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The Holy Family Home
"Throughout history, during some of the most difficult and trying times and under the most tragic of circumstances, simple acts of human dignity and kindness often result in the forging of bonds of friendship and lasting relationships that often profoundly affect not only the lives of those immediately involved but many of those who follow them as well. The relationship of love and friendship that exists between the men of the 27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" and the children of the Holy Family Home of Osaka, Japan has been such a relationship.
In 1949, when Hugh O'Reilly and the other Wolfhounds began assisting the Holy Family orphanage, they simply saw a need and tried to help. That simple act was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship that has lasted continuously over thirty years"...LTC Frederick Peters, Commander, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, October 1981.
Those quotes from 15 years ago are still true today. The Regiment has a long association with the Holy Family Home in Osaka, Japan. It is impossible to separate the actions of Hugh O'Reilly from the association of the regiment and the orphanage. He has been the catalyst for the good nature of the American fighting man and he is an inspiration to all. One man could not have accomplished what he did without the generous support of generations of Wolfhounds and the Wolfhounds could not have accomplished it without him.
There are many histories that relate how the association came to be. All agree on the main points and differ in small details. It began for the Wolfhounds at a Christmas party in 1949 but the story must start at the end of World War II. The Seibo Hospital in the southern outskirts of Osaka had been run by the Sisters of Charity since before the war. The massive destruction from the aerial bombing of the city had left hundreds of children homeless, orphaned, and wandering the streets The sisters could not see the children's misery without doing something for them. They took them all in. Soon the rooms and hallways of the hospital were overflowing. They received permission from the Osaka Prefecture to use the small, dilapidated, wooden barracks that were near the hospital. By 1949 there were over 140 children living in the three buildings. Land had been purchased nearby but there wasn't enough money to construct new buildings.
Jack Smith, the Wolfhound Red Cross director, had been providing what little support he could manage to the children. He brought food out of his own pocket and made sure that certain Red Cross supplies that might have been thrown away, were thrown in the right direction. The children didn't have any soap, but it seemed that there was plenty of shaving cream. Even though it might look funny to see the kids squeezing tubes of shaving cream, it got them clean. In December, he brought several Wolfhounds to a Christmas party. It had been a custom for occupation units to visit orphanages and present the children Christmas presents. The Holy Family Home was picked that year.
The sets in the movie "Three Stripes in the Sun" do not come close to the desperate conditions that the children were living in. Shortages of food and medicine, the winter cold, and rats were taking their toll on the children. The long, low barracks were missing most of their tarpaper roofs and the missing or broken window glass had been replaced by newspaper. The uninsulated shacks had only one charcoal pot to provide heat for up to fifty children. The children were obviously malnourished, their hair was dry and brittle and many of them had their heads covered with sores. One small child slipped her hand into Sgt. O'Reilly's hand. He gently squeezed it and she cried out in pain, the knuckles of her hand were covered with open sores. Apparently she had frostbite. The lack of medical support and poor living conditions aggravated the condition and they had become infected.
Sgt O'Reilly went back to the regiment and enlisted everyone he could in helping the children. Two men in Baker Company, PFCs Schaeppi and Schlacter, went around collection money. The 143 men of Baker Company donated $143, after that competition between companies made it easy to collect each payday. The regiment found other ways to help. "Midnight Requisitions" became commonplace as did loaded vehicles departing Camp for the orphanage. Supply Sergeants suddenly discovered that they had excess field jackets. Somehow the excess made its way to the orphanage and into new clothes for the children. Mess Sergeants would discover they had way too much powdered milk in the company. By some coincidence powdered milk was just what the children with rickets needed. It seemed that everyone was working hard to take care of "their" orphanage and just as hard to keep their efforts quiet around the Regimental Commander and a certain Easy Company supply sergeant. SFC McKitty had a brother who suffered severely on Battaan in the Philippines at the hands of the Japanese. When he found out he was mighty angry that he had not been asked to help and he provided tons of food for the children.
