Heroes of the Korean War: Chaplain Russell Blaisdell

Being a War Hero

War heroes are typically thought of as the guys that kept cool under fire and fought heroically against the enemy. Other war heroes were leaders that were able to inspire their soldiers to victory against overwhelming odds. Then yet you have other heroes that through cunning, detailed planning, and motivation were able to turn a defeat into a victory. A war hero that is less heard about are servicemembers who became heroes simply being a humanitarian. Being a humanitarian may not at first glance seem to be the proper criteria for someone to be called a war hero, but I think by the end of this narrative everyone will agree that Chaplain Russell L. Blaisdell is without a doubt a Hero of the Korean War.

Background

After the allies successful landing at Incheon and the recapture of Seoul in September 1950, thousands of Korean children in Seoul had been left parentless and homeless due to the North Korean capture of the city that led to many parents either dying in the fighting or being executed by the North Korean occupiers. These orphans lived in the rubble of the many destroyed buildings in the Korean capitol and subsisted on what little food they could beg from people passing by and particularly American soldiers.

These orphans wore rages, were filthy, and disease ridden which over time would only get worse as they lived in the rubble of Seoul with the rats that had become fat and happy from nibbling on all the dead bodies lying on Seoul’s destroyed streets. As American servicemen patrolled the streets of Seoul the bodies of dead orphans could increasingly be seen on the side of the roads as they died from cold, hunger, and disease. With the heart of winter approaching those that weren’t yet dead would soon be if help wasn’t provided for them soon.

When American forces re-established air operations at the Yeoido Island airfield near downtown Seoul, the airmen stationed with the 5^th US Air Force began to take in some of the cuter looking orphans onto the base to serve as unit mascots. Most of these orphans were aged around 4-7 years and received clean clothes and medical care on the base. Soon approximately 100 orphans were living on the Air Force base and proved too be many for the base to properly care for. A donation drive was held in order to raise money to create a new orphanage in Seoul to house the children in. $1,600 was raised and a prior orphanage was renovated in Seoul in order to move the children into. This orphanage could only house the 100 children and far more money and resources were needed in order to find homes for the approximately 6,000 more orphaned children roaming the streets of Seoul. Obviously much more needed to be done.

The Air Force chaplains spearheaded an effort to work with the American Red Cross, the Korean Red Cross, YMCA, Catholic Missions, Protestant Missions, and what was remaining of the local Seoul government to establish a large facility to house orphans. Seoul Mayor Lee Kyu-bong provided the Air Force with a large school to house, clean, and care for orphans in. The idea was that this would be a temporary location to process and care for the orphans as orphanages around Seoul were repaired and staffed to eventually move them to, to be housed permanently.

Chaplains from the 5^th Air Force drove through the streets of Seoul daily picking up orphans to bring back to what became known as The Seoul Orphan Center. The center could process 50 orphans a day which meant it was going to take many weeks to process all the orphans remaining in Seoul’s streets. It was literally a race against the clock to find and process all the orphans before winter hit the country. One of the chaplains out there working hard to locate the orphans was Chaplain and Lieutenant Colonel Russell Blaisdell.

New arrivals at the 5th Air Force’s Seoul processing center for orphans, before evacuation to Jeju Island on Dec. 20, 1950. With them are Chaplain Col. Wallace Wolverton, left, and Chaplain Lt. Col. Russell Blaisdell. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Force)

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/operation-kiddy-car-keeping-a-korean-war-hero-s-memory-alive-1.476030
Source – Stars and Stripes

The Surprise Chinese Offensive

As Thanksgiving of 1950 approached it appeared the war was wrapping up with the United Nations forces quickly moving in and occupying most of North Korea. However, a new menace was lurking in the surrounding hillsides waiting to attack. The Chinese had secretly moved hundreds of thousands of soldiers into the North Korean hillsides in preparation for a surprise attack against the allied forces. The Chinese military launched a massive offensive on Thanksgiving and caught the allied forces totally by surprise. Casualties were heavy as US forces retreated south down the peninsula from the Chinese invaders.The Chinese forces were barreling down on Seoul and the city was on the verge of being captured by the enemy.

