In December of 1950, the crew of the SS Meredith Victory performed what the Guinness Book of World Records refers to as “the greatest rescue operation ever by a single ship.” One of the last surviving members of the crew, Admiral J. Robert Lunney, recounts the unlikely and amazing journey that ended when 14,000 refugees, and 5 babies born during the voyage, safely arrived on the island of Koje Do.
In December of 1950, the crew of the SS Meredith Victory, a modestly-sized Merchant Marine ship, performed what the Guinness Book of World Records refers to as “the greatest rescue operation ever by a single ship.” The crew of the “Ship of Miracles,” as it came to be known, evacuated 14,000 refugees using a vessel designed and equipped to carry a tiny fraction of that number. One of the last surviving members of the crew, Admiral J. Robert Lunney, recounts the unlikely and amazing journey that began in Hungnam Harbor on December 23, and ended on December 26, when 14,000 refugees, and 5 babies born during the voyage, safely arrived on the island of Koje Do. That’s the focus of this special edition of Wilson Center NOW.
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