth in a series, this film captures the compelling stories of brave men who fought in the Korean War conflict, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. During the height of the Cold War, the North Korean Army, trained and armed by the Russians, suddenly attacked across the 38th parallel of the Korean peninsula in an effort to seize control of South Korea. With the approval of the United Nations, President Truman authorized Gen. Douglas MacArthur to commit U.S. occupation forces in Japan to stop North Korea’s aggression. During the conflict, battle lines ranged between the southern tip and the northern border of Korea. Negotiations to end the war, begun in October 1951, dragged on until an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.

Cozean Memorial Chapel owner Jon Cozean has made a tradition of showing a historic war-related documentary on Memorial Day. This year he’s adding a new twist, relying on some new technology recently adopted by the funeral service which will allow live greetings to be broadcasts to relatives serving in the armed forces abroad.

Cozean is inviting families with loved ones in the armed forces who are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan to record a live webcast greeting that can be viewed online for 90 days. The video recordings will be made following the showing of the movie on May 23.

“Our funeral home has already been webcasting memorial services for nearly a year now and we feel that our video equipment could also be used for other purposes, such as providing a platform that allows families at home to telecast a message to loved ones in the armed forces in the Middle East. The messages are secured with confidential passwords available only to each family, and they will remain online for 90 days. There is no charge for this service,” explained Cozean.

Webcasting of funeral services is a relatively new concept, but its popularity is growing rapidly around the country. Cozean Memorial Chapel is a pioneer in this concept, having first begun work on their webcasting setup nearly three years ago.

All broadcasts are made from a mini video control center which was installed at the funeral home. After having studied the concept of webcasting in the funeral profession at webcasting seminars for the past five years, Cozean says that to his knowledge this is a unique use of a funeral home video facility to broadcast personal messages to members of the armed forces overseas.

Anyone wishing to send a greeting should contact Cozean Memorial Chapel at (573) 756-4541 to set up an appointment for a broadcast.

As for the showing of “Lest They Be Forgotten,” Fighting in Korea was different than any previous war. The Chosin Reservoir was where the Marines first saw action against the North Koreans and Chinese, and the terrain was different than the island fighting in the Pacific during World War II. In November 1950 the Chinese came out in force, numbering 2000,000 against 12,000 Marines who suffered enormous casualties.

“There are a lot of good men who perished that no one ever knows about!” said one survivor. The United States committed 1,6000,000 servicemen into the war zones. Losses totaled about 24,000 killed, 9,000 missing, 2,675 captured, and about 100,000 wounded. The mission of Larry Cappetto’s “Lest They Be Forgotten” project is to record the personal stories of surviving veterans before it’s too late, so that future generations can truly understand the sacrifices made to preserve freedom. Within the funeral service profession, this series of films is available only to mortuaries affiliated with Selected Independent Funeral Homes, of which Cozean Memorial Chapel is a member.

“The ‘Lest They Be Forgotten’ film series has been well received around the nation,” said Jon Cozean. “The creator of this film series, Larry Cappetto, received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. Since 1949 the Foundation has honored exception work based on quality and content. I feel showing the Korean War segment, with its compelling, first-hand accounts by soldiers, constitutes a powerful tribute to the veterans of our community,” Cozean added. The film will be presented on the large screen in the Cozean Chapel. There is no charge for admission and refreshments will be served.