L. Skip Haswell looked out over the crowd of 400 gathered yesterday in Irvine Park in Beaver.

"I wish we were doing a live broadcast of this event, and our troops overseas could see all of you," he said.

Organizers of the community's eighth annual "Support Our Troops Rally" did the next best thing. They invited everyone attending to gather in front of the park's gazebo for a group picture to be distributed with care packages that a group called the Yellow Ribbon Girls sends monthly to members of the armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Haswell, president of the Beaver County unit of the Vietnam Veterans of America, was master of ceremonies for the event.

While honoring all veterans, the program included a special tribute to those who served during the Korean War, sometimes called "the forgotten war." Almost 37,000 Americans died in that conflict between 1950 and 1953, according to Pentagon figures. They included 100 men from Beaver County, Korean War veteran Don Hoffman reminded the crowd.

When Mr. Haswell called on Korean vets to "do a single-line formation" in front of the white gazebo, about two dozen men came forward.

While musicians from the Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band played "Amazing Grace," Sam Syrko, 4, of Independence, walked down the line of veterans, handing each a flag pin.

Sam's father, Dan, works for FirstEnergy Corp., one of the prime sponsors of the event.

One of the men Sam presented with a flag pin was Eugene Beal, of Hookstown. A retired postal worker, he served in the Navy between 1952 and 1956.

"It's important to show our support for our troops and for their mission," he said. "As a vet, I thought this was a great place to come on the Fourth of July weekend."

"The crowd gets bigger every year," said Robert Mizenko, of Monaca. An Army veteran of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, he said he knew firsthand how important public support was to troops serving abroad.

While John Kent was an Army veteran of the Korean War, serving between 1948 and 1952, he was wearing a Coast Guard cap yesterday. "That's in honor of my grandson," he explained.

A military policeman who served in Japan, Mr. Kent's war-time duties included escorting wounded soldiers on their way to military hospitals.

"A lot of them had frozen toes and feet," he recalled. "But they still had a gleam in their eyes."

"Their two most common questions were, 'Sarge, have you got a cigarette?' and 'What is this town like?' " he said.

While he attended this year's program partly because of the plan to honor Korean veterans, Mr. Kent liked the fact that Mr. Haswell recognized veterans of all of the country's conflicts yesterday.

"It's good for the young people to see events like this," he said. "It lets the young folks know what the old-timers did."

Mr. Kent, of Vanport, retired as a sheet-metal worker from Westinghouse Electric.

His neighbor, Ken Bradshaw, is an Army veteran. He is one of seven brothers who served during World War II, the Korean War or the Cold War. He is a retired maintenance supervisor for the Beaver Area School District.

"Kids don't study enough history," he said. "Everyone should know what went on in the past."

Organizer Bob Gwin, of Patterson, said the event had multiple goals. "We wanted to bring everyone together to honor God, celebrate America's birthday, honor our veterans and support our troops," he said.

The afternoon program was designed to give young people a chance to hear patriotic music and learn some history, he said.

In addition to the pipe band, performers included singers David Hodge, Chelsea Herdt and Marianne Spanik. Their accompanist was Sandy Sprankle.

"Freedom is not free," said the event's keynote speaker, the Rev. Keith Black. "The youngest and most healthy were willing to sacrifice their futures ... and their mothers, fathers, wives and children also sacrificed."

A retired Presbyterian minister who lives in Darlington, he is a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War.

Proceeds from yesterday's rally will benefit the Yellow Ribbon Girls, a group of volunteers based at the United Brethren in Christ Church in Ellport, Lawrence County.

Vicki Henley, one of the group's organizers, estimated that the monthly shipping for 120 boxes costs about $1,000. Information on the packages-for-troops program is available at www.yellowribbongirls.com.