The creators of the 6.25 Foundation presented this plaque Oct. 20, 2022, to Keating Elementary School, Baker County. The foundation also awarded a grant to benefit the school library.

KEATING — Students at Keating Elementary School in Baker County had a special assignment this fall: learn about the Korean War.

“The Korean War is called the Forgotten War,” said Toni Myers, head teacher at this K-6 school of 20 students in the Keating Valley, about 20 miles east of Baker City. “The knowledge our kids have gained rival any high school.”

The inspiration for this line of study is thanks to Sungyull and Changwha Koo, founders of the 6.25 Foundation, who selected Keating to receive a grant of $5,300 for the school library.

The couple visited Keating on Oct. 20.

The foundation was established to honor Americans who lost their lives in the Korean War.

“There are many Koreans who are grateful for American soldiers,” Changwha Koo said.

The name of the foundation, 6.25, denotes the day the war started — June 25, 1950.

“Our ultimate goal is to educate the young, especially Korean youth, about the war. And to let Americans know Koreans appreciate the U.S.,” Sungyull Koo said.

Each June 25, the foundation sponsors a Liberty Walk and invites schools to participate. Then, the foundation awards grants to one school in each state to benefit the library.

“We think the library is the most important part of the school’s education,” Changwha Koo said.

During their visit to Keating, the Koos listened to students present what they had learned while studying the Korean War — comparing government systems, economic systems and presenting two sides to the question of whether the United States should enter the war or not.

“Your presentation was fantastic. You know more than I did,” Sungyull Koo said to the students.

Then it was time for the students to ask questions of their guests — mainly, their experiences with the war.

“When the war started, I was 6 years old,” he said. “We saw the war from a child’s eye.”

He vividly remembers one experience in particular.

“I thought it was raining really hard. The next morning I went outside and saw all the bullets that had fallen on the roof,” he said.

The couple now lives in Vermont. They are on a cross-country driving trip to visit 20 schools in 20 states that received grants from the foundation.

HonorThe Keating library will be dedicated to Sgt. Merlin Jack Hamilton, who died July 6, 1950, in the battle of Pyongtaek.

The Koos presented a plaque, which will be placed near the bookshelves.

“There are many Koreans who are grateful for American soldiers.”

— Changwha Koo, co-founder of the 6.25 Foundation