OFFICERS

President and Chairman of the Board

Judge Quentin L. Kopp (Ret.), Captain, USAF

Quentin served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He has been a San Francisco Supervisor, a California State Senator, and a Superior Court Judge. Quentin recently served as the head of the California High Speed Rail Project, and also serves on several non-profit boards.

Vice President

Wallace T. Stewart, Corporal, USMC

Wallace enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 1950 at 17 years old. In 1952, after a few Stateside duty stations, he was sent to Korea and assigned to Baker Company 1st Marines. He spent the next nine months with Baker Company fighting the Chinese Communists. July, 1954, when his tour of duty was over, he returned to the USA and was honorably discharged. Wallace then took advantage of the G.I. Bill and enrolled at San Francisco State University. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics and enrolled at Stanford University where he earned a Masters degree in Applied Mathematics. For the next 30 plus years, Wallace taught Math in San Francisco high schools and junior colleges. After retiring in 1990, he moved to Sonoma County and has kept himself busy with veterans’ affairs. He also enjoys flying a Cessna and playing golf.

Secretary

Mitchell J. Leiber

Mitchell is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.  He worked as a Certified Public Accountant for KPMG-Peat Marwick Main and then as Controller for Sun Medical Technologies, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer for CMC Golf, Inc.  Mitchell serves on several non-profit boards currently. Mitchell’s father served in Korea as 1st Lieutenant in the US Army.

Treasurer

Donald F. Reid, Sergeant, USMC

Don served in the Korean War as a machine gunner, and was awarded three Battle Stars. After his Marine service, college and law school at St. John’s University in New York, Don worked with the U.S. Treasury Department as a National Bank Examiner. He subsequently became the Managing Senior Compliance Officer of Wells Fargo Bank. Don is a founder and principal benefactor of the University of San Francisco Graduate Asian Studies Program and the Marines’ Memorial Association, and serves on several non-profit boards. Don has donated over $263,000 to the Foundation.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Frank Mendez, U.S. Merchant Marine

Frank served in the U.S. Merchant Marine Service during the World War II and Korean War eras. Following his service, he became a professional electoplater and was elected Business Representative for Local 128 of the Metal Polishers Union. Frank has also served as the Senior Apprentice Consultant of the California Department of Industrial Relations, and as a member of the City of Concord, CA Personnel Board.

Won Yi

Won Yi was born in South Korea. He attended Korea University in Seoul, where he earned a BA in English in 1975. His family emigrated to the United States in 1976, and he studied Bilingual Education in the Graduate School of San Francisco State University, 1978-1979. Since 1980, Won has been heavily involved in all aspects of Korean-American news media, including as a reporter; as a commentator on Hanmi Radio, San Francisco Bay Area; and as a talk show host on KEMS TV in Silicon Valley.

Won was a Board member and audit department chair for the Powerful Center for Public Schools in Los Angeles. He serves as chairman and president of the International Foundation for Korea University, working with all the university’s alumni in the United States. He has also served as President of the Wilshire Club, Koreatown in Los Angeles; past President of the Rotary Club of Koreatown; Director of Community Based Foundations, the Beautiful Foundation; and Musical Conductor of the Church Choir in Palo Alto, CA. In addition to all these activities and responsibilities, Won is also currently the Branch Manager of California Bank & Trust in Millbrae, CA, a position he has held for the past five years.

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

J. Michael Myatt, Major General USMC (Ret.)

General Myatt served as Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division in the first Gulf War, defeating six Iraqi divisions in Kuwait. He has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Joint Service Command Medal. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he worked for the Bechtel Corporation, where he supervised the construction of the Korean high-speed rail line between Seoul and Busan. In 2001, General Myatt assumed the duties of President and CEO of the Marines’ Memorial Association and Club. He serves on several non-profit boards, and has been Chair of the annual Fleet Week Celebration in San Francisco.

Paul N. “Pete” McCloskey, Jr., Colonel, USMCR

Pete is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford University Law School. In 1951, as a rifle platoon leader in Korea, Pete was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts. He served as U.S. Congressman from 1967 to 1983, practiced law for many years, and is now a working farmer and continues to practice law. Pete is active in support of environmental issues and serves on a number of non-profit boards.

