On a brick wall downtown hangs a modest engraving dedicated "to all Korean War Veterans."

This is the Fallbrook Veterans Honor Roll, where a mosaic of plaques pay tribute to the men and women who survived America's wars, and beneath the Korean War dedication is a reminder of that conflict's regrettable title: "The Forgotten War." Several branches of a bougainvillea vine have grown over this side of the memorial.

"Forgotten" is a word to haunt those who have suffered and sacrificed. The veterans I've known cherish the memory, if not of their own exploits or their pain, then of the heroism of...