The Fountain Hills veterans organizations will again team up to host the annual Memorial Day ceremonies at the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park on Monday, May 28, beginning at 9 a.m.

American Legion Post 58 is organizing the activities this year with participation from VFW Post #7507 and AMVETS Post 7.

The keynote speaker for this Memorial Day event will be Susan Kee, Korean War Veterans Advocate.

Susan was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the US with her family when she was 9 years old. Her parents were young teenagers who experienced and survived the Korean War.

Susan went on to become successful in the corporate world and decided to leave it to pursue her true passion – to find and thank America’s Korean War veterans. She realized that she owed a great debt of gratitude to America’s Korean War veterans who made her life possible and gave her the life of freedoms she cherishes. She felt that everyone should know that millions of Koreans are able to live in freedom today because of the courageous service of Korean War veterans and the sacrifices of Korean War fallen heroes.

In her journey, she has met several hundred Korean War veterans in Arizona and in other states across America. She has also met with several hundred family members whose loved ones became Missing in Action (MIA) during the Korean War.

As she met them to thank them, she asked to hear their stories to learn from them and decided to write a book of their personal experiences. She wants to ensure that these heroes are always honored and the Korean War is never forgotten.

To Kee, the Korean War is the forgotten victory of how “these brave Americans saved millions of Koreans from the grips of North Korean communist regime.” She has also organized various events to honor and thank Korean War veterans and families of the fallen.

Kee has worked with the Korean community in Arizona to organize an annual appreciation luncheon for Arizona’s Korean War veterans for the past five years. In 2014, she organized a special medal ceremony to honor over 450 Korean War veterans and families of fallen heroes, with support of the Korean Consulate and the South Korean government.

Susan has also become an advocate for the families of Korean War fallen heroes. She raised awareness with Arizona’s Korean War veterans and on social media to gain passage of congressional bills to authorize the building of the Remembrance Wall at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This Remembrance Wall will list the names and honor the sacrifices of over 36,000 Americans who were killed in action and over 8,000 who became missing in action during the Korean War.

Kee has also worked with the Korean Consulates in Los Angeles, Houston and Honolulu to honor the families of Korean War MIA heroes.

She continues to speak at various public events to thank Korean War veterans, to teach Korean War history, ad to raise awareness of the fact that nearly 8,000 Americans are still missing in Action from the Korean War.

She also works through social media on her Facebook page to honor Korean War and Korea Defense veterans and teach Korean War history to a worldwide audience.

Kee also served as a board member for the Veterans Heritage Project and continues to volunteer with the program as her way of giving back to America by instilling in students a deep respect and appreciation of all veterans.

Kee said she will continue to do everything she can to make sure that Korean War veterans are always honored and that both America and South Korea will never forget them.

The local Memorial Day ceremonies will also feature Debbie Fisher providing music.