For three months during the Korean War, 1,000 sailors aboard the USS Point Cruz doted on a tiny passenger: A baby rescued from a trash can in Seoul.
While on a walk in 1953, Navy medic Norm Van Sloun of Minnesota and a few other sailors heard a cry, and that's when they found the baby, left for dead. He was half-Korean, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and Van Sloun told WCCO that at the time, orphanages "wouldn't have anything to do with Caucasian babies." So, he was brought on board, and within five hours, carpenters had a crib ready for him and a sick bay was transformed into a nursery.
The baby was named George Ascom Cruz — ASCOM after the compound where he was found, and Cruz in honor of the aircraft carrier. He spent three months on board, and during that time, the skipper flew a diaper right below the American flag. The baby had visiting hours, and the sailors would "all line up to come see George," Van Sloun said. "It was amazing."
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Van Sloun always wondered what happened to George, and so did his children, who grew up hearing stories about the baby their father found. His daughter Mary Beth Bouley recently posted about George online, and it didn't take long for him to get in touch. His name is now Dan Keenen, and he was adopted by a Navy surgeon in Spokane, Washington. Keenen is married and has two sons, and couldn't wait to see Van Sloun.
They recently reconnected via video chat, with Van Sloun, now 88, reminiscing with Keenen about the time they spent together. Keenen told Van Sloun he could never fully convey just how much he appreciated what the sailors did for him. "If it weren't for these guys," he said, "I literally wouldn't be here today because I wouldn't have survived there." Catherine Garcia
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