Ship of Miracles

Amazing story. I bought 10 copies for my friends. It is God's work.

This book traces one of the greatest events of the 20th Century in my opinion: the rescue of 14,000 fleeing Korean civilians by a merchant marine vessel during the Korean War. Tragically more has not been written, no great film has been made to document this great event. The Captain of the ship who was the proximate cause of the rescue, Leonard Larue, went on to become and to live the rest of his life a Benedictine monk of St. Paul's Abbey, Newton, NJ. Surely this man should be one of the great heroes of the 20th century. But I wonder if there are 100 people in all of NJ who know anything about him. St. Paul's Abbey, once the home of 70 or so monks, closed its doors as monks passed away and new men did not come to replace them. About a decade ago a Benedictine Abbot in Korea decided to honor Leonard Larue (who had become Benedictine Brother Marinus) by sending some of his Korean monks to reopen the Abbey. St Paul's Benedictines special calling is to missions. So today the Abbey is supported by Korean Benedictines who work as missionaries in Africa. Isn't God good!

I had the opportunity to watch this story (youtube) and saw my uncle being interviewed. He was on the ship during this event in history.

In the foreword to this book, Alexander Haig wrote "(t)his book did not just deserve to be written - it needed to be written." I agree. It is a thorough and gripping account of a miraculous rescue which could have ended in disaster any number of times. The account is largely written through quotes from those who were involved in some way - crew members, the captain, Koreans who were rescued, and others. Once in a while the style of writing distracts from the content, but I give the book 5 stars anyway because the story is so engrossing and the reader is easily involved. I used this book in a presentation and the audience was fully engaged. It is an inspiring account of a truly miraculous rescue.

A moving story. I never heard of this event when it took place. At that time I was hoping my husband, a WW11 veteran, would not be recalled.

I bought it because my good friend Equen is the grandson of Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore was the Moore of Moore-McCormack Ship Lines, owners of the Meredith Victory... the ship of miracles. Don't expect this to be any literary masterpiece; it's not. There is also a DVD by the same name. I got my copy of the DVD from the director RJ McHatton. Also check out this New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/20/us/leonard-larue-rescuer-in-the-korean-war-dies-at-87.html ...

Every student and adult should read. History now repeating.

I bought this book because my father served in Korea during this time and was one of the Core of Engineers who built the ramp to provide access to the ship so that the people could board it. He told me about the events from his perspective.