Yeouido Airfield

At this time the Seoul Orphanage Center and the Yeouido Airfield had approximately over a thousand orphans housed between the two locations. Something had to be done to get the orphans out of Seoul in order to save them from being caught up in yet another battle to retake Seoul. Chaplain Russell Blaisdell would be the man that would figure out how to get the orphans out of the city. Blaisdell was able to get a small number of orphans out on what little space was remaining on convoys leaving the city and heading south. To get the rest of the orphans evacuated from the city Blaisdell made arrangements with Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess who was an Air Force advisor training the new Korean Air Force, to house the children at a US Air Force airfield on the Korean Island of Jeju-do island.

The first plan was to ship the children by sea to Jeju-do on a Korean boat leaving the port at Incheon to transport cement to Jeju Island. Once the children reached Jeju-do LTC Hess would pick them up and take them to the airfield to be housed. On December 15, 1950, Chaplain Blaisdell led a convoy of trucks carrying 950 orphans and 110 Korean staff members to care for the orphans, to Incheon. Chaplain Blaisdell and the children waited for four days in a small school building for the boat to arrive which for various reasons did not arrive. Blaisdell and his chaplain’s assistant who was also his driver, Staff Sergeant Merle Y. Strang with the assistance of the Korean helpers tried their best to care for the children during this time, but eight of the most sick orphans died anyway during this timeframe waiting for the boat.

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Russell Blaisdell, left, and Staff Sgt. Merle “Mike” Strang in an undated photo. (U.S. Air Force)

On December 19, 1950 the boat finally arrived and after loading up its cargo the Colonel in charge of the port told Blaisdell that the children could not load up on the boat because there was not enough room for them. Apparently cement was more important then saving the lives of these children. With the Chinese military bearing down on Seoul, Chaplain Blaisdell knew he had to do something and quick to get the children evacuated before the Chinese arrived.

Chaos at the Port

Blaisdell drove back to Yeoido Airport to see if he could get help to get the children evacuated. Chaplain Blaisdell was hoping to get in contact with any general that could order the colonel back in Incheon to allow the children to board the boat. The generals had already left and the person Blaisdell ended up talking to was Colonel T.C. Rogers who was the Chief of Operations for the 5^th Air Force. Blaisdell explained the situation to Colonel Rogers who immediately devised an alternate plan to transport the children to Jeju-do. Colonel Rogers coordinated for sixteen C-54 transport planes to fly the children the next morning to Jeju-do from the Gimpo Airfield; all Chaplain Blaisdell had to do now was get the children from Incheon to the airfield.

It was 5PM by the time the coordination with Colonel Rogers was completed so Blaisdell had to hurry back to Incheon and try to coordinate for some trucks. That night back at the port in Incheon, Blaisdell was able to reserve trucks from the port logistics command to transport the children the next morning. 24 trucks were to arrive at 05:30 to pick up the children and take them to the Gimpo Airfield to board their scheduled planes by 08:00. However, as usual the logistics personnel at the port let down the chaplain. At 05:30 no trucks appeared. By 0700 still no trucks had arrived and Chaplain Blaisdell became extremely worried that the kids would miss their flight.

Blaisdell noticed trucks dropping off ammo to be loaded on a boat at the port. Blaisdell walked up to each truck that finished unloading and ordered the driver to take his truck to the school where the orphans were housed to begin loading the children. If the driver protested the order he showed them his Lieutenant Colonel rank and repeated that it was an order. The drivers complied, but this ended up causing an uproar at the port as trucks began disappearing to the school. Another Lieutenant Colonel came out to confront Blaisdell about taking his trucks, but once the chaplain explained the situation then this Lieutenant Colonel became eager to help him. With the assistance from this Lieutenant Colonel, the chaplain was able to get the trucks he needed. However, the time was now 08:30 and not one truck had been loaded yet. Chaplain Blainsdell couldn’t help, but wonder if the transport planes would wait for him and the kids?

