Photo By Grady Fontana | Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Isabel P. Ralston, a boatswain's mate with Expeditionary...... read more read more
Subscribe
BUSAN, South Korea - In 1954 an unlikely relationship developed between a newly forming orphanage and a group of Sailors in Busan, Republic of Korea. The bond was ignited by a gathering at a Christmas party and 61 years later the relationship still endures.
In the aftermath of the Korean conflict, an average of seven children each day was abandoned in Busan. Hundreds more roamed the streets homeless and hungry, according to the Korean War Children’s Memorial website. In September 1953, Lee-Kyong Sun started an orphanage, which was then called Mi Ae.
While fleeing the communists in 1950, Sun lost two of her children, ages 7 and 9. When she arrived in Busan, she began the Mi Ae orphanage in order to keep better contact with other orphanages, hoping to find her missing children.
In her first wards in 1951, she housed in tents 30 children who she found wandering the streets, according to a U.S. Navy article from 1958.
During trips to obtain scrap material to maintain the orphanage, Sun was befriended by U.S. Army personnel who began to contribute to the orphanage. In June, 1957, Military Sea Transportation Service Office in Busan, now known as Military Sealift Command Office (MSCO) Korea, assumed the main support of the orphanage and since then has considered it “their own.”
Now called the Miewon Orphanage, it still sits in the original site in a bustling, hillside Busan neighborhood. Other than the denser growth of shrubs and trees, the original building still remains the same except for a few renovations.
Today’s MSCO Korea Sailors visit the orphanage at least once a month to help with enhancing the living space, improving the grounds, or playing with the children. They also sponsor an annual summer camp, Christmas holiday party, and fund the orphanage’s heating oil for the year.
This month’s scheduled visit, more than 40 Sailors from MSCO Korea and various reserve units from the U.S. were at the orphanage to assist with the grounds keep, maintenance and installation of shelves in a new dormitory, Aug. 22. Along the way they found time to talk and play with the children who reside at Miewon.
“This is always a great event for my team,” said Navy Cmdr. Eric J. St. Peter, commanding officer (CO), MSCO Korea. “We like to bring the Sailors, friends and family members out to help and it’s a great and rewarding time for all.”
St. Peter is the 50th CO to lead the MSCO Korea organization since the beginning of the sponsorship with Miewon. Like those COs before him, he felt it was important keep their relationship strong.
“This is a very special partnership we have with the Miewon children,” said St. Peter. “For more than 60 years, 50 different commanding officers have carried and passed this torch of goodwill from one CO to the next for the sake of the children of Miewon. It is a longstanding partnership we are very proud of and I can't think of a better venue to show the people of Korea just how much we collectively cherish the development and success of these young people.”
The MSCO Korea Sailors were reinforced with reserve Sailors from various units in the U.S. The reserve Sailors were here to complete their annual drill and participate in Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2015. For some, this trip may be their only time to volunteer at the orphanage.
However, for one Sailor, the visit kindled a deeper meaning. She felt a bond to the children since she was an adopted child.
“It breaks my heart to see them here,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Isabel P. Ralston, a reserve boatswain’s mate with Expeditionary Port Unit 114 from San Diego. “I have a three-year-old daughter at home. Being a child without a mother is hard.”
Ralston, a native of Richmond, Calif., was born in Bolivia and raised by her grandmother. When she was 8, her grandmother passed away. Ralston moved to the U.S. to be with her father who she just met for the first time, and his wife. Six months into her new arrangement, her father passed away.
Though her time as an orphan was brief—she was later adopted by her step mother—she knows how important it was to have a mother. “I only knew my step mom for six months,” said Ralston. “But in the six months, she showed me what a mom should be. She was loving and caring. She taught me the girly things mothers teach their daughters.”
So, for the visit to Miewon, Ralston brought some hula hoops so she could spend time getting to know some of the orphans in a fun way, much like she does with her daughter.
What started out as Ralston thinking she was going to teach the kids how to hula hoop, ended up with Sun-Young Chong, a 13-year-old resident of Miewon, outperforming her. Chong has been at Miewon Orphanage since she was 4-months-old and was skilled at the hula hoop.
For the 42 kids who reside in Miewon, the volunteers were always a welcomed sight. Though the language barrier presented a challenge the universal smiles reinforce their acceptance.
“We are very appreciative to the volunteers for spending their time with the children,” said Young-Oh Yoon, office director at Miewon Orphanage. “We know they are offering a lot of time and labor for the children. We can always count on them every month.”
While some of the Sailors were playing with the children, the others were busy at work. The orphanage was buzzing with workers trying to improve the little things that the staff of the orphanage never seems to have enough time to get done.
The crew divided and accomplished many various tasks such as cleaning rooms, mounting shelves, clearing out overgrown shrubs and even troubleshooting electrical appliances. With some of the concrete walls decaying and electrical wiring needing patch work, the orphanage’s age was apparent.
“I’m an electrician by trade,” said Navy Capt. Richard F. Coleman, a reserve officer and CO of Strategic Sealift Unit 420. “If I can offer my expertise to fix some of their electrical issues, then I would be glad to,” said Coleman, a resident of Alameda, Calif.
Coleman stood along the edge of the first-level rooftop edge and bounced back and forth between four air conditioner units trying to identify and fix a problem with one of the units. Though the unit wasn’t repaired this time, Coleman was able to identify the problem.
“Not everything may be fixed this month, but we’ll be back,” said St. Peter. “We’ll always be back.”
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2015 09:31 |
| Story ID: | 174027 |
| Location: | 26, KR |
| Web Views: | 1,059 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, MSCO Korea, Busan orphanage tied in 60 years of goodwill, by Grady Fontana, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT