South Korean Roses
Contributor: George Breen
I arrived in south Korea the summer of 1958. This was only 5 years after the end of the terribly destructive Korean War. The rebuilding…
I arrived in south Korea the summer of 1958. This was only 5 years after the end of the terribly destructive Korean War. The rebuilding…
At the time I knew little about Pearl Buck and her work with mixed race children and the orphanages who cared for them. Later I learned more about her and the Pearl Buck Foundation. And so I think back about those few minutes that I spent with her and am constantly amazed at the impact that she had on me, in just those few moments and for the rest of my life.
One Christmas evening I met Shin in a tea house in Myeong-dong, Seoul. He told me he was accepted as a trumpeter of a jazz band that would perform music and dance entertainment for the U.S. Military personnel in various camps at Yongsan Garrison, Camp Casey, Camp Red Cloud, K-6, Osan Air Base, etc.
About once a week we went to K-14 Kimpo Airport to pick up meats from Japan off a C-124 Globemaster aircraft. These meats included T Bone, Rib Eye Steaks and Chicken.
In her high, lilting voice she would recite:
“It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know,
By the name of Annabel Lee. . . “
When i arrived to South Korea after being drafted in 1958, for the first few months I would have thoughts about how far away from…
Samgakji area of Seoul in 1961, just outside of gate number 1 later on gate 16, was made up of poorer Korean style homes. There…
Once at Samgakji we would be underneath the elevated traffic circle. There were seemingly hundreds of street vendors selling everything from soups and grilled meats, to plastic shoes and clothing, to bicycle parts…..It was dark and chaotic under the traffic circle, and quite exciting for a teenager…
From serving at Yongsan and volunteering with People to People International (PTPI) and numerous other non-profit organizations, to promoting Korean businesses and cultural events, Mr. Nowell has made a significant and lasting impact on his adopted country.
By Al Legacy I was posted to Yongsan in 1976-77 and again 82-84 which was unusual for a Navy officer. In 1977 I married Ms Ko…
Abigail Van Buren has published this article in her “Dear Abby’s Keepers” many years ago. The team of yongsanlegacy.org wanted to share the article with…
Korea….what an adventure! I met life-long friends there, I met my wife Betty there and I got to be a Rock Star in the band Rush.
“For two hours, the men could forget they were soldiers at war. After the show, they returned to the fighting in the hills. Some in that audience never made it back.”
USO, to provide morale and recreation services to U.S. uniformed military personnel