United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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w 'if' K Orphans Will Keep Warm. Chaplain Lampe distributes clothing to orphans of Eden Orphanage. MAG Eden Orphanage. An interior view. Note the American newspapers used to cover the ceiling. of gifts were presented to the orphanage one of which was a late model station wagon presented by Chap- lain F. Gearan. In 1952 MAG-33 gave enough money to build the first Catholic church in the town, St. Michaels. It was well constructed and met a great need. The first pastor was Father Aloysius Kim Dou-Ho. Later, on 19 September 1952, Gen. Clayton Jerome received a very gracious letter from Father Kim ex- pressing appreciation of clothing distributed by Chap- lain Parker. In it he says that the clothing was dis- tributed to over 300 poorer housesf, They have been deprived of their estate, family, and every- thing comfortable by this war, accordingly they were so starvating, desperate, and degraded that they might be in- clining their mind to communism. But those who have never touched were receiving your gifts, fruit of your love, in tears from deep emotion from no their own neighborhood, but American marine corps who are fighting for us. Seeing these scene, I could find again the Christian love which they had been lost, and through which they can see our Lord in their warm hearts that made their tears shed. Therefore we must notice that your American young men at active services are the combatants who kill the Red by the bullets, in contrast with this, your people in the relief work are the Crusader of love who protect these people from the Communists by the Christian love flinglish translation of the Koreanj. The Wing also wasinstrumenfal in the construction of a Protestant church called the Ochun Protestant Church, at Ochun, Korea. On 29 October 1952 Jung Duck Soo wrote a letter to Chaplain Cleaves thanking him for Urelief goodsi' and signing the letter Clergy- man of the Ochun Churehl' which would indicate that the church was well established by the autumn of that year. Another recipient of aid from the lst MAW was the Agapei Orphanage near Hunghei. The Marines left their name attached to two insti- tutions in Pohang, the U.S. Marine Memorial Chil- dren's Clinic, and the Marine Memorial Orphanage? Chaplain James R. Smith, who served as a director of Cp.p.157. 223 -

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Leathernecks left. The contributions were made by MAG-12 and other interested people. In a recent letter Chaplain O'Malley states that the name of the Catholic Orphanage was Holy Angels. He also states The orphanage building we put up was a two story affair. The marines had donated approximately S1,000g then the Army allowed the orphan youngsters to salvage loose cement from broken bags in boxcars. There were close to 130 orphans at this location. The kids lived in squalid hovels prior to the erection of the building. Clothes wise and for food we relied on help from the States, and also garbage'l from the marine kitchens. Chaplain O,Malley was not earth bound in his re- lief work for he relates that . . . being with an air group I did have access to the use of a helicopter. Maj. John Lavoy did the piloting and we wandered far and wide around the area giving help to refugees. Our method of delivery was simple. Our engine noise flushed refugees out of their caves, then we dropped food and clothing. We also used the helicopter to take serious medical cases back to our base for emergency treat- ment by our doctors. Major Lavoy and his 'copter certainly were angels of mercy to thousands of refugees. Chaplain Paul La Duca also aided the Catholic institution mentioned above which cared for 125 orphans. Chaplain Joseph H. Lampe appears to have spear- headed the creation of the Eden Orphanage at Pyong- teck.11 MAC-12 bought and helped to build the facilities. Here the Marines housed, clothed, and fed 150 orphans with a strong assist from the folks back home. Other clothing was made available and Chaplain Lampe states that it was distributed through the local Presbyterian Church. . . . to some of the more than 50,000 refugees which were in the area, always the pastor made the recipients realize that it was out of the Christian love of the American people which prompted the sending of the clothing, resulting in a new respect for the Christian way of life. Some helicopter pilots came in to get clothing, then go off on a trip, watch- ing for small refugee groups where they could land and dis- tribute the clothing to the very needy. Preaching in Korean churches, sometimes 35 miles or so away from the base, helped us to c'ome.close to the people and let them know we were concerned about them. Chaplains La Duca and Lampe worked hard to meet the needs of the poverty stricken people, faced with another Korean winter. Lampe wrote, The situation here is very critical. Unless we can get much more clothing and provide more food and shelter, thousands of Koreans will die as the treacherous winter takes its toll of the homeless and the hungry. It is hard to de- scribe the suffering of these people. HOn p. 157 Chaplain Weidler is mentioned as being instrumental in establishing a new orphanage at Pyongteck. A playground was constructed by the Marines and through their gifts a 82,000 brick western style dormi- tory was constructed with housing for about 150.12 Pohangdon Chaplain Webb once again entered the launidiry business. This time it was . . . in a small village about 8 miles from K-3 QPohangj. It had been reported that a French bishop lived outside the village, caring for a group of women and orphans. With a guide I found the Most Reverend Germaine Mousset of the