Operation Kiddy Car Airlift

Chaplain Blainsdell was able to get the trucks loaded and quickly as possible and over a thousand orphans and Korean civilian carers were finally on there way to the Gimpo Airfield in Seoul to fly to Jeju Island; the only question that remained was whether the transport planes had waited for them considering how late they were to arrive? If the planes had not waited for the orphans what would the Chaplain do with the Chinese army now on the outskirts of Seoul? Would he steal these trucks to move the orphans further south and leave the soldiers back at the port with no transportation to escape the Chinese hordes themselves? These were all options that Chaplain Blaisdell prayed he didn’t have to deal with.

As the trucks entered the gates into the Gimpo Airfield the chaplain’s prayers were answered as all sixteen C-54 transport planes had waited for the kids to arrive. Colonel Cecil Childre, the Commander of Combat Cargo in Korea had stayed with the planes and ensured that they did not leave. The children, carers, and supplies were all quickly loaded into the planes and were off to Jeju-do. Chaplain Blaisdell had many worries about what to do once they got to Cheju-do because everything on the Jeju-do end of what had become known as Operation Kiddy Car Airlift had been left to Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess.

Air Force Lt. Cols. Richard Blaisdell and Dean Hess with Korean children evacuated during Operation Kiddy Car in in December 1950 in an undated photo. (U.S. Air Force)

When the planes landed on Jeju Island Chaplain Blaisdell was surprised to see the entourage that awaited them at the airfield. Major General Howard Turner, the Chief of Air Force operations in Korea, led a group of people that included the governor of Jeju and other dignitaries to welcome the children. LTC Hess had transportation for the children at the airfield as well as procuring a school to house the children in. Things were going much better on zjeju Island then what the chaplain experienced back at the port at Incheon, until he arrived at the school where the children would be staying.

The Jeju Agricultural School for Boys was adequate enough to house all the children in, but the biggest problem with the place was that it had no running water. The nearest water source was 3.5 miles away in Jeju City. Also much supplies had to bought to cloth the children, buy blankets, heat the building, and most importantly feed the over one thousand mouths staying at the school. To make matters worse was that the care givers that came with Chaplain Blaisdell were extremely inexperienced at running an orphanage. Help would soon arrive though.

Seoul Mayor Lee Kyu-bong visited the orphanage and took note of the problems getting the orphanage established. He contacted a former orphanage director in Seoul he was friends with Ms. Whang On-soon, to come to Jeju and manage the orphanage. She had operated an orphanage in Seoul for 11 years and had just recently returned from England where she had studied child welfare. She agreed to become director of the orphanage and ended up being the perfect person for the job.

With Ms. Whang managing the orphanage, increased funding, and an overwhelming American public response from the U.S. media to send clothing and blankets to the children on Jeju-do; the orphanage was slowly but surely beginning to get the resources to properly care for the children. Blaisdell left Jeju not to long after the successful Operation Kiddy Car Airlift, but would go one to revisit the orphanage four months later and was amazed by the progress of the orphanage. 

Ms. Wang had completely fixed the building, had nurses providing care for the children, the orphans all had proper clothes, and had even restarted their schooling. Chaplain Blainsdell counted 872 orphans during his visit which was nearly a hundred fewer then the 965 he left the mainland with. This was because some of the orphans had been reclaimed by their parents who had lost their children during the course of the war and heard about the airlift. They subsequently contacted the government to see if their children were part of the airlift. Chaplain Blaisdell was deeply impressed and has always only taken credit for getting the kids to Jeju and gives all credit for the success of the orphanage to Ms. Wang.

