New American Hero Award

GNC reconizes and awards American of Korean ancestry who serve the community selflessly as New American Hero Award.

2013 New American Hero Award - Dr. Sammy Lee

Good Neighboring Foundation presented the New American Hero Award to Dr. Sammy Lee at America Korea Friendship Society 2013 annual banquet at Renaissance Waverly Hotel on March 2, 2013.

Dr. Sammy Lee was honored with 2013 New American Hero Award by America Korea Friendship Society (AKFS) affiliated to Good Neighboring Foundation at a banquet.

Dr. Lee who is currently 92 years old was the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.

General (Retired) Larry Ellis, Chairman of AKFS, awarded the new American Hero Award along with a $10,000 cash check to Dr. Lee. The cash award will be donated by Dr. Lee to University of Southern California fund for building a new aquatic and diving center.

In a moving speech, a former trainee of Colonel (Retired) Jim Stapleton recounts the inspiration and training given to him in diving. Col. Stapleton saluted Dr. Lee’s accomplishment and the inspiration that instilled in him as a young man.

In another surprise ceremony, AD Frazier, former COO of 1996 Atlanta Olympic Committee, shared insights and spirit of the 1996 Games. He later presented the Korean national flag which flew at the 1996 Olympics to Sunny K. Park, President of AKFS as a gift.

“This is a wonderful gift that should belong to the Korean American community in Georgia. I want to present it to Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta for their safe keeping,” said Sunny K. Park.

In a moving acceptance speech, Dr. Lee shared stories of perseverance amidst difficulties, especially relating to racial discrimination towards him as an Asian American.

While pursuing his dream in diving, Dr. Lee faced many obstacles including a regular practice venue as non-whites were not allowed to use the public pool except one day each week before the pool was scheduled to be drained and refilled with clean water. As a result, his coach dug a pit in his backyard and filled it with sand so that he could practice by jumping into the pit.

Dr. Lee achieved his dream of winning medals at the Olympic by becoming the first non-white diving champion in the U.S. He won the gold medal in the 10m platform diving and the bronze medal in springboard diving in the 1948 games. He defended his title in the 1952 games, winning the gold medal in the 10m platform diving.

His accomplishment were not limited to the athletic fields. Dr. Lee was a student-athlete at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, where he received his M.D. in 1947. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea from 1053-1955, where he specialized in the diseases of the ear.

In 1953, while serving his tour of duty in Korea, he won the James E. Sullivan Award, which is awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.

Dr. Lee went on to coach Olympic divers including Pat McCormick, Bob Webster, and Greg Louganis. He is a member of U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

He urged young Korean Americans to embrace and be proud of their Korean heritage. He shared his personal experience where his father advise him to dream bigger and strive boldly towards his goal.

“Son, if you are not proud of the shaper of your eyes and the color of your skin, then who can respect you?” recalls the advice given to him by his father.

Source: Georgia Asian Times (3/2/2013)

2011 New American Hero Award - LTC John Oh

Good Neighboring Foundation presented the New American Hero Award to Lieutenant Colonel John S. Oh at America Korea Friendship Society 2011 annual banquet at Renaissance Waverly Hotel on April 16, 2011.

LTC Oh, currently the Associate Director of the Trauma Program at Landsthul Regional Medical Center flew in from Germany in time to accept the award from the Foundation.

Lt. Colonel Oh was recognized for his heroic actions where he removed an unexploded rocket propelled grenade from a wounded soldier. The soldier, Channing Moss, was impaled by a live RPG during Taliban ambush while on patrol at the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

LTC Oh, a Korean immigrant who became a naturalized citizen and went to West Point, removed the live round with the help of volunteers and a member of the explosive ordinance disposal team. Moss has undergone six operations but is recovering well at home in Gainesville, Georgia.

“I have the best job in the world. Everyday, I help save the lives of heroes who defended our country,” said LTC Oh in his acceptance speech. Oh was presented a crystal plaque and a $10,000 check where he proceeded to donate it to a non-profit organization, Wounded Warrior Project.

Channing Moss, the wounded soldier was on hand to meet and salute the New American Hero.

“I am extremely proud of LTC Oh’s exemplary devotion as an American soldier. He is a shining example as an American and an aspiring role model to our entire community,” said Sunny K. Park, Founder of Good Neighboring Foundation and president of The American Korea Friendship Society, sponsors of the evening’s award.

General James D. Thurman, Commander of the Army’s largest organization was on hand to deliver the evening’s keynote speech. General Thurman is expected to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next Commanding General of US forces in South Korea.

“In the great tradition of partnership between U.S. and Korea people, I look forward to working with the South Korean government and military,” said General Thurman.

He later also recognizes a group of Korean War veterans attending the evening’s banquet.

The evening’s banquet was also attended by a business delegation from Seongdong Gu, a county adjacent to Seoul metropolitan. The business delegation was led by Mayor J.D. Goh to visit Cobb County, where it has recently established a sister-city relationship.

Source: Georgia Asian Times (4/18/2011), KAmerican Post

Click HERE to watch video on 2011 New American Hero Award !!

