April 1, 19(?)
SEOUL, April 1 (INS)-"Sergeant" Eddie Johnnie may
be only forty inches tall, but these are sufficient inches to hold
a man's spirit. Twelve-year-old "Sergeant" Eddie of the 216th
QM Laundry, United States Army Forces in Korea, is only one of the
many Korean orphans adopted by GI's stationed in Korea. Little Koreans
with southern drawls or Midwestern twangs are not uncommon around
Seoul's army posts.
Eddie isn't leading a child's life by any means.
It took him three years to get his "stripes," according to the Laundry
officer. He commented, "Eddie lives the life of soldier and accepts
it as perfectly natural. He's absorbed the meanings of discipline
and order, and like any soldier, he gripes but complies."
Eddie first "enlisted" in the American Army in
1946 through a company mess sergeant stationed near the 38th
parallel. After the company was transferred to Seoul he gradually
drifted into the QM Laundry Service, and has been there ever since.
This may at times cause great pangs of regret among members of that
particular group, for Eddie is reported to be a gambler with a lucky
streak.
"He hauls into my office quite regularly with his
winnings," the laundry officer said. All of his money is being put
away for the day when he returns to Kwangju.
