Dean Elmer Hess (December 6, 1917 – March 2, 2015) was an American minister and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

who was involved in the so-called "Kiddy Car Airlift," the documented rescue of 950 orphans and 80 orphanage staff from the path of the

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advance during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

on December 20, 1950. He is the subject of the autobiography ''Battle Hymn'', published in 1956, which later served the basis for the

1957 film The year 1957 in film involved some significant events. ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' topped the year's box office in North America, France, and Germany, and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ...

of the same name, where he was played by

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

Biography

Hess was born in 1917. He attended

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

, Ohio, graduating in the class of 1941. Following this, he was ordained as a Pastor in the Disciples of Christ Church at

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. Following the December 7, 1941

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, Hess enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He served as a combat pilot in

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after the

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, and flew a total of 63 combat missions in

P-47 The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...

s. Despite returning to civilian life, Hess was recalled to active service in July 1948, and was stationed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

as part of the American occupation there. In June 1950, he was transferred to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

at the outbreak of the

as the commander of

Bout One Project Bout One Project was an operation undertaken during the Korean War by U.S. Air Force to train South Korean pilots to fly F-51 Mustang fighters. On June 27, 1950, as part of the project, a special unit was formed in Japan under Major Dean Hess, w ...

, the program under which a cadre of USAF instructor pilots trained South Korean pilots in flying the P-51D Mustang. Hess served in Korea until June the following year, at which time he had flown 250 combat missions. Also during his tour, he became involved in charity organizations for orphaned children in the war zone, and his airfield was reportedly full of such children. Hess was married to Mary C. Lorentz (1941 - 1996) (her death) and had 4 children, Marilyn, Lawrence, Edward Alan, Ronald.

Kiddy Car Airlift

With the airfield over capacity, Hess sent the orphans to an orphanage in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. When the North Korean forces began to

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the city, Hess reportedly organized 15

C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

aircraft to airlift the orphans to safety on Jeju Island. At the time of Hess' departure from Korea, a new orphanage on this island held over 1,000 Korean children. Image:Korean orphans at Jejudo.jpg, Korean orphans at Jejudo Image:LCOL Blaisdell and COL Hess visit orphans on Jejudo.jpg, LTC Blaisdell and COL Hess visit orphans on Jejudo Image:Seoul orphanage in 1961.jpg, The Seoul orphanage in 1961, built with royalties Dean Hess received from his book Battle Hymn and the film adaptation

Later life

Hess published his autobiography in 1956 and used the royalties to fund a new orphanage in Seoul. He retired from the air force in 1969. For his actions in Korea, he was awarded the Republic of Korea Honor, and the Korean Order of Cultural Merit. He has received numerous other awards, including the Order of the White Elephant, a Presidential Citation, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with 19 Clusters, and the Ohio Governor's Award. He was inducted into the Miami Valley Walk of Fame, and his actions are also the subject of an exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. He died, aged 97 in 2015.

Criticism

In 2004 one critic, Dr. George F. Drake, took issue with Hess' portrayal of the Kiddy Car Airlift, claiming that Hess took more credit than deserved for the evacuation of the Korean orphans. Drake gave Air Force Chaplain LTC Russell L. Blaisdell and Staff Sergeant Merle Y. Strang the credit for arranging the transport for the evacuation, with Hess' role being reduced to providing accommodation on the island of Cheju itself. According to this criticism, Blaisdell was reportedly originally credited with the evacuation by the media until ''Battle Hymn'' was published. Drake terms Hess's claims as "fraudulent" but acknowledges that the proceeds from ''Battle Hymn'' and royalties from the movie were donated to charity to aid Korean orphans. Blaisdell did receive recognition in 2000 when he returned to

, where he was referred to as the " Schindler of Korea," credit which Hess appeared to have agreed with, having in that same year acknowledged Blaisdell's contribution. Strang, however, died in 1998 before receiving recognition for his role.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Dean 1917 births 2015 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American Korean War pilots Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Korea) Recipients of the Air Medal Marietta College alumni