Jan. 23, 1951
ON WESTERN FRONT (ap)-Two veteran frontline infantrymen
were "mothers" Monday. They said they really appreciate the problems
of parenthood. The two foot soldiers, both bachelors, were stringing
communications from a frontline outpost to a command post to the rear
when they decided their jeep needed water. They entered an apparently
deserted village to hunt for a bucket and found one inhabitant left
in the ramshackle collection of mud huts-a tiny baby.
"THE BABY LOOKED like it was almost dead from hunger
and cold," said Corporal Melvin. Corp. Paul Morrison of Princeton,
Indiana, said "we hunted through the house until we found some blankets
and wrapped up the baby and took him with us." The two men finished
their job and then began to search for someone who could care for the
baby. "We were getting kinda desperate," said Moore "because the baby
was getting a little livelier and neither of us could change a diaper."
THE SOLDIERS FOUND a Korean woman with four babies
of her own who offered to nurse their charge but didn't want to increase
her brood to five. They kept on looking. Finally they found four Korean
women who "all tried to feed the baby at once," said Morrison. The
women told Moore and Morrison through an interpreter "American soldiers
are thoughtful and kind to children. Even a hardboiled soldier has
time to stop during the fighting and care for a small helpless baby."
THE TWO FI "mothers" turned the youngster over to
the four Korean women who took care of the diaper department and took
the baby with them. Mothers Moore and Morrison returned to their infantry
outfit.
