Journal
Messenger 2-14-52
“Manassas Manor” to many Korean children
is the only home they have ever known. Captain John Consolvo writes
to his wife that the “men were so impressed with the way Manassas
turned out to help that they have named the orphanage, “Manassas Manor.”
The pictures taken by Capt. Consolvo
show how much work the men have done. He writes, “We have moved the
children into their new home and we are getting along quite well.
I had two trucks pick up the children and take them to the hospital
to be examined and X-rayed before we moved them in.
“The first thing we did when we got
them here was to give each child a haircut and a shower. We took
their dirty clothes off and washed them so when they came out of the
shower we had to wrap them in an Army blanket because they don’t have
another change of clothes. We are anxiously awaiting the first shipment
of clothing from Manassas.
“The men and I donated 35 towels, 35
tooth brushes, toothpaste, and bars of soap saved from our rations.
In the Army we have rubber clothes bags, so I had 15 of them split
down the sides so we could put them on the mattresses of the smaller
children. It’s a good thing we have three children of our own because
helping to care for ours has given me quite a few ideas about how
to care for 35 at once.
“I checked the children myself the
other day and found a little girl about nine-years-old with her leg
missing up to the calf. I saw that she had a piece of wood shaped
like a foot and a rubber hose that she had stuffed with paper that
she put her leg into. I watched her limp around after the other kids,
and it really got to me. You can’t see something like this and forget
about it. It is such a pitiful sight.
“You (Mrs. Consolvo) were right when
you said that children suffer the most in a war. I sent the little
girl to the hospital to have measurements made for a new leg and foot.
My mother has written to see if there is anything the people of Norfolk
can do to help out so I have told her about this little girl. Manassas
has done so very much for us by donating all the hundreds of pounds
of clothing that I hesitated to ask you to try to raise the funds
for an artificial leg. Let’s hope that Norfolk will be as generous
as Manassas has been.”
The town of Manassas and the people
who gave clothing should be proud that their contributions have done
so much. It’s something few towns anywhere can boast.
MVA-002