THUNDERBIRD GIFT-Lt. Gen. Claude B. Ferenbaugh, deputy Eighth Army commander, presents a check for $595 to Mrs. On Soon Whang, director of the Orphans’ Home of Korea, Jeju Island.  Brig. Gen. Dwight E. Beach, Eighth Army (Fwd.) chief of staff, watches the presentation.  The check is the semi-annual interest on a $41,000 trust fund set up for the perpetual support of the orphanage.  (USA Photo)

Operation Gift Lift

Chaplain Russell Blaisdell would make one make a final trip to the orphanage on Christmas Eve 1952. He flew in fittingly on a C-54 piloted by one of the key officers who made Operation Kiddy Car Airlift a success Colonel Cecil H. Childre. The Japanese Air Defense Force had donated a number of toys and $1,600 in cash to the growing orphanage which at this point was home to approximately 1600 children.

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH AIR FORCE, KOREA-A small Korean  war orphan gets help from Lt. Col. Dean Hess of Marietta, Ohio, as he climbs down from a plane after being presented with a package full of toys from the United States.  A plane load of toys, food and clothing was recently flown to the more than 800 war orphans housed on the island of Cheju-Do, 75 miles off Korea’s south coast.  The orphanage formerly sponsored by the Fifth Air Force is now under control of the Republic of Korea Air Force, but bundles from well wishers in the United States continue to pour in for the orphans. Col. Hess, senior USAF advisor with the ROK Air Force, and Capt. George N. Metcalf of Sweeton, Illinois (in plane) assisted in the bundle delivery to the war tots.

Chaplain Blaisdell was even further amazed by how much the orphanage continued to improve:

For those who witnessed the orphans’ plight during the exodus from Seoul, the change they noted during the recent visit to the Home was astonishing. More amazing still were the diverse talents the now healthy youngsters demonstrated.

In the group led on a tour of the premises by Mrs. Whang were Col. Childre; Chaplain Blaisdell; Miss Harris; Chaplain (1st Lt.) Howard Singer, deputy air chaplain for JADF; M/Sgt. Grady Hawkins, NCOIC of the 1st Comm. Sq. and S/Sgt. Elmer W. Wheeler, motor sergeant for a motor vehicle sq., both of Nagoya.

IN ONE ROOM, TO the music of an organ, a group of tots did several Korean dance routines. Then five year old Sung Soon stepped forward and in a clear, sweet voice sang Silent Night in English.

Mrs. Whang led her guests to another room. Here in a large circle, several other orphans were knitting socks and sweaters. None of them was over nine, yet their workmanship was flawless.

IN STILL ANOTHER room some 21 youngsters, heavily blanketed, were abed with colds.

This was the improvised hospital the Home maintains for the orphans whose illnesses are not serious. Adjoining it is a well stocked dispensary in which a nurse and a pharmacist are always present.

A 21 piece band, comprised solely of orphans, entertained the visitors for over half an hour with march and concert music. The program was heightened by four small drum majorettes who paraded smartly about the room, swinging, tossing and catching their batons in unison with the celerity of veteran drum majors.

IN ANOTHER WING of the building other orphans were painting Christmas cards which they themselves had designed, while still others were fashioning envelopes. Learning of the Orphans’ Home in Hong Kong, the Rev. V.J.R. Mills, general secretary for the Christmas Children’s Fund of Richmond, Va., visited the Home in April, 1951. He went away favorably impressed.

Before long the Home was receiving $400 monthly from the benevolent organization. The Reverend revisited the Home last September. Before leaving he promised Mrs. Whang that the Home’s allotment would be increased in January.

The day ended with a smart drill exercise by the Home’s Boy Scout troop. Afterward, Col. Childre, accompanied by Chaplain Blaisdell and Mrs. Whang, inspected the rigid troopers.

