Help From Home

 

When the American servicemen and women saw the condition of the children that were victimized by the Korean War and sought to address those needs they wrote home calling for help. They asked for clothes, food, toys, medicines and whatever other help they could get, including money. They wrote to parents, relatives, neighbors, home town newspapers, schools they recently graduated from, former employers and whoever else they could think of.

And the American public responded in force. Thousands of tons of aid for the children and their caregivers began arriving in small packages addressed to servicemen in Korea. Help came in boxes, then crates and then by the boatload.

Often this call for aid was in a letter a GI wrote to his mother who, on receipt of the letter, made a crusade of it, organizing neighbors, friends, church groups and, with the help of local newspapers, the entire commuinity. Later, many units organized this call for help by distributing to all members of that unit printed letters that the GIs merely enclosed with letters sent home.

I have read a lot of material on the Korean War and the role of the American Servicemen and women as they related to the war child of Korea but have yet to find any writer pick up on this phenomenon, the massive aid that folks back in the 'states sent to their servicemen and women serving in Korea to aid the children. This support from home reinforced the values being expressed by their sons and daughters who, while in combat or on a war footing, still sought to render aid to the homeless and helpless children. GIs had to be taught to aim a gun at another human being and shoot to kill. They did not have to be taught to pick up a crying child, feed a hungry child, rended aid to an injured or ill child or find shelter for the homeless child. That came with being American. And ma, pa, family, friends, neighbors and the entire community back home supported them in their desire to help the children.

This aid is truly an expression of American values at their finest. The scale of this aid and the scope of it has never before been presented as we present it here. Read these stories and be proud to be an American.

	Help From Home, Photo Page
	Better Than Bullets
	5th AF Funds Aid 800 Korean Charities
	Chapel Collections to Aid Korean Waifs
	Clothing Donated
	Korean Orphans Receive 50 Tons of Gifts
	Story Aids Korean Tots
	Rubber Toys Arrive for Pusan Orphans
	Jersey Chief Sets Clothes for Koreans Month
	Report on "Happy Mountain"
	Buffaloes Start Drive for Waifs
	Headgear Given to Korean Waifs
	Buffaloes' Families Give Koreans Clothes
	Over 4,000,000 Refuges
	$10,000 for Neeedy Korean Children
	US Parcels Make Korean Kids Happy
	Clothes for Korea
	Masons Place Kindness Over Charity
	Little Wanderers Aid Korean Orphans
	Copter Pilots Hustle Help for Orphans
	Girl Scouts, General Aid Refugee Tots in Seoul
	Korean Kids Given Clothes by Sailor
	Story on Korean tot StartsDrive in US
	Korea Clothing Collection Creates Problem
	Stateside Marines Collect Goods for Orphans
	Transport Carries Hope to Orphanage
	US Group Repeats 'Gift Lift' to Korea
	Signalmen's Appeal Raises 1,600 Gifts
	Texans sending clothes, Food to Orphans
	Mrs. Clark Joins In Korean Envoy's Plea
	Marine's Plea For 'Big Bundle' to Aid Orphans
	Clothing From Alabama for Cheju Needy
	Koreans get 300 Tons of Houston CROP Gifts
	Conn. Citizens Ship S.Koreans 10 Tons
	Korea Aid Officials Ask Additional Milk
	Mercy team Maps Aid for Korea Cripples
	Korea Orphans Rec. Milwaukee "Lift" Clothing
	Fund-Raising group Aims at $5 Million
	Yanks in Korea Give 13 Million in Aid
	Ambassador Takes Gifts for Korean Victims
	Marine's Plan Gets Vitamins for Korea
	President specifies "Aid to Korea" Week
	Texas Woman Ships Clothes to Koreans
	100,000 lbs of Clothes for 5th AF "X-mas Call"
	Oklahoma Tots Send $12 to Korean Orphans
	Catholics Donate $35,000 to Orphans
	Needy Receive Army Surplus
	Nebraska Gifts To Give Waifs Late Christmas
	3rd Army in U.S. Helps Korean Kids
	Passaic, N.J., MC Vets Send Gifts to ROK Kids
	28 States Answer Plea Of Marines
	Model Railroad Set Coming For Korea Orphans
	Dallas' Project Clothes Orphans
	Korea Orphans Receive 50 Tons Of Gifts
	$10,000 For Needy Korean Children
	U.S. Parcels Make Korean Kids Happy
	Far East Footnotes
	Clovis Comes Through
	500 Pounds of Cereal Sent for Orphans
	Tiny Togs
	Hot and Wholesome
	Just His Size
	Iowans Clothe Korean Orphans
	FBI Employees Provide Warm Duds for Orphans
	Korean Tots Thank Americans for Gifts
	Copter Pilots Hustle Help for Orphans
	Aid for Orphans
	A Post Office Full of Toys
	Elks Join Korea Units' Orphan Drive
	Church Women Sew Clothes for Orphans
	Brooklynites Donate 1,250 Baby Togs
	Yank's Appeal Brings Parcels To Yule Fund
	Dallas Citizens Send Food to Korean Orphans
	Korea Orphans Receive Milwaukee "Lift" Clothing
	Ex-Orphan Major Aids Korean Youths
	500-Pounds of Cereal Sent for Orphans
	California Women Send Clothing to ROKs
	N.Y. Oldsters Plan Birthday Party for Korea Orphan
	Oklahomans Unite to Send Duds to Needy
	U.S. Government Office Supports Korea Orphans
	Korea Gift Flood Needs Special Ship
	Foster Parents Sought
	Clothing From Alabama Arrives
	Blood Donating Champ Gives Tots Belated Party
	Air Force Officer's Death Spurs Relief Collection
	US Soldiers Give Away Fortunes to Charities
	Supplies for Korean Cripples
	Stateside Checks Up I-Corp Fund
	Letter Home Helps Warm Tots
	Sgt. to Aid Korean Orphans

More material on "Help from Home" can be found in sections of this web site dealing with the Kiddy Car Airlift, Manassas Manor Orphanage and other topics. On occassions "home" in this context referres to US troops and dependents stationed in Japan, Guam or other military bases including military bases in the United States.

It is difficult to estimate the amount of aid sent from the 'States to the GIs in Korea for the children as no accurate records were kept but I am sure the total amounted to many thousands of tons of packages, parcels, crates and even shiploads of donated goods. This is in addition to the shiploads of goods sent by the US organizations such as the Red Cross, CARE, Korea Foundation, etc.