2. Honoring History
An Overview of the Korean War
Honoring Heroes
Paying Tribute to our Korean War Veterans
The Korean War was the first test of the United Nations’ resolve to stand against
tyranny in all its forms. Twenty-one nations banded together with the United
States and South Korea in a remarkable display of solidarity to turn back naked
aggression and stem the tide of communism. The Armistice, signed in 1953,
remains in effect today and reminds us that we must remain vigilant against the
forces of tyranny and oppression.
The Korean War also saw the advent of aeronautical, medical and societal change:
helicopters were introduced to transport casualties to field hospitals; jets became the
new“standard” for aircraft; leading-edge radio technology allowed better coordination
of troop movements; and Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) units placed
experienced medical personnel closer to the front, improving a
wounded Soldier’s chance for survival. Perhaps the most
lasting impact of the Korean War was the social change
that was manifested to American society.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman had
signed Executive Order 9981, implementing the
full integration of America’s Armed Services.
Thus, America went to war in Korea for the
first time in her history with a military that
reflected her diversity.
The selfless sacrifices of the Veterans who
fought in Korea to ensure the freedom and
prosperity we enjoy today must always be
remembered. The Veterans who shivered in the
trenches, tracked through knee-deep mud, flew
combat missions over rugged mountainous terrain, and
stood watch over hostile seas set aside their own comfort,
safety and aspirations to answer the call to arms at a time when
our nation was still exhausted from the horrors of World War II. These patriots
halted the tide of communism that threatened to sweep over the Korean peninsula.
Today the Republic of Korea stands as a modern, prosperous, vibrant democracy
because of their courage and selfless sacrifice.
The Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration
Committee is dedicated to thanking and honoring all the Veterans of the Korean War,
their families and especially those who lost loved ones in that war. Through 2013, the
Committee will honor the service and sacrifice of Korean War Veterans, commemorate
the key events of the war, and educate Americans of all ages about the historical
significance of the Korean War.
This performance is based on archival letters written during the Korean
War between 2nd
Lt. Dwight S. Thompson (1931-2010) and Cleora B. Barnes
(1931-2004) and is dedicated to them and to all the veterans who served in that
unforgettable conflict.
Tonight’s production
Unforgettable: Letters from Korea integrates song, memory, letters, and poetry. The
setting alternates between 2000 and 1953. The same actors play Dwight and Cleo
both young and old.
Cast
Dwight S. Thompson, 24 and 74 years old . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kermit Dunkelberg
Cleora B. Barnes, 21 and 71 years old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan Thompson
Dwight and Cleora’s daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Lewis
Music
Piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Molly Flannery
Saxophone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Elliott
Production
Technical Designer/Research Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Giggey
Research Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Lewis
Support for the development of Unforgettable: Letters From Korea was provided in
part by Boston College Theatre Department, the BC Undergraduate Research Fel-
lows Program, Commonwealth Schools Hughes’ Grants (2011 and 2012), Annie
Malroux, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
3. Cast and Crew Bios
Kermit Dunkelberg (Dwight, young and old) co-founded Pilgrim
Theatre with Kim Mancuso in Poland in 1986 and has been involved as
actor, director, and Managing Director since that time. Recent work with
Pilgrim includes Haunted by Waters, N (Bonaparte), and The Tibetan Book of
the Dead (or how not to do it again). He also became the first actor to portray deposed
dictator Slobodan Milosevic onstage in Serbia, in Serious Play’s Milosevic at the Hague.
For his PhD dissertation (at New York University’s Department of Performance
Studies), he received a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship for research in Poland, Italy, and
France. He has taught at Hamilton College, Wesleyan, New York University, MIT, and
Emerson College. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Drama Review,
American Theatre, Theatre Journal, Theatre Forum, and other publications. Kermit also
serves as an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Instructor and Program
Coordinator of the Ludlow Area Adult Learning Center of Holyoke Community
College, which provides free classes to adult immigrants from over 20 different countries.
