Eun Cha, originally from Korea, has traveled long and far in his life and has landed here in Lowry. It would
not always be an easy trip here which took him to fighting in Vietnam for the U.S. along with his Korean
military troops to getting a job at Coors to now settling in Luce’s great community.
Eun was the youngest of four sisters and a brother. His father owned a general store in Seoul while he and his older siblings all attended school.He especially liked math and did well in school and attended the Korean Military Academy (the equivalent of America’s West Point). The military was a good deployment for him and he ended up in Vietnam in 1965. Little known is the fact the U.S. asked Korea for help during Vietnam War and 320,000 Korean troops were sent to help. Eun had two assignments there: one as a platoon leader and then teaching taekwondo to the U.S. Army. He was in Vietnam from October 1965 to June 1967 and a second time from December 1968-December 1969.
After his participation there, he returned home to South Korea. He married Jong Yon Chu, a head nurse in Ewha Woman’s University Hospital. They decided to follow one of his sisters and a brother to the U.S. in 1976. The move brought them to Colorado. “We were looking for a good place to live.” They moved to Westminster and he started working at Coors Brewery for 23 years and CoorsTek Korea as President for 14 years. “CoorsTek provides solutions to complex technical challenges in the the semiconductor, medical, automotive, aerospace, and other industries. They have more than 400 proprietary formulations, vertically integrated systems, and unparalleled process capabilities. I have crossed the Pacific more than one hundred times,” for the company, and after 37 years with CoorsTek, he retired in 2013.
He and his wife have been married for 58 years and have two sons. Both were educated at MIT. The
elder son is a trauma surgeon in Florida having served in the U.S. Army in Kosovo. The younger son is a
lawyer in Denver. They have four grandchildren. And now they are here in our Lowry because his
mother is buried in Fairmont and Lowry was convenient to visit her. “But it’s a nice place to live, and we
enjoy this side of town.”
Denver is his home, but “I listen to Korean radio and keep up on Korean TV with what’s going on.” They
enjoy their time in the “Korean Town” in Aurora near Havana and have many friends there. The condo
complex of Luce is a wonderful community for them, and its location to the restaurant districts are
convenient. He has had a very good life and lives by: “Home, Duty, Honor” which came from being in the military. He has done duty by his homeland and his new home in the U.S. and in Denver. Interestingly, in November 3032, President Biden signed the Korean American Valor Act into law offering long overdue relief to Korean War veterans like Eun access to crucial US health benefits. Previously only allies after WWI and WWII received health care, so the Korean Valor Act was inclusive to those who became citizens like Eun.
A lot of their time now is in traveling the world. One of their joys is seeing the world by land or sea. “We meet people from all over who also have similar travel interests as we do.”“We like cruising and have been to more than 30 countries in Europe and South America. Our last tour was England and Scotland. And we have been to the Caribbean, Sweden, Estonia, and St. Petersburg. I take pictures wherever we go. Our favorite trip was to Norway and our longest to South America for 33 days on the Princess Line.”
The family has certainly covered the world with wonderful travels. For those like Eun and his family who have worked hard and lived with honor, the world is theirs. Thank you Eun for your service to our country and get ready for your next trip!
Meet Your Lowry Neighbors is a monthly feature written by our intrepid reporter Sally Kurtzman, who knows everyone in our community. If you have a suggestion for a Meet Your Lowry Neighbor, please send us an email to connect@lowryunitedneighborhoods.org.