From L-R: Gretta Embree, Max Embree, Sue Rich. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Nearly 60 years after serving in the United States Air Force, a Washington veteran received a medal for his time served during the Korean War.

Max Embree received the Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) at the Washington County Veterans Affairs Office Monday. The medal was created in 2002 and is given to members of the armed forces who served in South Korea after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in support of the defense of the South Korean State.

Embree shares about his time in the Air Force, “I enlisted in November of 1955 and was stationed in California for boot camp, then transferred to South Carolina at a communications deployment. And then from there to the far east I served 22 months in a station out of Tachikawa, Japan and worked throughout Japan, South Korea, Okinawa, and several Pacific islands. And then sent to the states at the Washington, D.C. Andrews Air Force base and that’s where I was discharged in the 18th of June, 1959, which was my 23rd birthday.”

To receive the KDSM, a service member must have served at least 30 consecutive days in South Korea or 60 non-consecutive days. Embree wasn’t aware of the medal until recently, “I was there 38 days the first time and I think 16 the second, and I didn’t know at the time the medal existed. But I found out later through some friends that I served with that they received the medal, so Sue helped me get started and I got the medal.”

After several phone calls and emails sent and with the assistance of Washington County Veterans Service Officer Sue Rich, Embree received the medal with his wife Gretta alongside him.