Beacon Hill Fixes Snub of 'Forgotten War' Vets

FOX Undercover shined a spotlight on a forgotten war memorial in Massachusetts that was snubbed by legislators on Beacon Hill earlier this year.

Now, just weeks after Mike Beaudet's investigation exposed the problem, lawmakers are coming up with the cash.

The House of Representatives passed a supplemental budget Wednesday afternoon giving the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Charlestown $10,000 for maintenance.

It is welcome news to Korean War veterans Lou Pelosi and Joe McCallion, especially since the Korean War is already known as the "Forgotten War".

They turned to FOX Undercover last month after becoming frustrated with lawmakers restoring funding for other war memorials in Massachusetts, but not the memorial honoring veterans who fought in the Korean War.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is in state representative Eugene O'Flaherty's district.

He worked to add the $10,000 to the supplementary budget.

"Certainly when it was brought to our attention that the memorial in my district was not receiving the appropriation for its maintenance, I felt that it was important that we not forget the veterans and in particular those individuals that take care of the memorial and require that expenditure to do so," said O'Flaherty.

McCallion credits FOX Undercover with helping get lawmakers to listen.

"You guys went to bat so I got to congratulate FOX Undercover for what they did because otherwise I'd probably still be chasing my tail," said McCallion.

Veteran Lou Pelosi says the much needed money will be put to good use, including fixing two displays that used to let visitors listen to veterans' stories.

"This $10,000 that we're going to receive, we're going to be able to do some of the maintenance that we haven't been able to do over the last two and a half years since we haven't received any money," said Pelosi.

The supplementary budget still needs to pass the Senate and get Governor Patrick's signature, but Representative O'Flaherty says he expects that to happen.

Cox Media Group