The day the Regimental Commander found out was a little different. He had gone out to check some construction around the camp, but couldn't find the bulldozer. He tracked the 1st Battalion Commander down and both of them drove out to the orphanage where the bulldozer and what seemed half of the regiment's soldiers were busy. There were a few tense moments for the Wolfhounds but shortly after the commander left, the Regimental surgeon, Jacob "Doc" Newman was making regular visits (he had been visiting anyway, but now it was official).
The monthly collections went on and soon the Wolfhounds were able to see the children move into a wonderful new building. For the first time the children could feel like they had a home. Word got around about the Wolfhounds and the orphanage. Funds came in from everywhere, a Hollywood actress sent $500 and another $500 came from the bus drivers and mechanics working at the garage O'Reilly had worked at as a civilian. The crew of a Navy transport chipped in $200 and a bank president in St. Louis $2,500. Families send gifts from America after their loved ones wrote and told of the conditions. A WAC unit in Tokyo adopted the Wolfhounds when they heard about the how they had adopted the orphanage. When the regiment deployed to Korea, they sent a constant supply of cigarette lighters and comic books.
Outbreak of fighting in Korea didn't slow the contributions down, at one point the lieutenant commanding Easy company and two NCOs crawled around from foxhole to foxhole under fire collecting money. The children prayed for the safety of the Wolfhounds and wrote letters -- translated by the good sisters-- every day. To soldiers in combat, every little bit helps! Month after month new records were set, both in generosity to the orphanage and in blazing a new combat record. As the war continued, fewer and fewer of the men had ever seen Osaka, much less the orphanage. As each new man arrived into the unit, he was told about the tradition by his buddies. The new men didn't have to see the orphanage to understand, they knew it was a wonderful thing to live up to the tradition of the old timers.
Back in Osaka, there was a new hospital and a new x-ray machine and plans to expand the orphanage. The daily newspaper in Osaka named Hugh O'Reilly their Man of the Year for 1951. It was the first time a non-Japanese had won the award. O'Reilly's celebrity matched and may have exceeded that of General MacArthur. James A. Mitchner declared in an article in Holiday magazine, "Many Americans have made lasting impressions on Japan, but I think of two in particular -Lafcadio Hearn and Sergeant Hugh O'Reilly." In 1953, the new three story nursery was erected. All marble, concrete, and steel, it was the most modern institutional structure in Japan and it was soon filled with youngsters whose very lives depended on the generous Wolfhounds.
In 1957 a new tradition started as two children were invited to Hawaii for two weeks with the Wolfhounds. The children and their escort stay with a volunteer family and get the run of the regiment.
OSAKA ORPHANS VISIT WOLFHOUNDS,
May 29, 1981 TROPIC LIGHTNING NEWS
Two children from the Holy Family Orphanage in Osaka, Japan arrived May 22 to visit the 1/27th Infantry and to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the units activation.
They were met at the airport by a representative from Governor Ariyoshi's office, various Japanese businessmen, an honor guard from the 1/27th, Hugh O'Reilly (founder of the support program), representatives from the 1/27th Infantry and the Japanese Council, Hideo Tanaka.
Since 1957, the Wolfhounds have provided funds to bring children from the orphanage to Oahu to visit. This year, Yuko Wantanabe, age 11, and Yukare Zenge, age 10, will enjoy a two week holiday of fun and excitement.
During their stay, the orphans will participate in the 1/27th's NCO Parade Review today at 10 a.m. on Stills Field. They will also visit Waimea Falls, Waimea Bay, Sea Life Park, Paradise Park, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Waikiki, and the Danny Kaleikini Show.Often the airlines donate the airfare. In the years that they don't, Mr. Akio Aoyama, a Japanese businessman, provides money for the trip. In 1958 the Regiment began sending two of the best soldiers to Japan to serve as "Father Christmas" for the children. The regiment would purchase gifts for the children and carry them to the orphanage.
Over the years the bond between the Regiment and the Holy Family Home has remained strong. Generations of Wolfhounds have continued the tradition with the guidance of Hugh O'Reilly and Akio Aoyama.
Summer Visit 2003 More photo's
Summer Visit 2005Last update 07 December 2008
