By Well look who is back visiting the peninsula:
Wheelchair-bound Shin Hyung-jin, “Korea’s Steven Hawking,” was reunited Thursday with the American general who saved his life in 2004.
They met in a hotel room in Banpo, southern Seoul. Leon J. LaPorte, former ROK-US Combined Forces Commander, got on his knees to be able to meet the gaze of Shin, 28, who reclines in a wheelchair due to paralysis from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Shin moved his lips to mouth the words, “Thank you.”
LaPorte, 65, who is now retired, nodded.
Shin’s mother, Lee Won-ok, 65, can read her son’s lips. She told LaPorte, “With the money that he has earned, Hyung-jin wants to treat you to the most expensive lunch.”
Without the help from LaPorte in 2004, Shin may not have survived – and gone on to graduate school and a job developing special smartphones for the disabled.
Shin’s story is well known in Korea. At only six months old, he was diagnosed with SMA, and the doctors were not hopeful about his future.
But his mother was determined he could make something of his life. She pushed him around school in a wheelchair and turned the pages of his textbooks at home at night.
Academically, Shin excelled and made it to Yonsei University. Although he is unable to lift a finger, he communicates via a specialized mouse triggered by blinks of the eyes. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but maybe he can treat General LaPorte to lunch over at Phrawgh’s Tavern? ;-)
9:14 am on October 24th, 2011 1
“Korea’s Steven Hawking”? Really? Kind of like finding a kid in Chonan with a learning disability and calling him Korea’s Albert Einstein.
9:39 am on October 24th, 2011 2
You may disregard this story. As we all know, Korean media never reports good things about the USFK. This story must be just fabrication.
9:44 am on October 24th, 2011 3
What makes Steven Hawkins special is his ability to think outside the box. Not meant to be a pun on the fact he is trapped in a disabled body but a metaphor for his ability to understand and explain the universe in ways others haven’t before.
His ability is probably innate and not solely the result of his education but at least his education hasn’t been a detriment to it. When it comes to liberating free thinkers instead of stifling them the Korean education system may have a ways to go.
This young man is probably very intelligent but … it may still be a while before Korea achieves President Lee’s goal of a Nobel Prize.
10:10 am on October 24th, 2011 4
#1, 2, 3
I don’t say this on internet but.. you are all MORONS!
Sorry I had to say that.
IMO the REAL hero of the 3 is the mom…
11:37 am on October 24th, 2011 5
How about telling us how he saved his life?
12:13 pm on October 24th, 2011 6
#5
According to the article, the kid and his mom were in LA visiting his grandmother and became critically ill and needed to be seen by his specialists in Korea. LaPorte “immediately ordered a KC-10 Extender to fly Shin home”, as if any general has that authority. But “LaPorte told his boss in Washington, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, that if there were any problems with approval to use the aircraft, ‘I will cover the transport costs.’”
Hmmm … Considering the cost of fuel for that size aircraft on a cross Pacific flight and the crew time and medical staff required to be on board, I’m guessing that would be in the high 10s of thousands of dollars, if not more. He must have
stashedearned a pretty sizable amount of disposable income as general.12:16 pm on October 24th, 2011 7
#5
I tried to post an answer to your question but it looks like the spam filter ate it.
1:21 pm on October 24th, 2011 8
Leon LaPorte is suuuuch a poser-biitch.
He was the worst general USFK ever had.
Like Obama, he is diligent at managing situations and scripting appearances…
…but he oversaw the peak of USFK corruption… vindictively damaged careers for no reasonable cause or gain… showed little concern for his troops… oversaw a fake crackdown on prostitution that encouraged further human trafficking… disregard fundamental American values… carelessly broke American laws… showed his lack of concern for American citizens… shyt on the Constitution… allowed complacency and inaction against Russian spying… and tolerated and perpetuated excessive fraud, waste, and abuse at every level…
… some of which he was involved in… such as taxpayer-funded shopping trips for his wife to Japan on Osan-based military aircraft.
Now back to the poser-biitch part.
Zoom in and look carefully at his left upper lip.
Notice the poor blending and the unnatural skint-tone and line of the fake smile. Look at the strange-looking teeth.
Leon LaPorte’s left upper lip has been photoshopped to remove a weird, goof-ball, almost-sneering expression… that doesn’t match the contrived image he is trying to represent in this manufactured and very insincere narrative.
Now you can argue with me on this…
…but you won’t get far.