Alexandra Lewis (Dwight and Cleora’s Daughter/Production Associate) is
so excited to be performing in Unforgettable. As a rising junior at Boston Col-
lege, she has played Nat in Rabbit Hole and the Chorus in Lysistrata. Favorite
rolls include Lois in Wonder of the World (Newton Summer Theatre
Festival), Lick-Me-Bite-Me in The Producers (NSTF), and Bo in Off the Map (Theatre
Cooperative). Other shows include Guys and Dolls (Newton South HS), Sweet Charity
(NSHS), Cally’s Side (Boston Theater Marathon), Electra (NSHS), Tongue of a Bird
(Theatre Cooperative), Pride’s Crossing (Emerson), and The Winter’s Tale (Emerson).
Acting since she was six years old, Alexandra is a Theatre Arts major as well as an
American Studies minor. Thanks to Susan for the great opportunity, and of course, as
always, to mom and dad, for their unconditional support, guidance, and love. Alexandra
would like to dedicate this performance to her grandfather, William H. Riggin II
(1919-2008), a Marine Corps Veteran who served in the Pacific in WWII and in Korea.
Susan Thompson (Cleora, young and old/Playwright) has performed,
directed and taught in Europe, Latin America and the U.S. and attributes her
traveling spirit to her Army upbringing. She was raised on bases around the
world including Ft. Shafter, (Hawaii), Ft. Campbell, (Kentucky), Ft. Meade,
(Maryland), and La Rochelle, (France) where she was born. Susan finished the two-year
professional program at Jacques Lecoq’s International Theater School in Paris and
completed her PhD in Theater History at Tufts. Susan performed for five years with
Flemish movement innovator Frederik Vanmelle’s company based in Mexico City. Locally,
she has been a core member of Pilgrim Theatre Research and Performance Collaborative
since 1990. Her original plays include Missing Persons, Panic, The Wild Place (co-authored
with Jon Lipsky), Boundless as the Sea, Haunted by Waters and, most recently, Unforget-
table: Letters from Korea, based on archival letters written by her parents during the
Korean War. She has been a guest teacher/visiting artist at numerous area schools
including Emerson,Tufts, and MIT. She currently teaches and directs at Commonwealth
School and Boston College. www.susantheater.com
Kim Mancuso (Director) is the Artistic Director of Pilgrim Theatre,
which she co-founded with Kermit Dunkelberg in Poland in 1986.
Previously she was director of the International Company of the Second
Studio of Wroclaw, Poland. The daughter of two veterans (WWII, Korea),
most recently she wrote and directed You Belong to Me: WWII Veteran’s Voices, a
collaboration with Jacqueline Cooper, local vets and high school students in Western
Mass. Also with Ms. Cooper, she wrote and directed Follow the Thread, a play about
Jewish immigrants and the U.S. garment industry. She performed the role of Mira Mar-
kovic, wife of dictator Milosevic, in SeriousPlay!’s Milosevic at the Hague (USA, Serbia).
For Pilgrim Theatre she has directed most productions including Kafka’s The Trial: An
Extraordinary Rendition; N(Bonaparte); Faust 2002 (USA, Poland); Letters from
Sarajevo (featured internationally on a Monitor Radio); Guys Dreamin’ (NY Top Ten of
1997); Moon Over Dark Street (Boston, NY); The Tibetan Book of the Dead (or how not
to do it again) in 2008; and The House Not Touched by Death. Her work with Pilgrim
Theatre and Jean-Claude van Itallie is featured in Susan Letzler Cole’s book, Playwrights
in Rehearsal: The Seduction of Company. She holds an MFA from the Yale School of
Drama and has taught widely. She currently teaches at Stoneleigh Burnham (Green-
field, MA) and, at MIT where she has taught theater since 1989.