In two years these orphans went from losing their parents, being desolate, and near death to becoming Boy Scouts. Ms. Wang had obviously done an incredible job and Chaplain Blaisdell would return to the United States knowing that the orphanage was in capable hands and that his mission was complete. However, this wouldn’t be the end of the story.

Jeju-do orphanage’s Scout troop parades for guests. More pictures from the orphanage can be viewed here.

The Controversy of Kiddy Car Airlift

After the end of the Korean War in 1953, the orphanage established on Jeju-do after the successful completion of Kiddy Car Airlift was moved back to Seoul to a permanent facility that would remain under the management of Ms. Wang On-soon. The orphanage remained a top notch facility caring for the orphaned children. However, the orphanage would come under controversy with the publication of a book by Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess titled Battle Hymn in 1956 in which he took credit for the evacuation of the children from Seoul and everything Blaisdell did was marginalized.

The book Battle Hymn.

The distortion of what happened with Operation Kiddy Car Airlift only got worse when a movie based on the book was released the following year and starred Rock Hudson playing LTC Hess where everything that Chaplain Blaisdell did to save the orphans was portrayed as LTC Hess doing it. Amazingly Blaisdell is not even mentioned in the movie. To this day because of the book and the movie many people still think LTC Hess was the one responsible for Operation Kiddy Car Airlift when Hess only played the role of providing a place for the orphans to stay on Jeju-do. 

The drama of making the airlift happen was due to Chaplain Blaisdell, Staff Sergeant Strang as well as Colonel T.C Rogers and Colonel Cecil Childre; LTC Hess had nothing to do with the actual airlift credited to him in his book and movie. This didn’t stop LTC Hess from accepting credit for the children’s rescue and he would even go on to accept the highest Korean award, The Order of Cultural Merit, from the Korean President Posun Yun after the release of the movie. He was the first American servicemember to ever receive this award despite the fact he didn’t even do what the award was given to him for.

Battle Hymn the movie was released in 1956.

After the release of the book and movie Staff Sergeant Strang contacted Chaplain Blaisdell to blow the whistle on LTC Hess, but the chaplain recommended that they both keep quiet about the issue because Hess had agreed to send all proceeds from the book and movie to the orphanage. Here is an excerpt of what Blaisdell wrote to Strang:

“The goal of our efforts, in regard to the orphans … was the saving of lives, which would otherwise have been lost. That was accomplished. In a sense, Mike, well-doing has its own reward, which is not measured in dollars, prestige, or good will, provided the avowed principle is fulfilled in the publication of the book and the preparation of the movie, which is to turn all proceeds over to the orphans. I rest content and would not becloud the issue at this time with an attempt to criticize or correct the portions which we know to be false. In the event that the proceeds did not go to the orphans in Korea I may be inclined to change my attitude.”

LTC Hess did send all the money he earned to the orphanage which he should be credited for doing, but it does not change the fact that he continued to take credit for something that he did not do and denied proper recognition to the people who were responsible for making Operation Kiddy Car Airlift a success.

The Schindler of Korea Returns

Chaplain Blaisdell would not receive his due recognition for his contribution to Operation Kiddy Car Airlift until 50 years after the successful completion of the operation. His grandson was working for the company Bechtel which had him working on a joint project with Hyundai. Chaplain Blaisdell’s grandson mentioned his grandfather’s story to a Korean translator he was working with who in turn decided to go look for Ms. Whang On-soon. Amazingly he discovered that Ms. Wang was still alive and was now 102 years old.

Once this was discovered plans were put into place to have the two meet in Korea and revisit the orphanage Blaisdell helped to start that was still operating in Seoul. The Korean media became notified of the impending visit and the itinerary for Chaplain Blaisdell continued to expand. When Chaplain Blaisdell returned to Korea on January 26, 2001 at the age of 90 an entourage of media and Korean officials were on hand to meet him at the airport. During his visit he would meet with Korean President Kim Dae-jung’s wife Lee He-ho, he also met the Korean Prime Minister Lee Han-dong, as well as receiving a number of awards from Korean veterans associations, religious groups, and community organizations.

