THROAT CHECK - Dr. C. W. King, Marine Children's
clinic pediatrician, checks the throat of one of his tiny patients
while his Korean nurse and Chaplain Rex Smith of MAG 33 look on
(U.S.Marine Corps Photo)
Pacific Stars and Stripes, July 2, 1953
WITH FIRST MARINE AIR WING, July 1 - A spotless,
up-to-date children's clinic, planned and financed by leathernecks
of Marine Aircraft Group 33 and First Marine Air wing headquarters,
has opened its doors in South Korea. Named the Marine Children's
clinic, it is dedicated primarily to the care of homeless youngsters
living in the Marine Memorial orphanage hear wing headquarters.
Early in 1952, a two-point plan was set up by the leathernecks.
Part one called for establishment of an orphanage, and part two
for a medical clinic. Both would eventually become self-supporting
through the purchase of farmland to assure their operation after
the Marines leave Korea.
The orphanage opened last year.
With the opening of the clinic, the Marines' two-fold plan has become
a reality. The orphanage is already becoming self-supporting through
the ownership of rice and wheat lands purchased by the Marines,
and the clinic's financial needs will be assured in the same manner.
Staffed by a young Korean pediatrician, Dr. C. W. Kim, and a trained
Korean nurse, the clinic will gradually - as funds become available
- expand its activities to include all children in the area. Priority
will always be given to homeless youngsters, and their care will
always be free. Families using the clinic's facilities will pay
what they can afford.
Locate in a sprawling building overlooking
the Sea of Japan, the clinic is equipped with modern medical facilities,
room for several wards, a small, formal Japanese-style garden, and
quarters for the staff. Funds are not yet available for completely
equipped wards - they lack beds, bedding and other furnishings -
but they will be provided in the future.
A graduate of Pyongyang Medical
collect and former Deputy Director of the Pediatric Department of
Taegu's Presbyterian Hospital, Kim will also lecture prospective
mothers on prenatal care, treat them, and show them modern methods
of caring for their babies. This service will also be given free,
except for parents who are able to pay.
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Lyons, Presbyterian
missionaries in South Korea, now on leave of absence in the United
States, will be in charge of future activities of the clinic. Seven
Korean members of the Presbyterian Mission, headed by Dr. L. W.
Wong, acting superintendent of Taegu's Presbyterian Hospital, have
done much to make the Marine Children's clinic possible. The man
responsible for laying the ground work and clearing the way through
red tape and necessary papers is Chaplain Ernest R. Lineberger.
Lineberger, formerly Chaplain for
MAG 33, is now stationed at Key West, Fla. A native of Lumberton,
N.C., Lineberger returned to the United States too soon to see the
clinic open, but his successor, Chaplain J. Rex Smith, has carried
on the work.
Smith is director of the Marine
Memorial orphanage, and will also head the clinic board of directors,
composed of First Marine Aircraft Wing chaplains and American and
Korean members of the Presbyterian Mission board.
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