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Refugees in the Hungnam Evacuation operations

On Apr. 5, the Blue House announced that South Korean President Moon Jae-in had personally responded to a crew member of the SS Meredith Victory, a ship that which carried North Korean refugees to South Korea during the Hungnam Evacuation.

“Burley Smith, 89, who contributed to the success of the Hungnam Evacuation as a sailor on the SS Meredith Victory, wrote a letter to President Moon on Jan. 22 stating that he had recently learned that the president’s parents had been among the refugees that boarded the SS Meredith Victory at Hungnam on Christmas Day 1950. Smith also said he would like to meet the president or a friend who knows the story of the Hungnam Evacuation on Geoje Island during a two-day trip to South Korea beginning on Apr. 5. In his response, the president welcomed Smith and conveyed his appreciation,” the Blue House said.

The Hungnam Evacuation was an operation that took place in December 1950, at the height of the Korean War, when the intervention of the Chinese army had turned the tables against the UN forces. As South Korean and American forces retreated from Hungnam, South Hamgyong Province, they transported around 100,000 refugees to Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province.

“If it had not been for the seamanship of fine sailors such as yourself, my parents could never have made it to Geoje Island and I would not be the person I am today. If I had my way, I would like to meet you in Busan and express my gratitude in person, but unfortunately my schedule as president does not permit that. Because my mother is advanced in years, at 91 years old, it would not be easy for her to meet with you either,” Moon wrote.

The following passage appears in Moon’s autobiography, titled “The Destiny of Moon Jae-in”: “My parents left their home in the Hungnam Evacuation in Dec. 1950. . . The evacuation was carried out by an American LTS [landing ship tank, a military craft used to land troops and tanks]. The refugees did not even know where the ship was taking them. My parents stayed in the lower levels of the ship for three days. When security controls were relaxed, they were able to climb the ladder up to the deck. Just then they saw lights nearby on the shore, which they were told was Pohang. That was when they finally surmised that their destination was the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula.

“During their voyage, American soldiers handed out a few pieces of candy for Christmas. The place that they were taken was a temporary refugee camp on Geoje Island. When my mother left Hungnam, the whole world had been blanketed with snow, and she remembers being amazed to arrive on Geoje Island and find that everything was green,” Moon wrote.

“The director-general from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is planning to meet you and your companions on my behalf. Schedule permitting, he will also treat you to lunch and provide an explanation about the Hungnam Evacuation on Geoje Island,” Moon said. The Ministry has decided to support Smith’s itinerary as part of its program for visits to South Korea by UN veterans of the Korean War.

The Blue House announced that a memorial service will be held on Apr. 6 at a monument to the Hungnam Evacuation at the Historic Park of Geoje POW Camp to honor Leonard LaRue, captain of the SS Meredith Victory, and the sailors who carried out the operation with him. After the Korean War, LaRue served as a monk at St. Paul Monastery in New Jersey until his death in 2001. “Smith will be donating an American flag and a flag of the city of Miami he has brought from the US to the Historic Park of Geoje POW Camp and will be receiving a commemorative watch from President Moon as a token of gratitude,” the Blue House said.

Moon also personally thanked Robert Lunney, one of the surviving sailors of the SS Meredith Victory, when they met while Moon was in Washington for a summit with US President Donald Trump in June 2017.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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