Leon LaPorte is good at appearance… but he is poor at reality.
And just like he couldn’t manage the security of USFK against a bunch of Russian bar girls and couldn’t keep the tunnel from being dug under Yongsan by amateur beer thieves, he can’t manage his own security now against someone even casually motivated to keep an eye on him…
…which is why I got a copy of the original picture about 3 days ago and a copy of the modified one a day later.
Someday, I’ll get a picture of him dressed in women’s panties.
12:48 am on October 25th, 2011 9
Chickenhead summarized my thoughts on the subject at hand eloquently. It’s like he’s reading my mind…
Get out of my brain Chickenhead!
1:17 am on October 25th, 2011 10
Ummm…
Plump teenage boys dressed in sailor hats and glossy pink leather bondage chaps… with warm Crisco dripping from their butts.
O.K., O.K… I will get out now.
1:21 am on October 25th, 2011 11
So close yet so far…
1:36 am on October 25th, 2011 12
Baby blue chaps?
1:37 am on October 25th, 2011 13
colder…
2:39 am on October 25th, 2011 14
So the azzless chaps are a warm color?
Or was I wrong about the hats?
Beanies with propellers?
2:47 am on October 25th, 2011 15
The door, ChickenHead, the door!
3:53 am on October 25th, 2011 16
I agree with the colorful description of LL 100%. Nobody in my lifetime has every stepped on constitutional rights more than that phony bastard. I would love to meet this schmuck face to face alone. I could repay him for some of the crap he put me (and others) through during his last year on the ROK. I had stored that chapter of my life and thought I would never have to here about him again…now I read this. It just brings up all the rage I felt back then. You F#$ck*R Leon!
4:02 am on October 25th, 2011 17
Here’s a story about the REAL hero.
Wheelchair-bound young researcher’s passionate life
2011-08-26 20:17
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110826000522
Shin battles muscular atrophy to study computer science
In cyberspace, young researcher Shin Hyung-jin feels as though he is Detective Conan, the Japanese manga character who solves criminal cases with brilliant ideas.
Though the wheelchair-bound 28-year-old is too disabled to move a finger and is small for his age at 160 cm tall and weighing 45 kg, he says he is as free and active as the boy-detective Conan while online. He keeps a blog and interacts with people on social networking sites.
Shin Hyung-jin, a researcher at the Research Center for Software Application at Yonsei University, listens to his professor with his colleagues at a seminar. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
The most basic of tasks such as breathing and turning a book’s pages are a constant struggle.
Shin is unable to walk or write because his muscles have been weakened by the spinal muscular atrophy he has suffered since he was one. His muscles have degenerated to the point that he is completely immobile because of the rare disease. The last time he wrote a letter by himself was the third grade in elementary school.
For Shin, the world seems like one uphill struggle after another as his muscles weaken as time passes. Still, he bravely confronts the world to seek his own happiness.
“Many people would ask ‘why don’t you just stay at home and rest?’ or said ‘your health is more important than study.’ But if I just lay on bed at home worrying, could I be happy?” Shin said in an email interview with The Korea Herald.
He graduated from Yonsei University Department of Computer Science early this year. In July, he started to work as a researcher at the university’s Research Center for Software Application.
It took him nine years to receive an undergraduate diploma from the normally four-year university course. However, except for the long time on campus, his was not that different from other students’ college lives. He studied hard to score high credits and land a job after graduation.
If there is anything that sets him apart, it would be that he gained the favor of the engineering department dean thanks to his passion for computer science and mathematics and particularly his steely willpower to study despite severe physical constraints.
Shin took math as a double major. When everyone around him suggested he give up trying to double major in such a difficult subject, he just smiled.
Had it not been for his mother, it would have been impossible for him to complete the college course.
Lee Won-ok, 65, has been her son’s hands and feet over the last 21 years both on and off campus. She carried him to every classroom he attended, turned the pages of the books he read and wrote exam answers for her son.
“Writing answers on the test sheets had not been a big problem before he entered college. But, writing complex answers to math questions was one of the hardest parts,” Lee recalled.
She had to wait outside while her son was in a classroom, because he might need her help urgently anytime. When her legs hurt as she waited standing up for long, she would briefly sit on the narrow windowsill. She moved him to the next class during the10-minute breaks by pushing his wheelchair while toting his bag and her own belongings.
The real hard job for her was not caring for him, though. She was visited countless times by a sense of despair and fear about his future.
