February 10, 2026 • 7 mins
Larry Tressler is the President of the Florida chapter of the Korea Defense Veterans Association. He invites Korean-era and Korean War veterans to the event, along with other veterans throughout the state, to Mission BBQ in Port St. Lucie on Monday, Feb. 16.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Joel Malcoln for WJ and O dot com, and
we are speaking with Larry Tresler. He is the president
of the Florida chapter of the Korea Defense Veterans Association.
And the reason that we wanted to speak is there
is a free meet and greet going on along the
Treasure Coast that we want you to know about on
(00:20):
perhaps appropriately President's Day, February sixteenth. Thank you for joining me, Larry.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you, Joel. Good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
First of all, this is going on at Mission Barbecue,
and I just have to and I'm not trying to
make this a commercial for Mission Barbecue, but ever since
the first time I stepped into one of those, I
just really respect their mission big time. It's similar to
your mission, but you know, I just love how you know,
they donate to the veterans and they've got that one
(00:51):
table setup that's for those we've lost and the photos
everywhere also for the law enforcement members that have lost
their lives in the line of duty as well. So
I just wanted to say I think it was a
good choice for where you're holding this. Did that play
into it.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yes, Joe, it absolutely did. We try to work closely
with Mission Barbecue and all the cities we go to
because they do align themselves with our mission and they
honor the veterans of all wars, all eras just like us.
But we are the Korea Defense Veterans Association. We specialize
(01:30):
in Korea veterans of all ages, not just Korea War veterans.
You don't have to be a war veteran to be
a Korea vet. We honor all Korea vets of all errors,
all ages, and all ranks. We support those veterans that
have served in South Korea. The meet and Greet. Our
meet and greet is coming up on February sixteenth. That's
(01:53):
this coming Monday at five thirty pm five thirty to
seven thirty at Mission Barbecue, which is fourteen oh seven
Saint Lucy West Boulevard in Port Saint Lucy. As you mentioned,
it's a free event. We invite all Korean vets and
their families to come out and just see what we're
all about. It's an informal, casual, little meeting of veterans.
(02:17):
We sit around and just talk to each other and
swap some stories and eat some food and just have
a good time for two hours.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now, I understand that veterans outside of the Korea, outside
of the Korea War can also show up. Like if
somebody's a Vietnam VET or one of the other wars,
or just a veteran in general, they can come.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Correct, Absolutely, anybody can come. We specialize, as I said,
in Korea vets or Korea era vets, but we also
welcome any vet to come by, anyone who cares about
Korea and the alliance and what we did there.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, I would think that it would be pretty interesting
if you know, you have veterans, you know, being able
to maybe share their stories, you know, with veterans from
other eras. I think that would make for some interesting conversation.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Absolutely, I love to sit down and talk with the
war vets, and because they paved the way for us
or the Korea Defense veterans that served in Korea, but
not during the war, we came in later. I personally
was there in sixty eight to seventy, but I love
to hear the stories of the war vets and the
veterans that came after me too.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Did you. I'm just going to ask you a wacky question, Larry.
So I know you came after the war, but did
you ever hear any stories from the folks that were
there during the war that might have been similar to
Mash anything, anything that might have ever happened in Match,
either the movie or the show. Just kind of a
silly question.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Not really, Mash Mesh makes it look pretty good. It
was actually much much worse than in Mash. It was
an actual war, much like World War Two. Mash glorifies
(04:18):
it a little bit, but kind of similar.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Didn't mean to touch on a touchy subject there. It's
just a thought that I had that typically Hollywood does
glorify things, makes it seem a little bit less than
what it was.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
All right, So what we do for those two hours
we gather around and we just mostly have conversations among
the vets. We do have a program that we present.
Our guest speaker is going to be from the Southeast
Florida Honor Flight and they're going to explain to the
veterans how they can sign up for a free honor
(04:56):
flight to Washington, d C.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, those are cool. We hear about those all the
time and we always like to get the word out
on those as well. Those honor flights, and we respect
everybody that has served and thank you for your service.
All right, So I know that the event is free,
but your spots are not unlimited. So what do you recommend?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
We recommend if you can, if possible, we ask people
to go to our website KDVA dot VET that's KDVA
dot ve e T and register for the event so
we can get an accurate headcount. Just to make sure
we have enough room for you, so you can make
(05:39):
sure that you have a spot.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
All right. Again, this is Monday, President's Day, February sixteenth,
and it is from five thirty to what did you say.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Five thirty to seven thirty?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
All right, and folks can enjoy some some good food.
I know I can. I can vouch for the food
I will tell you that at Mission Barbecue and have
a good time with fellow veterans. So again we appreciate it.
Korea Defense Veterans Association hosting this free meet and greet.
And again this is happening at the Mission Barbecue Inport
(06:15):
Saint Lucy. Larry Tresler, president of the association's Florida chapter.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
One other thing I'd like to point out, if we could,
like you mentioned, this is a free event and KDVA
never charges a penny to any of our members for
anything ever, anything is absolutely free, and once a year
we select a group of members and give them an
all expense paid week long guide a trip to South
(06:43):
Korea and they can revisit some of the places where
they served in South Korea.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
That's always cool too, so they can rs VP and
get more information. Kdiva dot vet. Awesome, Larry, I appreciate
you joining us.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Thank you very much. Show good to see and be here.