<Press release - 2011 New American Hero Award>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2011
Good Neighboring Foundation, Inc.
CONTACT: Joshua Lee, 770-452-8039, Jlee@Goodneighboring.org

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) John Oh, Medical Doctor, of the U.S. Army is the 2011 New American Hero of the Year.

Good Neighboring Foundation, Inc. — a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, GA — announced its 2011 New American Hero of the Year to recognize Dr. Oh’s heroic service for his new nation and its people, his contribution to the United States as an American of Korean ancestry, and his position as a role model for all Americans.

The Foundation’s Executive Committee unanimously selected Lieutenant Colonel John Oh to receive the award for 2011. “We are pleased to select LTC Oh for this year’s award; it, for sure, was not an easy task as there were several great nominees” said Sunny K. Park, the Founder and Executive Director of the Good Neighboring Foundation.

Good Neighboring Foundation (GNF) stated, in granting Dr. Oh this honor, “We, on behalf of Americans of Korean ancestry, want to recognize LTC John Oh for his exemplary devotion to advancing the cause of Americans of Korean ancestry through his heroic service as an American soldier. He is a shining example as an American, and an inspiring role model to our entire community.”

GNF selects an American of Korean ancestry as needed who has made a significant contribution to the United States, and who makes the immigrant community proud. Past recipient of the New American Hero of the Year award was Dr. Tom Kim of Knoxville, TN, who founded the Free Clinic for Working Poor and who has operated the clinic for more than eleven years.

The award ceremony will be held during the America Korea Friendship Society annual event 7 PM Saturday April 16, 2011 at Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Marietta, Georgia.

Good Neighboring Foundation (GNF) activities began in 2000 with two major goals: (1) to stimulate Asian American immigrants and motivate them to become an integral part of American communities, and (2) to encourage Asian immigrants, starting with Korean Americans, to use their heritage, values and resources for the betterment of the United States. For more information, please visit www.GoodNeighboring.org

Tom Kim(left), Awardee of the 1st New American Hero Award in 2005 and LTC John Oh.

Background of the 2011 Award Recipient

On March 16, 2007, Alpha Company platoon had set out from Forward Operating Base Tillman around 8 a.m. for a meeting with tribal leaders near the Pakistan border. Channing Moss, then a private first class, was manning a Mark 19 machine gun in the turret of his up-armored Humvee when Afghan forces attacked his unit.

Moss was turning his machine gun turret to return fire when the first of three rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) rounds to strike his vehicle exploded on the truck commander’s door. Staff Sgt. Eric Wynn yelled at the driver to get out of the kill zone, but “that’s when we got hit again.” A projectile bored into Moss’s left hip at a downward angle, tearing through his lower abdomen. The tip of the device stopped just short of breaking through the skin on Moss’s upper right thigh. Wynn, with the tip of his nose sheared off and his torn upper lip hanging loosely, radioed his lieutenant.

The attack was over in seconds. Moss was on the verge of death, impaled through the abdomen with an RPG. An aluminum rod with one tail fin protruded from the left side of his torso.

As the medical team lifted off in its Black Hawk helicopter for the 10-minute flight to the battle scene, all they knew was that urgent casualties awaited them, and that the area was hot. On touchdown, flight medic Sgt. John Collier jumped out and sped toward the wounded to assess the situation. When the medics and a helicopter crew saw Moss, there was only one choice. They said, “Yeah, we gotta get this guy to the hospital.”

At the moment, everyone was focused on the new mission,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jorge Correa said. “I know we risked our lives to save Pfc. Moss, but there was no hesitation. I didn’t really think about it until a couple of days later, but it was like, ‘Wow, we had live ordnance on the helicopter.’”

John Oh, 759th Forward Surgical Team general surgeon and a major at the time, recalled that the delicacy of the situation wasn’t truly apparent until they began cutting away Moss’s combat uniform and unraveling all the gauze bandages.

Protocol, as far as Oh knew, dictated that someone in Moss’ condition be placed in a sandbagged bunker and listed as “expectant,” meaning that he would be expected to die because nothing could be done for him. Despite military protocol, Oh proceeded, warning the volunteers that the surgery could cost everyone their lives. Dr. Oh then began operating to extract the ordnance from Moss’ booby-trapped body. One wrong move could kill the patient and the entire medical team.

Still conscious, Moss assumed the worst. “I didn’t know they had put anesthesia in my IV. I was blacking out, and I thought I was dying. I thought they were just going to leave me.”

Major Oh and the team decided that the device would have to be removed by pulling it through in the direction it had traveled. Oh opened up Moss so that the extent of damage to his abdomen and the path of the projectile could be assessed. The damage was extensive. Moss’s intestines had been shredded, his pelvic bone crushed, and he had lost a lot of blood. However, no major organs were disturbed.

EOD technician Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Brown began sawing off the tail fin, which protruded just above Moss’s left hip. Brown said Moss needed to remain calm and steady, but the situation was frightening, with everyone in the room wide-eyed, staring at each other. Using his scalpel for the most delicate incision of his life, Oh took the next step and cut the skin on Moss’s right thigh where the tip of the device came to rest. Then, as if delivering a ticking baby time bomb, Brown gently and steadily eased the blood-covered metal tube from Moss’ body. Breathing sighs of relief, Dr. Oh and the medical team patched up what remained of Moss’ lower abdomen so he could be airlifted.

