As the room rose for the singing of the national anthem, a group of veterans in their mid-80s stood proudly with their hands saluting the American flag, just as they did nearly six decades ago during the Korean War.

These men, along with veterans from all different eras, gathered in the Lawrence Hall ballroom to hear the inspiring story of a Korean War Bride, Pega Crimbchin, 84, of Saxonburg, Pa., speak as part of a Veterans Breakfast Club event at Point Park, co-sponsored by the Honors Program. This is the second event the Honors Program and history faculty members have brought to the university, following the Wonder Women of World War II event last year.

Crimbchin’s daughter, Katie Schell, has recorded her mother’s memoirs in a book called, “Love Beyond Measure,” telling the story of her life of poverty as a slave girl, her difficult survival during the Korean War and her journey to the United States after falling in love with an American soldier.

“I was just sitting there thinking ‘I’m in a room full of heroes,’ and it is very humbling to be in a room with so many good people,” Schell said as she took the stage to introduce her mother.

Having begun almost right after WWII, when Americans were enjoying domestic tranquility from 1950 to 1953, the Korean War was widely referred to as the “forgotten war.”

“It really does break my heart to hear that because of the sacrifices our soldiers made to, as the plaque says, ‘a country they never knew and people they never met,’” Schell said.

For Crimbchin and a handful of veterans in the room, the Korean War will never be forgotten.

When the war broke out as the North Koreans invaded South Korea, Crimbchin was serving a family in Seoul.

“They told everyone to come out of the house,” Crimbchin said. “They asked us to march and told us to chant what they wanted us to say. All of a sudden, we ended up in a camp.”

Then, one day, everyone left the camp while Crimbchin was still there.

“Somehow, miraculously, they marched on without her,” Schell said. “History shows… they put those young boys and girls on the front lines and [they] took the first bullets.”

This would not be the last time that Crimbchin defied death during the war.

After she was left at the camp, Crimbchin went back to serving a family in Seoul. Then, the North Koreans invaded again.

During this time, she and some others hid in a hole under a porch. When the shootings stopped, she came out to see what happened.

“My mother told me that they piled the bodies up so high that she had to look up to see the top of it,” Schell said.

Everything changed for Crimbchin when she met American soldier Frank Crimbchin. When his duty was over, he worked hard to bring her to the United States. He waited for immigration laws to change, worked multiple jobs and dedicated all of his savings to bring her home. They eventually settled in his hometown near Pittsburgh and raised a family of seven children together.

For many veterans, hearing her story was an echo of their own service and sacrifice.

“It is nice to finally be recognized,” 86-year-old Angus MacDonald said.

MacDonald, who is the grandfather of Point Park journalism student Brittany Maniet, served as a corporal in an army infantry unit.

“The Korean War never really gets the recognition, in my opinion, that it truly deserves,” Maniet said, knowing all that her grandfather has been through. “I am so happy that Point Park was able to put on such a great event.”

At least four times a year, MacDonald and a few of his fellow Korean War veterans get together, including 85-year-old August Bisesi, who served in the 40th Infantry Division.

Headquartered in California, the division is one of the few that still holds a reunion every year.

“Now, I think we are slowly coming to an end because we are getting too old to travel,” Bisesi said.

For veterans like Maconald and Bisesi, events like this are some of the only times they get to share stories with others who truly understand what they have been through and the emotions that still linger today.

That is what inspired 50-year-old Todd DePastino to start the Veterans Breakfast Club, a nonprofit organization that aims to create an “active listening environment for veterans” to ensure that their stories will not be forgotten. Since 2007, DePastino has been recording veteran’s stories, helping to educate, heal and inspire the community.

“My goal is to give every vet a chance to share his or her story to the public,” DePastino said. “I also want to remind young vets that, even though it doesn’t seem like it right now, they lived through history too, and their stories are worth being told.”

For DePastino, partnering with universities like Point Park is valuable to the mission of the Veterans Breakfast Club because it helps close the military and civilian gap.

“Vets are energized when there are students at our events,” DePastino said. “They like to know that their stories are being passed down to younger generations.”