On graduation day, Yonsei conferred on her an honorary diploma in recognition of her great motherhood and devotion to her disabled son.
“She has been with me 24/7 ― taking me to schools for 21 years whether it’s raining or snowing and taking care of me when I’m sick. If it were not for my mother’s love, I would not be able to graduate,” said Shin.
“Hyung-jin has never complained that studying is hard. He’s a bright, positive child,” Lee said.
Though he missed half the classes in elementary school due to health problems, he excelled in the last exam for sixth graders. When everyone told him he did not have to take a placement test in the middle school, he chose to take it anyway.
“He chalked up pretty good scores whenever he took exams. It has given me courage. It seemed like his excellent academic performance has repaid my sweat and tears.”
“He has been always good at math, doing most arithmetic in his head as he can’t write on paper.”
Technology has changed his life ― and his mother’s life as well. He uses an eye-controlled mouse and screen keyboard. With eye blinks, he can read and type.
His mother does not turn book pages for him any longer as a Yonsei University support center for students with disability scans books and sends them to him.
With the help of technology, he can do more things all alone, including programming for projects, research and communication.
And technology has given him some privacy from his caregivers, too.
“Without this kind of technology, imagine how embarrassing it would be if I want to tell my girlfriend ‘I love you.’” Shin said in a recent lecture to Microsoft Korea employees.
He plans to enter the graduate school at Yonsei next year to study computer science in depth.
“I want to develop a technology that will change the lives of people with disabilities,” said Shin. “My goal is to narrow the information gap between the able bodied and the disabled through technology and help disabled people connect to the world.”
Shin stressed that people with disabilities have the right to pursue their dreams and that they should do so. He believes that by contributing to society, he can return the love he has received from his mother.
“No matter what kind of hardship lies ahead, I hope they find what they want and what they should do. Dreams come true for those who seek them,” Shin said.
7:32 am on October 25th, 2011 18
Billy G,
Why don’t you go repay him yourself?
He has a nice house valued at $691,520 on 91,913 square feet of land located at (DELETED BY ADMIN), San Antonio, TX 78245-3618.
I would never suggest any illegal or violent actions…
…but, perhaps, it would give some satisfaction to show up on his doorstep to discuss some of his past immoral and illegal acts…
…and it might bring some irritating attention to legally picket on the public street in front of his house.
It might be nice to spread this word as well… being that he needlessly hurt a lot of people and it seems fair they should now be able to discuss this with him in a civilian setting.
If you would like to look into some of the shady things he is currently up to, or you wish to start a campaign to inform his equally-shady associates of his dislike for America and its freedoms, start here… as these are his current entanglements…
McLane Advanced Technologies
Lee International Law Group
Doran Capital Partners
Poongsan Industries
Agility Logistics
and, of course, LaPorte & Associates
Happy hunting!
1:35 pm on October 25th, 2011 19
So that’s Leon Laporte’s hero?
4:56 pm on October 25th, 2011 20
19. I’m so misunderstood.
By using him as my namesake, I intended to flood the interwebtubes, basically making his name worthless and causing confusion while spreading hate and discontent. Sullying his name, so to speak. Weakening his brand, if you must.
7:31 pm on October 25th, 2011 21
I heard of commenter Leon La Porte long before I heard of General Leon Laporte. To me, believing everything I read here, the General sullies the name and weakens the brand of the commenter.
But my faith in the door remains unshaken. No, not some specific door, the idea of the door. The way to enter or leave: I’d feel trapped without it.
9:09 pm on October 25th, 2011 22
21.
9:42 pm on October 25th, 2011 23
Now there’s real Gen. LaPorte… a good man… hooah.. also, Koreans seem to have really liked that man…both the warrior and the man…
10:19 pm on October 25th, 2011 24
After considering what I wrote @6, I decided to see what the numbers showed. Looking at just the fuel costs, there are several inexact factors but the biggest variable was the price of jet fuel in 2004. It varied from $0.95 to $1.52 per gallon. Using a fuel load of 245,000 lbs or 36,000 gallons, that gave me estimates on the fuel cost at between $35,000 and $55,000.
So after pinning generosity and heroics medals on the general, maybe the American tax payer deserves a small shout-out. Particularly after our year long debate on health care and who is authorized and who pays.
Don’t get me wrong. I think flying the kid home was the right thing to do. I just don’t think the good general deserves all the credit.
11:47 pm on October 25th, 2011 25
Joe,
You’re a party pooper…. don’t crash the party will ya?