John R. Stevens, Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (Ret.) [Deceased]

John served in the Pacific during World War II, including in the Battle of Okinawa, and in the Korean War during the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon-Seoul, and Chosin Reservoir campaigns. He was awarded two Bronze Stars with Combat Vs. After retiring from the Marine Corps, John launched and operated several computer/communications companies. He was the Past President of the 1st Marine Division Scholarship Fund and served on several non-profit boards. John was one of the founders of the Korean War Memorial Foundation and served as its Secretary and then 2nd Vice President/ He donated nearly $90,000 to it and was its driving force from 2009 until his death at the age of 100 in 2021.

Thomas F. Brown III, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) (Deceased)

Admiral Brown is a Naval Aviator who flew 343 combat missions in Vietnam. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with Combat V, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, thirty-six Air Medals, and the Navy Commendation Medal. He is the former Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Midway (CVA-41). Admiral Brown serves on a number of non-profit boards, and was the Chair of the Commission responsible for the commissioning of the U.S.S. America aircraft carrier.

Wallace I. Levin, Lieutenant Colonel, CSMR (Ret.) [Deceased]

​After Wallace graduated from College of the Pacific, he enlisted in the Army and served 3 years. After training with the Tenth Mountain Division, he was assigned to the Top Secret Army Security Agency. He became a Korean War Veteran by serving 19 months overseas in theater. Wallace also served 17 years in the California National Guard Reserve (CSMR) and retired a Lieutenant Colonel in 1997, with 20 years Federal and State Service.

In 1999 he got then State Senator Quentin Kopp to get the State to name part of Highway 1 that runs across the Presidio Veterans Boulevard. He was a San Francisco Reserve Police Officer for 25 years and has been a California Licensed Private Investigator since 1980. He is a former San Francisco District Attorney Investigator and retired as a City Attorney Investigator at the end of 2016. He was on the Delinquency Prevention Commission for a decade and the Veterans Affairs Commission for three decades.

Wallace was appointed County Veterans Service Officer from 2001 to 2016. He is a Past Commander of American Legion Post 244, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1205 and Jewish War Veterans Post 152. For decades he has been the Veterans of Foreign Wars coordinator of the Memorial Day Ceremony and the Veterans​ Day Parade. He presently is a member of the San Francisco War Memorial Board of Trustees.

Kong Jung Shik, Lieutenant General, ROKMC (Ret.) (Deceased)

General Kong was the Sixth Commandant of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. He also served as a member of the National Assembly, and as the Chairman and Chief Director of the Research Institute for Marine Corps Strategy. General Kong passed away in October, 2019.

Russell W. Gorman, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) (Deceased)

Admiral Gorman was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1949 and retired in 1987. His long, distinguished career included service in Japan supporting the Korean War effort and five commands in the Naval Reserve, including two Major Commands. He also attended the Naval War College and the National Defense University. After his retirement, he was the Commander of the San Francisco Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States in 2004 and 2005. Admiral Gorman passed away in July, 2017, at the age of 90.

Eddie LeBaron, Major, USMC (Deceased)

Eddie served as a rifle platoon commander in the Korean War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his participation in the Heartbreak Ridge battle. Eddie then went on to a career in professional football. He was AFL Rookie of the Year in 1952, played eleven seasons with the Washington Redskins, and later held the position of General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Atlanta Falcons.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Gerard Parker, Captain, USMC

Gerry is a native of Boston and a graduate of Boston College. He served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps from 1962 to 1966, including a tour in Vietnam as a rifle company executive officer. Upon completion of his active service, he attended graduate school at l’Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and then worked in London for the international trade exhibition company The Montgomery Group, Ltd. After that he went on to an entrepreneurial career in international marketing, producing import-export trade events in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Gerry has served as Executive Director since February 2013. He is the father of two daughters and has a grandson and a granddaughter.

ADVISOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

John Y. Lee, Attorney at Law, 1st Lieutenant, ROKA

At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, as a second lieutenant in the ROK Army, John Y’ Lee was assigned to the 1st Marine Division as an interpreter/translator. He participated in the Inchon Landing, the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, and other battles, and received the Legion of Merit for his service. After the war, Mr. Lee studied at Yale College and Yale Law School. He then served as attorney-advisor for U.S. Forces in Korea; with the U.S. Department of Justice; and in private practice with several Washington, DC law firms, including Hogan and Hartson. He is a Founding Member and former Director of the Chosin Few, a Life Member of the 1st Marine Division Association, and an Honorary Member of the ROK Marines.