Paris Foreign Mission Society and former Ordinary of the Diocese of Taegu in charge of a small number of Korean women who had been on the verge of being instituted as a religious congregation just before the war began and lines of communication had been temporarily severed. Although in the clothing of laywomen they maintained a religious discipline and way of life which was remarkable. And there were, of course, the ever present orphans of war, sickly and hungry. Again a laundry was set up on a fairly large scale, vehicles commandeered for transportation, word-of-mouth publicity effected, and the same successful results achieved. I should like to add here that the Marines of MAG-33 were very generous to this orphanage. Not only did they bring their laundry there Cwhen it could have been brought to other and nearer laundriesl but when I requested dona- tions of money these were given willingly and freely by Ma- rines of all sects, both officers and enlisted men. During a period just less than tive months which I spent at K-3 Bishop Mousset reported that he had received in actual Americaninoney Cchangediinto Korean wonl a sum slightly more than S2,000. This splendid generosity is indicative of American charity for the unfortunate everywhere and is one of my warmest memories of the men of Marine Air Group 33. Chaplain Webb tells of overcoming the language barrier through the use of Latin. But he still felt handicapped for according to him, . . . I told Bishop Mousett that my lack of remembrance of many words severely restricted my sinning for I could only commit those sins for which I knew the words, otherwise in my confessions to him I would be making sacrilegious con- fessions and adding another burden of sin. In the course of the war at Pohangdon the Catholic Orphanage 13 was damaged by Communist artillery. This institution had been directed by Father Des- Landes of Vichy, France, for 31 years. He had also established an old people's home and an institute for the blind and crippled. A number of tiny refugees from Seoul, Chongju and Suwon and from all parts of Korea found their way to this center. The Pohangdon Catholic Orphanage feeds and clothes about 150 chil- dren from 3 months to 17 years of age. A number 12 This evidently has reference to Eden Orphanage men- tioned above. 13 Also called Po Hang Catholic Orphanage and Little Flower Catholic Orphanage. -222-

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both in 1954, states that two Korean doctors and three registered nurses served' the clinic. He also says that there were 112 children and a staff of 11 at the orphanage. Discussions concerning the orphanage began in No- vember l95l under the direction of Chaplain Cleaves of MAG-33. Three thousand five hundred dollars was contributed by the lst MAW for the initial site which was purchased on 28 November 1951 and which consisted of 15 acres of land. W. O. Philip Slocum was one of the leaders in the campaign. The actual construction began in February 1952 under the direction of Chaplain Seymour. The orphanage was completed 1 month later and housed 12 children. This number was increased to 35 by the end of March 1952. By the end of the first year the number was 66 and still later the number was reported as 109. The institution was officially dedicated as the U.S. Marine Memorial Orphanage on 16 March 1952. Less than a year later it had six buildings and rice land valued at more than S38 million won or 36,500 and was incorporated by the Presbyterian ministers of Pohang. Chaplains Parker 15 and Lineberger, through an extensive publicity campaign, continued to collect clothes, raised money to buy land, and constructed three additional buildings. It appears also that a rice mill was purchased. Improvements continued to be made until the orphanage was called the newest and 'S Cp. pp. 180-2. the most modern in Korea. The orphans were taught to farrn the land and harvest the crops, so that when the Marines should leave, the institution would be able to continue its work. Chaplain Gould reported a cam- paign to set up a TB sanitarium at the orphanage to isolate and treat cases of this disease among the chil- dren. A new kitchen was also in the plans. Since 1956, total support of this orphanage has come from funds through World Vision Inc. In June 1953 the second phase of the project was begun with the dedication of the Marine Memorial Childrenis Clinic. It also was a project of the Prot- estant Men of MAG-33 and Headquarters Squad- ron-1. Two large Japanese constructed two story buildings had to be obtained about a quarter of a mile from the Marine Memorial Orphanage. There were two purposes in mind in the establishment of the clinic. One was to give free medical care to all orphans and the secondary one was to offer prenatal care for expectant mothers. The clinic started in a small downstairs room, but with the addition of new floors on the second floor, wards were set up there and plans were underway for 'Sin-patient caref' At the time of its inception the clinic was the only one of its kind in South Korea. Both Catholic and Protestant personnel aided an- other institution in Pohang, the Pohang City Orphan- agefe which was partially supported by the citizens of the town. It was said to care for 130 children. 11 Also known as Po-hang Orphanage and Eden of Angels. Eden is Paradise. The marines of MAG 12 feed and clothe 150 Korean homeless children, but most of them give credit to their families back home for much needed packages of clothing. - 224 Orphanage at Pyongtaek. A group of the orphans is shown with Chaplain Paul LaDuca, Kim Soon Nam, teacher, and Father Lee Su Yung, who combine their efforts to manage the orphanage. The orphanage is aided by MAC 12. 1 a