Res. No. 2035 Title Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the Veterans Service Credit Law to allow Korean War veterans who are, or were, New York State or City employees to receive retirement credit for their military service. Body By Council Members Harrison, Clarke, Freed, Marshall, Moskowitz, Nelson, Pinkett, Warden and Stabile; also Council Members Eisland, Fisher, Koslowitz, Lopez, Michels, O'Donovan, Sabini, White, Wooten and Abel Whereas, In 1950, Communist forces from North Korea, suddenly and without warning, stormed into South Korea, intending to seize the western-backed country; in response, the fledgling United Nations condemned this naked act of aggression and the decision was made to send Allied military forces to oppose the invasion; and Whereas, The United States bore the brunt of this UN mandate, sending the largest contingent of troops, many of whom were still teenagers who had never been tested in the rigors of battle before, to defend the dignity and freedom of an unknown people in an unfamiliar land; and Whereas, The soldiers in the Korean War endured 37 torturous months of constant enemy fire at the hands of both the large and experienced North Korean force and the massive Chinese army reinforcements; of the over six million men and women who participated in the war effort, 55,000 of them perished, 117 others were missing in action, and 7,140 others became prisoners of war; and Whereas, The recently enacted Veterans Service Credit Law (the "Veterans Buy-Back Bill") allows veterans who are, or were, New York State or City employees to receive retirement credit for their military service; and Whereas, This law only applies to those veterans who are still actively on the job or those who retired after December 21, 1998, mostly peacetime veterans; this precludes Korean War veterans, most of whom retired or changed jobs before 1996, from enjoying the benefits of the law; and Whereas, The Veteran's Buy-Back Bill would provide an opportunity for our State to honor its courageous war veterans by acknowledging, in a small way, the sacrifices they made through their military service; and Whereas, This cannot be accomplished if an entire segment of veterans is categorically overlooked; if the Veteran's Buy-Back Bill, in its application, excludes the contributions of Korean War veterans, it is effectively depriving them of the dignity, respect and remembrance that they so rightly deserve; and Whereas, Korean War veterans earned, and clearly should receive, the same pension benefits that will be granted to peacetime veterans; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to amend the Veterans Service Credit Law to allow Korean War veterans who are, or were, New York State or City employees to receive retirement credit for their military service.