Russell L. Blaisdell

In December 1950 as the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and North Korean forces threatened Seoul with their Second Phase Campaign, UN forces, including the Fifth Air Force, began to evacuate the city and move further south. On 19 December, Lieutenant Colonel Blaisdell and Staff Sergeant Strang drove the orphans to Inchon harbor for evacuation by Navy LST to Jeju Island, but the vessels failed to arrive. Blaisdell then approached Colonel T.C. Rogers, the 5th Air Force Director of Operations, who arranged for transport aircraft to evacuate the orphans from Kimpo Air Base the following morning. Blaisdell then commandeered a company of Marine Corps trucks to transport the children and their Korean caregivers to Kimpo. Despite arriving at Kimpo more than two hours late, the orphans were evacuated to safety on Jeju Island aboard 16 C-54 Skymaster aircraft. An orphanage was established on Jeju and run by Whang On-soon until the end of the Korean War, when it was relocated back to Seoul.[2][3]

The events surrounding the airlift became widely known outside Korea only when Dean Hess published his autobiography, Battle Hymn, in 1956, which later served as the basis for the 1957 film of the same name, where Hess was played by Rock Hudson. Staff Sergeant Strang later wrote and asked Blaisdell's advice on whether he should "blow the whistle" on Hess's limited role in the evacuation; Blaisdell responded, "The goal of our efforts, in regard to the orphans ... was the saving of lives, which would otherwise have been lost. That was accomplished. In a sense, Mike, well-doing has its own reward, which is not measured in dollars, prestige, or goodwill..."[4] In 2004, Dr. George F. Drake took issue with Dean Hess's portrayal of the Kiddy Car Airlift, claiming that Hess took more credit than he deserved. Drake gave Blaisdell and Strang the credit for the evacuation, with Hess's role being reduced to providing accommodation on Jeju itself. According to this criticism, Blaisdell was reportedly originally credited with the evacuation by the media until Battle Hymn was published. Drake termed Hess' claims as "fraudulent", but acknowledged that the proceeds from Battle Hymn and royalties from the movie were donated to aid Korean orphans.[5]

• 
  New arrivals at the 5th Air Force's Seoul processing center for orphans, before the evacuation to Jeju Island. Chaplain COL Wallace Wolverton is at left and Chaplain LTC Russell Blaisdell is at right
• 
  LTC Blaisdell and SSGT Mike Strang
• 
  A Korean toddler climbs the boarding ramp onto a C-54 at Kimpo
• 
  Orphans being loaded onto a C-54
• 
  Orphans receive candy from Flight Nurse Capt. Mary Spivak
• 
  LTC Blaisdell and COL Hess visit orphans on Jeju

Following the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Blaisdell served as chaplain at: HQ Japan Air Self Defence Force, Nagoya, Japan, from 1951–3; HQ Flying Training Wing, Waco, Texas from 1953–7, where he was promoted to colonel; and the Seventeenth Air Force, Wheelus Air Base, Libya from 1957-60. He then served as Command Chaplain at Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base from 1960-2 and HQ, Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base from 1962–4.[1]

Colonel Blaisdell retired from the USAF on 30 June 1964.