{"id":7820,"date":"2025-08-13T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820"},"modified":"2025-08-13T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T18:30:00","slug":"honoring-tech-sgt-richard-decker-on-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-korean-war-armistice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820","title":{"rendered":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Amid the harsh Korean winter, Airman Richard Decker demonstrated resilience and duty. Now, 75 years after the Korean War Armistice, he lives at the Orlando VA Medical Center<\/a>, embodying his brave generation.<\/p>\n

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in August 1933, he lost his father at a young age and left high school early to serve his country. For over 20 years, his military career shaped his life.<\/p>\n

During the Korean War, Decker was a railroad laborer with the 84th Bombardment Squadron, supporting vital logistics operations. He recalls sleeping in tents and fighting in valleys under aircraft fire. In rare moments of downtime, he traded food with nearby Army units to boost morale.<\/p>\n

Decker later served in the Vietnam War<\/a> as an aircraft and automotive mechanic, ensuring mission readiness for the 77th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He worked on C-54 aircraft, crucial in high-stress environments.<\/p>\n

Stationed around the world<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
C-54 maintenance line in the Douglas aircraft manufacturing facility at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, in the mid-1940s. Photo courtesy Tinker History Office. Photo courtesy of DVIDS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Throughout his career, Decker was stationed at multiple bases, including Amarillo AFB, Texas; Carswell AFB, Texas; RAF Upper Heyford, England; RAF Scunthorpe, England; and McCoy AFB, Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

He attained the rank of Tech. Sgt. and earned numerous military decorations, including the Air Force Longevity Service Award, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Air Force Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we honor the sacrifices of the Korean War, we also honor Veterans like Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker. His bravery and commitment define a generation and secure our freedoms. Thank you, Tech. Sgt. Decker, for your selfless service,\u201d said Timothy J. Cooke, director, Orlando VA Healthcare System.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-veteran-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nHonoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820\"},\"wordCount\":379,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Community & Veteran Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820\",\"name\":\"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"width\":723,\"height\":723},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7820#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"description\":\"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"width\":2172,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Its Veterans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans","description":"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans","og_description":"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.","og_url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820","og_site_name":"Its Veterans","article_published_time":"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668"},"headline":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice","datePublished":"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820"},"wordCount":379,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","articleSection":["Community & Veteran Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820","name":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice - Its Veterans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","datePublished":"2025-08-13T18:30:00+00:00","description":"A Korean War Veteran was honored for his bravery and commitment during the 75th anniversary of Korean War Armistice.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","width":723,"height":723},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7820#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Honoring Tech. Sgt. Richard Decker on the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","name":"Its Veterans","description":"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization","name":"Its Veterans","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","width":2172,"height":724,"caption":"Its Veterans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}