Personal safety took a backseat that day to saving Moss. The bravery, quick thinking and nerves of steel of Dr. Oh and the others involved enabled Pfc. Moss to attend the birth of his second daughter, Ariana, just three months later.

Moss commended the soldiers who saved his life that day. “I don’t think there has been a day in the last year and a half that I haven’t thought about them, that I haven’t prayed for them. They saved my life.”

Refer to MilitaryTimes.com video

2005 New American Hero Award - Dr. Tom Kim

In 2005 GNC awarded Dr. Tom Yoo-Keun Kim, founder of the Free Clinic of America in Knoxville, TN, New American Hero Award.

<Dr. Tom Kim, Founder of the Free Clinic of America>

<Press release - 2005 New American Hero Award>

For Immediate Release
September 21, 2005

Good Neighboring Campaign’s 2005 New American Hero Award Goes to Dr. Tom Yoo-Keun Kim, founder of the Free Clinic of America in Knoxville, TN.

Good Neighboring Campaign will present the New American Hero Award to Dr. Tom Kim of Knoxville, TN. Former ambassador to Korea James Laney will present the award during the annual dinner of the 2005 Korean American Forum, Marriott Hotel Century Center, Atlanta, GA at 7 PM, September 23, 2005.

Good Neighboring Campaign, a self-funding nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, GA selects an American of Korean ancestry brighten the image of the Korean American community with active serve the local community.

Korean American Forum is an annual event to discuss the issues and have brainstorming sessions to find acceptable and practical solutions to bring Korean Americans more into U.S. society. Despite the difficulty of communicating and assimilating, the Korean Americans wants to participating in community affairs more and utilizing the ethnic values and strengths for our new nation. The Forum to draw a road map for the community, set priorities, and give community members clear direction on how to proceed as an integral American ethnic group — with the focus on American — not as a group of Korean visitors to America.

“Dr. Kim served the local community in the name of Free Clinic of America for over ten years. His volunteer services stimulated other Americans of Korean ancestry to do more services in the communities. We, Korean immigrants brought so much value to this nation and we are so proud to realize that we are using it. We want to recognize the invisible benefit we received from Dr. Kim’s volunteer services” said Sunny Park the founder and secretary general of Good Neighboring Campaign.

The award stated in the award “We, behalf of the Americans of Korean ancestry want to recognize Dr. Tom Kim’s exemplary devotion to advancing the cause of Americans of Korean ancestry through his patriotic volunteer service at Free Clinic of America. And, he is shining example as an American, and an inspiring role model to our entire community.”

Dr. Tom Kim was born 10 miles south of P’yongyang in Juny Hwa, North Korea. In 1951 Kim and his family fled North Korea to South Korea where he lived until 1961. In 1961 his family left South Korea for a life in the United States. He returned to South Korea later for medical school at Severance Medical School in Seoul. In 1983 he opened a private practice in Knoxville, Tennessee where he specializes in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology. In 1993 he founded the Free Medical Clinic of America followed by the Free Briceville Medical Clinic in 2002. In 2001 Kim became the president of Knoxville Area Korean Association. As president, he raised funds for a Korean War memorial to be built in Knoxville. On Memorial Day of 2003 the American Korean War Memorial was unveiled at the Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on Lyons View Pike. Congressman John Duncan has honored Kim for his dedication to the community, and in 2002 WBIR-TV Channel 10 awarded Kim with the National Jefferson Award for his dedication to the free clinics he has established in Knoxville.

Free clinic opens for working poor without health insurance

"It's scary not having insurance," said Mary Lilly.

Friday, Tenncare would have covered her visit to a doctor. Monday, that visit would have cost her $75 she simply did not have.

Behind a wall and some glass sit a group of professionals. Some are in the medical world. Others are in the legal world. A few even work on mortgages. Right now, they are all healers, praying for the power to help a whole lot of people in need.

"It's our first day," said Laura Lee, a volunteer at the Free Medical Clinic of America. "Things are frantic."

The clinic is an all volunteer organization that takes patients via appointment. The rules are few, but important. Patients must be working and either have U.S. Citizenship or the proper paperwork to be in the states. Mary Lilly is both, the first former Tenncare recipient to walk through the doors.

"It was really scary cause I know all the problems I have," she said pulling out about 20 pill bottles. "When this runs out, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Dr. Tom Kim hopes the free clinic is an option for people like Mary who are working hard to make ends meet, but simply need a helping hand to get by.

"Everybody says America is the number one nation in the world," he said. "I don't see why American individuals can't pay attention to illness because of no insurance."

More than 20 other doctors are volunteering their time at the clinic, which Dr. Kim hopes will convince others to help out in whatever way possible.

"It's time to love each other and help each other," he said. "Let's play ball here."

Dan Farkas , Reporter / Last updated: 8/2/2005 3:55:38 PMhttp://www.wbir.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=27622