A Thousand Men and a Baby

This is one of those movies that will probably some day be a classic. It is the incredible true story of a navy rescue of a newborn baby at the end of the Korean War. This Christmas story helps you to realize there are some good people out there that don't mind sacrificing for a good cause. Richard Thomas does an outstanding job playing the part of Dr. Hugh Keenan who gently nurses back to health an abandoned baby as the crew of the Point Cruise seeks to find a good home for the child. Although the movie may rank a "PG" rating for some brief scenes of war casualties. It overall is a great movie that the whole family can enjoy. This is one of my absolute favorite Christmas movies and I can't wait to purchase my own copy.

I accidently came across this movie while surfing the satellite channels the other day (in England the movie was called Narrow Escape) I wasn't going to watch it but nothing else was playing at 7am so I settled down to watch. I was glad that I did. I'm a bit of a sucker for a soppy tear-jerker (especially about kids)and I thought that some of the performances would have done justice to a big budget blockbuster. Of course Hollywood dressed up the truth a bit and added a bit more sap than was necessary, but the story shone out and I was deeply touched by it.

So touched in fact that I began to search the internet for details on the ship, the men and young Danny. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't find any sites with a reference to them. I hope someone rectifies that situation soon.

I loved the movie

This is one of those TV movies that looked vaguely interesting and turned out to be exceptional. It's a true story, too, but of course has made-up stuff to make things more dramatic. For example, unlike in the film, the Navy doctor who adopted the baby had no qualms about having to quit the Navy if he adopted a foreign child. He was drafted and already planned on getting out of the Navy as soon as the Korean War ended. Moreover, his wife never met the baby until he brought him home and they had a daughter.

Richard Thomas does a good job playing the fictional conflicted doctor in the movie, as does Eve Gordon as his wife. Gerald McRaney is perfect as the captain of the ship. Jonathan Banks is splendid as the Catholic chaplin, and Doris Roberts makes a great Irish nun running an orphanage. The film starts and ends at Christmastime, too, so it can also be seen as a sort of Christmas movie for the whole family to watch.

My father is a WWII vet and is occupying himself these days by looking up old stories from the war. He read me the story of "baby-san on board" last time he visited. Since then I have been trying to find the movie based on this story. I thought the movie was produced well before 1997, so I'm wondering if this is the one I was thinking of or if there was a previous production. But I can answer the question of where to find more information. To see a write-up and photos of the real story behind this movie, visit: http://www.koreanchildren.org/. Choose "Feature Stories" then choose "The Navy's Baby."

The story is even more touching knowing that it is based on a true story. But the question must be asked, "What about the other children of war that are not loved?"

The movie is pretty good, and relatively accurate as I grew up hearing it from my late father. PS 5 Rayo Claudius Holston served on the CVE 119 USS POINT CRUZ from its commission in the Pacific Northwest through its fittings and paces and through the Korean War. It was the proudest part of his life and the saving of "Saby-San" was one of his most memorable events along with Captain Hayward holding captains mast in a Japanese bar for my dad. The movie aired on TV when I was home from college, my father got so excited I thought he had won the Lottery. The Crew has reunions almost every year and "Baby-San" is the guest of honor at almost every one. There is still a strong bond between the crew and the Dr.

D. Holston