Hey, Joel Malcoln for WJ and O dot com, and
we are speaking with Larry Tresler. He is the president
of the Florida chapter of the Korea Defense Veterans Association.
And the reason that we wanted to speak is there
is a free meet and greet going on along the
Treasure Coast that we want you to know about on
(00:20):
perhaps appropriately President's Day, February sixteenth. Thank you for joining me, Larry.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you, Joel. Good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
First of all, this is going on at Mission Barbecue,
and I just have to and I'm not trying to
make this a commercial for Mission Barbecue, but ever since
the first time I stepped into one of those, I
just really respect their mission big time. It's similar to
your mission, but you know, I just love how you know,
they donate to the veterans and they've got that one
(00:51):
table setup that's for those we've lost and the photos
everywhere also for the law enforcement members that have lost
their lives in the line of duty as well. So
I just wanted to say I think it was a
good choice for where you're holding this. Did that play
into it.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yes, Joe, it absolutely did. We try to work closely
with Mission Barbecue and all the cities we go to
because they do align themselves with our mission and they
honor the veterans of all wars, all eras just like us.
But we are the Korea Defense Veterans Association. We specialize
(01:30):
in Korea veterans of all ages, not just Korea War veterans.
You don't have to be a war veteran to be
a Korea vet. We honor all Korea vets of all errors,
all ages, and all ranks. We support those veterans that
have served in South Korea. The meet and Greet. Our
meet and greet is coming up on February sixteenth. That's
(01:53):
this coming Monday at five thirty pm five thirty to
seven thirty at Mission Barbecue, which is fourteen oh seven
Saint Lucy West Boulevard in Port Saint Lucy. As you mentioned,
it's a free event. We invite all Korean vets and
their families to come out and just see what we're
all about. It's an informal, casual, little meeting of veterans.
(02:17):
We sit around and just talk to each other and
swap some stories and eat some food and just have
a good time for two hours.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now, I understand that veterans outside of the Korea, outside
of the Korea War can also show up. Like if
somebody's a Vietnam VET or one of the other wars,
or just a veteran in general, they can come.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Correct, Absolutely, anybody can come. We specialize, as I said,
in Korea vets or Korea era vets, but we also
welcome any vet to come by, anyone who cares about
Korea and the alliance and what we did there.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, I would think that it would be pretty interesting
if you know, you have veterans, you know, being able
to maybe share their stories, you know, with veterans from
other eras. I think that would make for some interesting conversation.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Absolutely, I love to sit down and talk with the
war vets, and because they paved the way for us
or the Korea Defense veterans that served in Korea, but
not during the war, we came in later. I personally
was there in sixty eight to seventy, but I love
to hear the stories of the war vets and the
veterans that came after me too.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Did you. I'm just going to ask you a wacky question, Larry.
So I know you came after the war, but did
you ever hear any stories from the folks that were
there during the war that might have been similar to
Mash anything, anything that might have ever happened in Match,
either the movie or the show. Just kind of a
silly question.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Not really, Mash Mesh makes it look pretty good. It
was actually much much worse than in Mash. It was
an actual war, much like World War Two. Mash glorifies
(04:18):
it a little bit, but kind of similar.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Didn't mean to touch on a touchy subject there. It's
just a thought that I had that typically Hollywood does
glorify things, makes it seem a little bit less than
what it was.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
All right, So what we do for those two hours
we gather around and we just mostly have conversations among
the vets. We do have a program that we present.
Our guest speaker is going to be from the Southeast
Florida Honor Flight and they're going to explain to the
veterans how they can sign up for a free honor
(04:56):
flight to Washington, d C.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, those are cool. We hear about those all the
time and we always like to get the word out
on those as well. Those honor flights, and we respect
everybody that has served and thank you for your service.
All right, So I know that the event is free,
but your spots are not unlimited. So what do you recommend?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
We recommend if you can, if possible, we ask people
to go to our website KDVA dot VET that's KDVA
dot ve e T and register for the event so
we can get an accurate headcount. Just to make sure
we have enough room for you, so you can make
(05:39):
sure that you have a spot.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
All right. Again, this is Monday, President's Day, February sixteenth,
and it is from five thirty to what did you say.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Five thirty to seven thirty?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
All right, and folks can enjoy some some good food.
I know I can. I can vouch for the food
I will tell you that at Mission Barbecue and have
a good time with fellow veterans. So again we appreciate it.
Korea Defense Veterans Association hosting this free meet and greet.
And again this is happening at the Mission Barbecue Inport
(06:15):
Saint Lucy. Larry Tresler, president of the association's Florida chapter.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
One other thing I'd like to point out, if we could,
like you mentioned, this is a free event and KDVA
never charges a penny to any of our members for
anything ever, anything is absolutely free, and once a year
we select a group of members and give them an
all expense paid week long guide a trip to South
(06:43):
Korea and they can revisit some of the places where
they served in South Korea.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
That's always cool too, so they can rs VP and
get more information. Kdiva dot vet. Awesome, Larry, I appreciate
you joining us.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Thank you very much. Show good to see and be here.
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