Kids of the Korean War, Father of a Thousand by Russell Lloyd Blaisdell, 1910-2007, with John Patrick Kennedy, was published May 1, 2008 by Choonghyun Babies' Home Memorial Team, Gwangju, Korea, directed by Rev. HaeRyang Yoo Kim.  Coffee table quality, limited edition, each book is in both English and Korean, 331 pages, 10 1/4" x 7 3/4", available only through this website.

Proceeds from the book go to help Choonghyun Babies' Home establish a museum in Gwangju to tell of the compassionate nature of US military and missionaries who rescued and cared for Korean orphans during and after the Korean War.  100,000 Korean War orphans were adopted out of Korea after the July 27, 1953 armistice.  Another 100,000 have been adopted since the war.  Two guest homes are to be built for any adopted Korean, which would allow put them to get re-connected with their cultural roots.

The book tells the story of how and why US Air Force Chaplain (Colonel) Russ Blaisdell and Staff Sergeant Merle Y. "Mike" Strang saved and cared for over 1,000 orphans, new-born to age 14, off the streets of Seoul in the fall and winter of 1950 at the risk of their lives and careers.

When the communist Chinese and North Korean armies were massing to re-take Seoul in December 1950, Chaplain Blaisdell and Sgt. Strang worked tirelessly to find a way to get their children out of harm's way.  They vowed that they would not abandon their children.  They would either find a way for all of them to get to safety, or they would be found by the invading enemy and killed.  Three miracles of God's provision within a 24-hour period allowed them to be air evacuated in the nick of time on December 20, 1950 from Kimpo Airfield, Seoul, Korea, and taken to Cheju-do, an island off the south coast of Korea.

The orphans consider Chaplain Blaisdell as their father.  The Korean military blog rokdrop.com in 2008 selected Chaplain Blaisdell as one of 15 US heroes of the Korean War.  The US Air Force Museum's 60th Anniversary exhibit of the Korean War at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, opened June 25, 2010 and featured the story.

Chaplain Russ Blaisdell was born September 4, 1910 in Hayfield, Minnesota, the seventh of eight children to John Blaisdell and Jenny Goutermont Blaisdell.  John was a harness maker and farm implement dealer.  Russ began to work for his father at the age of seven.  He graduated from Hayfield High School in 1927, Macalester College in 1934 and McCormick Theological Seminary in 1937.  He was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA in 1937 and was a pastor in Coggan and then Wilton Junction, Iowa, 1937-1940.  He became a US Army Air Corps chaplain in July 1940.  His assignments during World War II were out of Spokane, WA; Edmonton, Alberta; and Hickam Field, HI.

He was sent into the Korean War to be the Fifth Air Force staff chaplain July 1950 - May 1951.  He was a chaplain for Japan Air Defense, Nagoya, Japan from May 1951 to January 1953.  His later assignments were out of Waco, TX; Tripoli, Libya; Langley Air Force, VA; McGuire Air Force Base, NJ; and Scott AFB, IL.  He retired as a US Air Force chaplain in 1964 and moved to Syracuse, NY.  In 1966 he became a State Representative for the New York Department of Social Services, retiring in 1977 as the Director of Parent Locator Service, Albany, NY. 

He was able to return to Korea at the age of 90 in January 2001 to be reunited with the orphanage director, Mrs. Whang On-soon, then 102, and 12 of his own Korean children.  He was honored by the First Lady of Korea, the Prime Minister, Korean War Veterans Association, and given an honorary doctorate by Kyung Hee Univrersity.  The Korean media referred to him as “The Schindler of the Korean War.”

The US Air Force Association honored him as an Ira Eaker Fellow in February 2001.  Three days later his story rated two and a-half minutes on Tom Brokaw's NBC Nightly News.  In 2003 at the dedication of a memorial to the Korean War Orphans in Bellingham, WA, he was given the Four Chaplains medal by the US Air Force's Chief of Chaplains for extraordinary humanitarianism during the Korean War.  It is the highest award that can be given to a US military chaplain.

On December 17, 2009 a full-size bronze statue was dedicated at the Choong Hyun Babies's Home, Gwangju, Korea, depicting Chaplain Blaisdell holding an orphan in his right arm while his right hand is clasping a Bible.  Standing with hope and admiration at his left is another orphan.  The statue dedication was sponsored by the Patriots and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

His character was molded by the Holy Bible, the teaching and example of his parents and the Presbyterian Church, Hayfield, MN.  He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church USA in 1937 and was honorably retired in 1973 by Eastern Iowa Presbytery. 

He died May 1, 2007 at his winter home in Las Vegas at the age of 96.  His memorial service was held at the base chapel, Nellis Air Froce Base, Nevada with a military escort.  He was buried with full military honors at the Veterans Cemetery, Boulder City, Nevada.

He had been married to Viola Evelyn (Hagen) Blaisdell, Dorothy Lena (Ginney) Blaisdell and Sandra Jean (Hansen) (Deglman) Blaisdell, Las Vegas, NV.  His children are Rev. Russell Carter Blaisdell, Black Mountain, NC; Marijean (Blaisdell) Davis, Arnold, CA; Major General Franklin Judd Blaisdell, Clifton, VA; and two step-daughters, Danielle Darcie (Deglman) Johnsen and Stacie Jennifer (Deglman) Bollinger, Las Vegas, NV.  Also surviving are 12 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and five great great-grandchildren.