12:07 am on October 26th, 2011 26
Billy G,
Leon LaPorte’s association with Lee International Law Group is kinda cute…
…being that they are the “premier intellectual property law firm in Korea”…
…and, while Leon LaPorte selectively tried to enforce his contrived “rules” on American citizens, he went out of his way not to enforce American and military law on those under his command when it came to knockoff DVDs, games, sports clothing, counterfeit watches, knockoff bags, etc.
Under Leon’s leadership, buying counterfeit goods right outside the main gates of USFK military installations, and then using the taxpayer-subsidized military mail system to send them back to America for highly-profitable resale, became a large industry.
Leon LaPorte was directly made aware of this with ample documentation and evidence… yet he protected that industry and allowed it to flourish.
And now he gets further rewarded by switching his support to the higher-paying side of the issue.
Sweet, huh?
12:03 am on October 29th, 2011 27
You bunch of phonies.
You whine, whine, whine about irritating little stuff… but when things get serious and actionable, everyone gets quiet.
You should be broadcasting his greed and corruption from the rooftops. You should be screaming of the things he did which hurt America, its military, and its citizens.
You should be including a footnote with every comment you make showing his name and some information or a link to such information… so that any search for Leon LaPorte will return some ugly truth.
It’s not like there are a shortage of stories from those who were around when he was in charge… and it isn’t like there is a shortage of information on his current actions.
Let’s take a look at another company on the list… Leon LaPorte and Poongsan Industries.
Leon LaPorte was commander of USFK from February 2003 to February 2006.
In 2003, Poongsan had $6,236,916 in contacts with the US government.
In 2004, this went to $189,296,266… with $183,926,600 of it not competed.
And who lobbied for these contracts to be given to our Good Neighbors?
And that is why Poongsan is very pleased to continue a relationship with Leon LaPorte in his post-military career.
12:56 am on October 29th, 2011 28
Good grief– with all that business going on, when did he have time to command anything?
1:19 am on October 29th, 2011 29
28. Exactly.
7:10 am on October 29th, 2011 30
Vince,
That speaks for the Professionalism of the US Military Community.
They accomplish the mission DESPITE what their Commander does.
8:02 am on October 29th, 2011 31
Tanker- you got that right. At least I could look at myself in the mirror every day.
11:36 pm on October 29th, 2011 32
LaPorte & Associates, with the “associates” being his wife, made some good money last year.
It is interesting to know that Leon LaPorte is one of around 150 “mentors” hired by the Pentagon.
Mentors are hired as independent contractors… and are not affected by government ethics rules which apply to federal employees or active duty military.
They are free to lobby the same officers they are advising and they are not prohibited from taking commercial advantage of any knowledge or situations in their government work.
As expected, in this “self-policing” group, Leon LaPorte, never inhibited by ethical dilemmas, is one of the few who also openly works for a defense company being a “senior advisor” to McLane Advanced Technologies… along with fellow USFK co-conspirator, General Thomas A. Schwartz.
We will talk more about McLane Advanced Technologies another time.
1:03 am on October 30th, 2011 33
CH, you should be writing for George Clooney but knowing Hollywood, Russell Crowe will play you in the movie version.
6:53 pm on January 25th, 2012 34
Going back to the story… This was not a special trip to bring Shin back to Korea. Gen LaPorte was on an official trip to DC and returning to Korea. The Shin family had political conections and thru those connections SECDEF Rumsfeld approved a diversion of LaPorte’s plane to CA where his plane was reconfigured for a MEDEVAC along with Army medical staff to bring Shin & his family back to Seoul. The was little additional cost to US taxpayers but much good will for the ROK/US Alliance. Say what you will about Leon LaPorte but I knew him as a good man when I worked for him as his photographer.
8:52 pm on January 25th, 2012 35
“Say what you will about Leon LaPorte but I knew him as a good man when I worked for him as his photographer.”
…and Typhoid Mary was a great gal if you knew her personally.
10:16 pm on January 25th, 2012 36
I bet Jimmy Carter and Cindy Sheehan would have loved him. They never met a dictator (or wannabe dictator) they didn’t like.
“He’s quiet, he keeps to himself.” – The neighbors of almost every serial killer…
During their first encounter, Truman found Stalin to be most polite, good
natured, and businesslike.
…and last but not least:
“Er war ein sehr netter Mensch.” – former member of Hitler’s bodyguard.