SILVER STAR OUTSHINES EMMY, OSCAR.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY

A few of the vets do a double-take, recognizing the familiar face from TV. But most of them just quietly take a seat near James McEachin, avoiding his gaze as they wait to see a doctor or therapist at the Sepulveda VA.

``They probably think I'm nuts for staring at them, but I can't help it,'' McEachin says. ``I've just got so much respect for them. They've all contributed so much to this country. These are the guys who inspired me.''

The 75-year-old veteran Hollywood actor - a decorated Korean War veteran severely wounded in action - was so inspired that he'd go home after his medical visits to the local VA and pour his heart out into a tape recorder and on paper.

He forced himself to remember events he didn't want to so he'd be able to stand up in front of thousands of people every year and pay tribute to the American veteran.

That's why he remembered - for all of them.

McEachin was one of only a few African-American soldiers serving in King Company in Korea. He never knew the name of the big, blond kid, but he'll never forget his face.

For two days, the kid had carried the severely wounded McEachin on his back through enemy lines, trying to get back to their unit. They were the only survivors of a 13-man squad sent out to rescue the body of an American soldier the enemy had left - tied, spread-eagled - on the side of a hill.

``We walked into a trap, and all hell broke loose,'' McEachin recalled. ``There was a huge explosion and the next thing I know I'm waking up bleeding in a creek - my fatigue jacket full of holes and my leg shot up.''

Once the enemy left everyone for dead, the kid called out to McEachin, begging him not to tell anyone. McEachin didn't know what he was talking about, but he was about to find out.

``When the fighting started, the kid said he got scared and hid,'' McEachin said. ``Probably out of guilt more than anything, he had come back for me.

``I kept thinking he was going to run again and leave me out there to die, but he didn't. He stayed with me and saved my life. When we finally neared our own front line, our guys started firing at us.

``The kid yelled out, 'Don't shoot, we're Americans.' I think a lot of the patriotism I feel today comes from that night hearing him yell out 'We're Americans.'''

McEachin underwent a series of operations to remove the shrapnel, then was shipped home. He never saw the kid again, never had a chance to berate him for hiding when the fighting started or to thank him for saving his life.

He went on to have a successful acting career, appearing in more than 150 television shows, including his own series in 1973, ``Tenafly,'' playing the first African-American police detective on TV.

It wasn't until the 50th anniversary of the Korean War - when McEachin was in Washington, D.C., speaking at a ceremony honoring all Korean War vets - that he thought again about the kid and that night.

``I fell deathly ill and was taken to the hospital,'' he said. ``They found a piece of shrapnel still in my stomach had moved and was pressing up against a nerve.''

McEachin told the doctors to do what they had to do to patch him up temporarily because he had 40,000 people waiting for him to narrate a slide presentation on the Korean War titled ``Hills of Valor.''

It was on his trips around the country delivering speeches on behalf of Korean War vets, and later sitting with other veterans in the corridors at the Sepulveda VA, that McEachin knew what he had to do next.

``As a Purple Heart veteran, I understood what they were going through, and I was struck by their courage and dedication. When I returned home, I began writing and recording a tribute to all veterans.''

It's a CD called ``Voices - a Tribute to the American Veteran.''

McEachin's never thought of himself as anything but an average Joe just doing the job his country needed him to do more than 50 years ago in Korea.

He never even knew until a few weeks ago that he was awarded the Silver Star, one of the highest honors given a combat soldier.

``James had seen a flier at the VA our office put out on the Veterans History Project, which is trying to chronicle the combat stories of all our veterans,'' said Donna Jimenez, district office manager for U.S. Rep. David Dreier.

It was while telling his story that McEachin couldn't fill in one of the blanks in his service career - the medals he had been awarded for fighting in Korea. He knew he had been awarded the Purple Heart, but that was it.

Next week, in a ceremony in Dreier's Glendora district, the congressman will present McEachin with all the medals he earned, including the Silver Star.

``This means more to me than any Emmy or Oscar ever would,'' he said.

Dennis McCarthy, [phone]

dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com

--For more information on ``Voices - a Tribute to the American Veteran,'' see www.jamesmceachin.com.

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Photo:

Actor, author and Korean War veteran James McEachin pays tribute to veterans with his CD called ``Voices - a Tribute to the American Veteran.''

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer