American students from Humphreys Central and Humphreys West Elementary Schools on U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys teamed up with Korean artist Ik-Joong Kang to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Operation Kiddy Car.
In the spirit of the enduring alliance between South Korea and the United States, hundreds of individually designed 3 X 3 inch pieces of art were contributed to make one exhibit. Students designed their own artistic pieces of canvas to be displayed at the SFC Ray E. Duke Memorial on Camp Humphreys. The display will be up for the next couple of weeks.
According to his online biography, Ik-Joong Kang was raised in Seoul and has lived and worked in New York City since 1984. He is “internationally recognized” for creating major public art works using multiple 3 x 3 inch canvases to spotlight the plight of people and societies around the world.
OPERATION KIDDY CAR
Operation Kiddy Car took place from December 16-20, 1950.
The poverty and hardship of war orphaned many helpless Korean children, and Fifth Air Force Airmen in Seoul decided to unofficially feed and shelter them. Command Chaplain Lt. Col. Russell L. Blaisdell, Lt. Col. Dean Hess and others organized relief for the children. Blaisdell saved many orphans from near certain death by collecting them from the streets with the help of Staff Sgt. Merle "Mike" Strang and Korean social workers. Blaisdell worked to find shelter and medical care for children, while he and Hess arranged invaluable food, money and clothing contributions. When communist forces pushed United Nations troops south and threatened to take Seoul in the winter of 1950, the Korean population -- especially the orphans -- faced a dire crisis. Blaisdell tried several avenues to save nearly 1,000 children by ground and sea convoy, but little help was available.
Blaisdell and Hess devised a plan to transport the children to Cheju-do, an island off the southern coast of Korea, where Hess's men were to be stationed. This plan became known as OPERATION KIDDY CAR. As communist forces approached, Blaisdell's dogged persistence paid off: 5th Air Force Chief of Operations Col. T.C. Rogers found 16 C-54 transports to evacuate the orphans. Commandeering several trucks at the port of Inchon, Blaisdell orchestrated orphans' and rescue workers' movement to nearby Kimpo airfield and the waiting aircraft.
The transports flew the children to Cheju-do, where Hess made arrangements to receive them. With contributions from U.S. troops and many others, an orphanage established there by Hess was able to accept even more children.
In 1957 Hess published the Kiddy Car story in his book “Battle Hymn,” later made into a motion picture. Royalties from the book and movie went to build a new orphanage near Seoul. In 2001 Blaisdell returned to Korea to visit those he helped to save and has been honored along with Hess as a great friend of the South Korean people.
Blaisdell, Strang, Hess and many other Airmen who selflessly aided helpless orphans amid the terrible destruction of the Korean War exemplified the continuing humanitarian spirit of the U.S. military.
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