U.S. Supporter Honoree
Kum Cha Bertling
Sponsored by Sunny K Park Family Foundation
Nominated by David Logan
2025 Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation Honors recognizes and celebrates the contributions of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and service, either as 1) Korean War Veterans or 2) Supporters of these Veterans and their Families. Nominees should exemplify the spirit of selflessness and commitment that defines the Korean War Veterans community. This is an opportunity to highlight their significant actions and to inspire others through their exemplary deeds.
Short biography:
KumCha or KC as she is known by her friends, grew up in the southern part of the Republic of Korea with rich customs and traditions and strict discipline from her parents and two older brothers. She immigrated to America and served as the Soldier and Family Program Manager at the U.S. Army Space and Defense Command (SMDC) and was recognized as the DA Civilian Employee of the year in 2016. She retired in 2017. She is the author of four books, A Chance to Be Born, The Quest to Know God, and two editions of Our Forgotten War Heroes – the Korean War Veterans Stories. KC has received many awards from various commanders for her volunteer work and as a government employee. Through KC’s love and gratitude for the Korean War Veterans, she and her husband, Sam, have devoted their lives since 2006 to honoring them. Their mission to honor the Korean War Veterans gave them the vision to start the Legacy 4 Korean War Veterans Foundation (L4KWVF) as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. On June 25, 2025, she will host her 19th Annual Luncheon at Redstone Arsenal honoring Korean War Veterans and their families. Visit their website at http://www.legacy4koreanwarveterans.org. She also currently serves as the President of the North Alabama Veterans & Fraternal Organizations Coalition, comprised of 60 plus charity organizations, and growing. KC also serves as a member for the Association of the United States Army, Redstone-Huntsville Chapter and one of the Black-Tie Charity Ball Sponsors through the L4KWVF. She enjoys singing, public speaking and volunteering with her husband of fifty years. They have one son, a U.S. Navy veteran serving as a Military Operations Analyst.
Statement about how the nominee represents the spirit of supporting Korean War Veterans: self-less support for Korean War Veterans and/or their Families, support to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, and how the nominee’s example might inspire others to make their own contributions:
I have known KC Bertling for 10 years and consider it a privilege to nominate her to be recognized by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation for her tireless efforts to support and honor Korean War Veterans. Volumes could be written of all she has done for so many Korean War Veterans and their families and her biography refers to many of these efforts.
I can only speak from personal experience of how she has reached out to me and my brother, Mike, to honor our father Maj. Samuel P. Logan Jr. Our dad was shot down in his B-29 bomber over North Korea in September of 1950. He was captured alive, held prisoner and never repatriated. When KC learned of his story, she reached out to Mike and I to gather as much of his history and story as she could and to ask permission to include him in a book she was writing. Not only did she include his story in her first book, but he is also the front cover of the second edition.
Over the years, KC has always invited Mike and I to be her guests at the annual luncheon she holds at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama. In August of 2020, KC, her husband Sam and several others from her Legacy 4 Korean War Veterans Foundation showed up at my house in Franklin, Tennessee escorted by a Veterans motorcade of motorcycles and fire engines to present me with 100 thank you cards from all over the U. S. honoring what would have been my father’s 100th birthday.
If that weren’t enough, in 2022, KC started encouraging me to start the process of getting a bridge dedicated to my dad. She was polite and yet very persistent in making this happen. After jumping through an unimaginable number of hoops, on August 23, 2023, we dedicated a bridge over the Little Harpeth River in Brentwood, TN in honor of Maj. Samuel P. Logan Jr. KC and Sam Bertling brought a contingency from Legacy 4 Korean War Veterans Foundation including S.S. Air Force Major General Heath A. Collins to participate in the Memorial Celebration and Bridge dedication. It turned out to be the only memorial service we have ever had for my dad.
There are countless other stories of how KC gets people involved in honoring Korean War veterans, but this is one I can speak of from first-hand experience. KC is someone who believes that living the American dream is not a God-given right, but it is a privilege and honor that requires personal responsibility. She also believes that happiness does not come on a silver platter to your doorstep, but you make it happen as you daily navigate life according to God’s instruction book, the Holy Bible.