Stephen Elliott (Saxophone) is a Boston area high school teacher and
jazz performer. He recorded on Molly Flannery’s first CD Slow Dance at the
Asylum. He has performed with Pilgrim Theatre in The Wild Place and
toured with the company to Peru and Poland. He dedicates this performance
to his father, Allen R. Elliott (1926-2011), who served in the Navy in World War II.
Molly Flannery (Piano) is a leading force in the Boston area jazz scene.
She began performing abroad in local clubs in Japan in 1981. In 1983 she
settled in Boston where she studied jazz with Ran Blake, Charlie Banacos,
Kenny Werner and Harvey Diamond. Over the years she has played with
numerous bands including Cosmos Factor (nominated for Best World Beat Band at the
Boston Music Awards). A composer and arranger as well as performer, Molly’s own
band, the Molly Flannery Quintet, has produced two albums,“Slow Dance at the
Asylum” and“Riding the Bull.” Currently, Molly’s been focusing on Brazilian music.
She’s the pianist and often arranger with the Fernando Holz Band and for the eight
piece band“To Sergio With Love: the Sergio Mendes Project.” Molly’s home base is the
Acton Jazz Cafe where she runs the weekly jam sessions and plays with her quartet and
area singers. http://www.mollyflannery.com/
Matthew Giggey (Technical Designer/Production Associate) is honored to
be a part of such a wonderful and thought provoking production.An
upcoming sophomore at Boston College, Matthew studies business market-
ing and finance. He has stage managed over 30 productions in the greater
Nashua, New Hampshire area for Peacock Players and StageCoach Productions. His
credits include: Aida, The Wedding Singer, Sweeney Todd, The Secret Garden, Peter Pan,
and many more. Matthew would like to thank his family and friends for their support as
well as Susan for the unique opportunity.
4. Background on Unforgettable: Letters From Korea
Playwright’s Note
It was Veteran’s Day 2011 and I didn’t have the day off. I teach theater at Boston Col-
lege and had recently been immersed in reading and transcribing the letters written
between my parents, Dwight S. Thompson and Cleora B. Barnes Thompson, during
the Korean War. So, I picked up one of my dad’s letters and headed to class. There
I reminded the students that this is a day to remember our veterans, and asked one
of my best young actors to stand up and read my father’s 1953 letter to the class. We
had our own little memorial there that hour. After class I headed to the Boston Col-
lege Veterans’ Day Ceremony where I, (Korean War letter in hand), met Col. Clark
the director of the Korean War Commemoration Committee. After the ceremony, I
handed him the letter and the plan to bring Unforgettable: Letters from Korea to The
Gathering was born.
My parent’s love for each other was forged, in part, by their separation during the
Korean War. So were essential elements of who they became. During 1953 and 1954
they grew up. My mother discovered a life-long love of city planning and historic
preservation that would sustain her through multiple moves and two wars. My father
read voraciously and wrote. He reflected on himself and others around him. He
concluded, as he states in an August 1953 letter,“Being here has showed me the good
side of people in a lot of instances. The boys in this company have been swell so far.
Conditions have been very adverse and they’ve shown what they were made of and
came through fine…It does my heart good to see it and I think it has even softened
my cynical old soul towards mankind.”
Lt. Col. Dwight S. Thompson (1928-2004) joined
the army in 1946 and led a long and distinguished
military career earning, among other awards, the Le-
gion of Merit, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and
Bronze Stars for his service in Korea and Vietnam.
Born in Seymour, Connecticut, he joined the army
right out of high school and served in the Occupa-
tion of Japan. Upon
return he attended the
University of Con-
necticut where he
was president of his
senior class, captain
of the soccer team, and active in R.O.T.C. He gradu-
ated in 1952 and was stationed in Ft. Benning and Ft.
