Dear Rutgers Korean Graduate Students Association Members,

The Korea Society would like to invite you to our complimentary policy program, The Legacy of General James Van Fleet, with Joseph McChristian, on Tuesday, May 17, at 12:30PM at The Korea Society (950 Third Avenue, 8th Fl, NYC).

Joseph McChristian, president of the Van Fleet Foundation, discusses the life and legacy of Korean War commanding general James Van Fleet. McChristian, Van Fleet’s grandson, examines his grandfather's “will to win,” love for the peoples of Korea, and deep commitment to the US-Korea alliance. 

General Van Fleet’s grandson, Joseph A. McChristian, Jr., currently serves as the President of the Van Fleet Foundation. As part of a military family, his youth was spent living and travelling in many countries. Following a family tradition, and a personal dream, he graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point as a Distinguished Graduate in 1965. His military career included service as both Commander and staff officer of Armor and Military Intelligence units in combat and during peacetime. He also served as an Assistant Army Attaché at the US Embassy in Cambodia, as an Instructor at the Cambodian Senior Officer’s Staff College, and as Assistant Professor of Military Science at Princeton University. Airborne and Ranger qualified and a veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam, his decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, the Air Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Upon leaving active duty in the military, Mr. McChristian pursued a business career in the financial industry with Citicorp, American Express, and then with Price Waterhouse where he worked as a Principal Consultant in Corporate Finance Emerging Markets advising clients in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and West Africa. In 1989 Mr. McChristian established The McChristian Companies, a corporation through which he acquired and turned around two distressed manufacturing companies in the US, founded several joint ventures in the former Soviet Union, and started, with his son, an Internet services practice in the US. Mr. McChristian was a George Olmsted Scholar. He received a Master of Arts degree in Economics and Finance from the Institute of Political Studies, University of Paris, France, and continued graduate studies in Economics at Princeton University. He is also an Honor Graduate of the US Army’s Military Intelligence Officers Advanced Course. He speaks Russian, is fluent in Greek, and is bi-lingual in French. In addition to his work with the Van Fleet Foundation he is active in local government and several community service organizations where he lives in South Florida. 

Arrivals and reception begin at 12:00 PM, and the program starts at 12:30PM. Please register by emailing us at policy@koreasociety.org with your name and Rutgers Korean Graduate Students Association as your affiliation to reserve your seats.

Thank you, and we hope you can join us!

Best regards,

Jesse Hong