Guided by God’s Own Hand: Captain Leonard LaRue and the Meredith Victory

From deadly World War II Murmansk runs, to history's greatest rescue operation by a single ship, to a life of prayer as a Benedictine monk, Leonard LaRue, or Brother Marinus as he was called after entering St. Paul’s Abbey in Newton, New Jersey, led a life of service to others. He has recently been remembered and honored in both the United States and Korea for his selfless sacrifice and compassion during the Korean War.

Born in Philadelphia in 1914, LaRue and his four siblings were raised in a close-knit, religious family where they frequently heard stories about helping “the least of these.” For young Leonard, who also loved reading about the saints, the message stuck. As he would recall years later in an interview, "I was always somewhat religious, even in my youth.”

But as his interest in serving others grew throughout his adolescent years, so did his fascination with the sea. Leonard had heard tales about men who traveled to exotic lands and lived a life of adventure sailing the world’s oceans. He now wanted to set out on his own and make a name for himself.

The Darkest Days of World War II

In 1934, LaRue joined the Merchant Marine and was soon plying the seas. Life aboard a ship was demanding, even unpleasant at times, but the young officer loved his new profession. When World War II erupted, his job took on a new element of danger.

Captain LaRue in his dress uniform, circa 1950. (Photo credit: Bob Lunney)

The Germans, determined to cut off Allied trade, began a relentless attack on foreign shipping. Before long, LaRue found himself on the front lines of the “Battle of the Atlantic,” the epic World War II struggle between the German and Allied navies.

With Hitler’s submarines, or U-boats, patrolling the Atlantic and Mediterranean in small wolfpacks, hundreds of Allied merchant marine ships were sunk every month.

During the darkest days of World War II, LaRue sailed to and from Murmansk, Russia, a Soviet port located near Norway and Finland, in Allied convoys referred to as a “Murmansk runs.” The treacherous Arctic waters, frequent bad weather, and German military units in the area made every voyage a terrifying test of nerves and endurance.

By the war’s end, nearly 9,000 US merchant mariners had been killed in the European and Pacific theaters while supporting American and Allied troops.

The Hungnam Evacuation

In 1950, Captain LaRue was once again called upon to serve in hostile waters. The Korean War had started, and hundreds of merchant marine cargo vessels were needed to supply US forces. With everything from beans and bullets, to bazookas and bulldozers needed half a world away, around-the-clock support from merchant marine crews would be critical.

Merchant Marine ship at port in Korea during Korean War (public domain).

By late December, after participating in the Inchon Landing and numerous missions along Korea’s east coast, Captain LaRue was ordered to Hungnam, North Korea. His ship, SS Meredith Victory, a 455-foot Victory-class cargo vessel named for Meredith College, an all-women’s school in Raleigh, North Carolina, was about to take part in a military and humanitarian operation that would change the course of history.

The largest amphibious withdrawal of the Korean War, and the greatest military evacuation of civilians, under combat conditions, in US history, was taking place at the port of Hungnam.

From December 9-24, nearly 100 ships loaded and transported over 105,000 troops and their equipment, vehicles, and supplies from Hungnam to Busan. In addition, 100,000 North Korean civilians trapped at the port and at risk of being killed or imprisoned by the approaching Chinese were also rescued.

God's Own Hand

During the historic operation that arguably saved the UN from abandoning the Korean peninsula, LaRue maneuvered his ship into Hungnam harbor and voluntarily loaded 14,000 refugees on a vessel designed to carry only a handful of passengers.

Refugees on Meredith Victory’s weather deck, December 1950. (PC: Bob Lunney)

Meredith Victory’s voyage from Hungnam to Geoje-do, an island south of Busan, is now remembered as the “greatest rescue operation by a single ship in the history of mankind.”

Even with the refugees crammed aboard the standing-room-only vessel for three days without food, water, or bathrooms, every man, woman, and child survived. When LaRue gave the order to drop anchor at Geoje on Christmas Day, 1950, not only were all 14,000 passengers alive, but five babies had been born. LaRue would later say, “God’s own hand was at the helm of my ship.”

Bob Lunney, a World War II Navy veteran and officer on Meredith Victory, never forgot the site of thousands of refugees unloading at Geoje. “The idea of war isn’t just about bombs and bad guys,” Lunney said during a recent interview at The Korea Society. "It’s also about preserving the integrity of a nation and the dignity of its people - we [the crew] felt we had done that.”

The Monastic Life

In 1954, just three years after Meredith Victory’s miraculous voyage, Leonard LaRue, the inspirational captain who had given the order to load as many refugees as possible aboard his ship, entered St. Paul’s Abbey in Newton, New Jersey. He lived the rest of his life there as a Benedictine monk.

His humility, spirituality, and dedication to his fellow man and God never abated. LaRue, or Brother Marinus as he was called until his death in 2001, was a person who inspired others, made a difference in the world, and lived his life as a model of Christian love.

Left to Right: J. Robert Lunney; Abbot Blasio Park, Waegwan Abbey, Korea; Cho Yoon-je, Korean Ambassador to US; Hyo-Sun-Par, Korean Consul General; Ho-Su Gwak, Vice-Chair, National Unification Advisory Council, NY Chapter; Joan G. Lunney; Fr. Samuel Kim, Prior, St. Paul's Abbey, Newton, NJ. (Photo credit: Bob Lunney)

Captain LaRue Remembered

Last month, Cho Yoon-je, Ambassador of South Korea to the United States, visited St. Paul’s Abbey, which ironically is now run by monks from Waegwan Abbey in Korea, and on behalf of the Korean government he planted a Hawthorn tree in honor of Br. Marinus. In his remarks,
Ambassador Cho said:

The Korean people have never forgotten his [LaRue’s] story. His heroic actions at Hungnam represent the best of the United States’ humanitarian efforts and the sacrifice and devotion of US soldiers during the Korean War. On behalf of the Korean people and government, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Brother Marinus, and everyone who fought to protect peace and security in Korea.

Waegwan Abbey, South Korea (PC: Ned Forney)

Weeks later, Secretary of Defense James Mattis spoke about Captain LaRue during a commencement address at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy:

In the frigid December of 1950 . . . enemy soldiers bored down upon a city in flames, the harbor was mined and thousands of refugees swarmed the beaches desperate to escape. Captain LaRue ordered his SS Meredith Victory into shore amidst a storm of war, and he and his crew rescued 14,000 refugees and bore them away safely on his ship. Before they could put into safe anchorage, five babies were born and with over 14,000 refugees, not a single life was lost. Now there was a leader not concerned with putting it all on the line.

Captain LaRue’s legacy continues today. There are an estimated one million descendants of those rescued during the 1950 Hungnam Evacuation, or “Christmas Miracle,” as Ambassador Cho said last month in reference to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s parents, who were among those saved by Meredith Victory, "Had Captain LaRue acted differently in 1950, President Moon’s life would have been very different. And my country would be very different.”

Semper Fidelis!

Postscript

The Catholic Church has started the process of seeking beatification for Brother Marinus in honor of his extraordinary humanitarian acts during the Korean War.

Former Hungnam refugees at the Hungnam Memorial on Geoje Island, South Korea. A replica of Meredith Victory is in the background (PC: Ned Forney).