Knox before being shipped to Korea in May 1953 as
a Second Lieutenant. There he served as a platoon
commander in Company A of the 1st
Brigade, 180th
Regiment of the 85th
Division. He was injured by a
flare in early June but rejoined Co. A by mid-June. He fought in the Christmas Hill
Area, Hill 1220, in July 1953. He became Company A Commander and a 1st
Lieu-
tenant in August of 1953 and returned home from Korea in mid-August 1954. He
married Cleora B. Barnes on August 25. He went on to serve as Provost Marshal on
numerous bases in the U.S., France, and Vietnam. He was stationed in Da Nang in
1969-70. In 1972 he graduated from University of Maryland Law School and retired
from the army in 1973. He served as a prosecutor and Deputy State’s Attorney in
Howard County Maryland for over twenty years. He had a law office in Ellicott City,
Maryland until his death in 2004.
Cleora B. Barnes Thompson, raised in New Haven,
Connecticut, graduated from the
UConn in 1953. She
joined the New Haven
Planning Office that
summer and was ac-
cepted into Yale School
of Architecture for her
Master’s Degree. She
left the program after one year to marry Dwight upon his
return from Korea. During their first year of marriage, she
attended Georgia Tech while Dwight served at Fort Gor-
don 150 miles away. She eventually went on to finish her
MA in City Planning from the University of Utah, working
on her thesis, and serving on numerous City Planning proj-
ects while raising five children and following Dwight from
base to base in his army career. Upon his retirement from the
army, Dwight and Cleora settled in Howard County Maryland
where Cleo worked as an archivist and historic preservationist.
She passed away in 2010. Dwight and Cleora are survived by
five children and thirteen grandchildren. They share a gravesite
at Arlington National Cemetery.
5. About Pilgrim Theatre
Pilgrim Theatre Research and Performance Collaborative was founded in 1986 in
Poland by Kim Mancuso and Kermit Dunkelberg and incorporated in the U.S.
in 1989. Unique to the organization is our artistic legacy from those members of
Jerzy Grotowski’s company with whom we trained in Poland, and core member
Susan Thompson’s two years with theater legend Jacques Lecoq. Pilgrim’s offices
and rehearsal spaces are in Boston and in Ashfield, a village in the hills of western
Massachusetts. The company strives to make theatre available to a wide audience
base through touring; Pay What You Can evenings and free performances; working
with Special Needs constituencies, especially Deaf and Deaf/Blind audiences; and
education (workshops and training). Pilgrim Theatre was a Resident Company of
The Boston Center for the Arts for over ten years. It has won an Award for Regional
Excellence from the New England Theatre Conference, and has earned consistently
high marks from reviewers on tour. Their work has been seen in Poland, Germany,
Denmark, Peru, and the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland as well as in New York and
Boston. Their actors have also collaborated outside of the company with the Boston
Theatre Marathon and recently with SeriousPlay!, with which they traveled to Serbia.
Dwight and Cleora Thompson supported the company’s work for many years and
went on tour in Peru with Pilgrim’s production of The Wild Place.
Thank Yous In addition to our funders, Pilgrim Theatre would like to thank the
following individuals and organizations for their support for Unforgettable: Letters
From Korea: the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Com-
memoration Committee and its Executive Director, Colonel David J. Clark; Jack E.
Cloman and the Korean War Gathering of Veterans; Barbara B. Foelber; Jean Davis,
Kathleen Walsh, Ashley Plumb, Erin Payne; TSGT Floyd Allen, the late CPL Herb
Rorrer, Terry Rorrer, Jerrad and Bailey's Collections, Robert P. Cahillane, USNA;
the veterans and family members of the Korean War Project including Lt. Col. Lewis
Meyers, Don Uccello, Ted and Hal Barker, and all the other numerous vets and family
members who answered my questions and never left a thank you address! Also, Sean
Murphy, Scott Cummings, Stuart Hecht, Michael Mahoney, Diane Brainerd and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Costume Shop, Zoë Dunkelberg, Skye and
Jackson Elliott, Nancy and Allen Elliott, Colleen Campbell, Matthew Heiss, Jack E.
Cloman, and the children of Dwight and Cleora Thompson—Downs Thompson,
Ruth Linzer, Jon Thompson and Mary Iyer and their families.
