The Controversy of Kiddy Car Airlift

After the end of the Korean War in 1953, the orphanage established on Cheju-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 Cheju-do. The drama of making the airlift happen was due to Chaplain Blaisdell 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 Seoul.

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.

Chaplain Blaisdell pictured with Ms. Whang and former orphans.

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.

Prior Posting: Operation Kiddy Car Airlift 

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