The most important thing on his itinerary was obviously meeting up with Ms. Whang after so many years. The two met at the orphanage he helped to establish that is still to this day owned by Ms. Whang’s family. The reunion was obviously quite an emotional one. In addition to meeting Ms. Whang, Chaplain Blaisdell also had the opportunity to meet with many of the orphans he helped rescue from Seoul during the war. Chaplain Blaisdell spoke with them and showed them his photo album where the orphans tried to pick out their faces from the many photos of the children Blaisdell took.

Chaplain Blaisdell meets with Ms. Whang in Uijeongbu. 

Finally during his visit to Korea, Chaplain Blaisdell accepted an honorary Doctorate Degree from Kyung Hee University. During the ceremony where he was awarded his doctorate, this is the speech Chaplain Blaisdell gave to the audience:

“I come here with a very humble spirit. This was far and beyond anything that my mind had dreamed. The welcome I have received since arriving in Seoul was the greatest of my life. The heartfelt feelings of the orphans and the other citizens of Seoul bring tears to my eyes.

“I have been asked many times since I have arrived, ‘Why did you do it?’ At first the question seemed peculiar. But then I realized you have a different culture; you have a different background.

“I am a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as a Christian I must follow the teachings of Jesus, and He said that those who would follow Him must take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves. His last statement was, ‘As you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me.’ Therefore, it is part of my nature. To see anyone in serious trouble, young or old, and not to do something, to me, is a sin. Therefore, what little I did personally was only a natural reaction to a very, very difficult situation.

“There is, I believe, a great need in the world today for humanitarianism, for people who have to think of the have-nots. We must consider all people our brethren. There are many differences. We still are children of God, and, therefore, they are all our brothers and our sisters and our children. I would hope some day that spirit would gain momentum and give the world a sense of peace, of belonging, a fellowship. Even as two brothers in a family will argue, maybe even fight, they are still brothers. And they must come together some day.

“Now the people of Korea have had far more than your share of extreme difficulty. I am aware somewhat of what your elderly people have gone through. But today you have an opportunity to go unboundedly into a new world. You have now democratized South Korea. You have given the vote to the people. You have a constitution and rule and law that forbid this domination that your ancestors were doomed to accept. Your economic situation has developed miraculously, far more than anyone outside of Korea could have thought possible.

“Now is the time for you to take stock to determine where you are and where you are going as a free people. For as the privileges of democracy descend upon each one, so do the responsibilities. You must join the world of nations as a partner in getting these truths and this freedom to every man and woman in the world. And you can. You can help now.

“I am happy for this occasion. I am happy that people recognize how much an individual can do when the circumstances are such as these were. There will be millions of those situations.

“I had a long talk with a blind man last night, a man of indomitable courage, a man who was in the midst of the first aggression. A bomb blinded him for life. He’s still picking [debris] from his cheeks. His face was smashed. As he attempted to go back home to Seoul he was kicked, stomped upon, berated, harassed, and only a few people helped him. That spirit must go.

“[To have seen] the faces of the orphans who are now useful citizens here was more than ample. May God bless you all in your future endeavors. I have enjoyed my visit. And I have with humility accepted the honorable doctorate.” [Chaplain Russell Blaisdell]

Chaplain Blaisdell’s recognition for his part in Operation Kiddy Car Airlift was long overdue, and the Korean media began to refer to Chaplain Blaisdell as the “Schindler of Korea“. Blaisdell would return to America after his amazing trip back to Korea. Blaisdell unfortunately would never have the opportunity to return again when he passed away in 2007 at the age of 96. The efforts by everyone involved in operation Kiddy Car Airlift was truly incredible. It was truly a miracle that Chaplain Blaisdell had helped to create and that is why he is a Hero of the Korean War.