Fifty-nine years after a U.S. Air Force soldier underwrote his college education, South Korean Han Jung-soo finally tracked down his benefactor here to thank him.
In the winter of 1951, Han, then 19 and a university freshman, asked anybody who would listen at Suwon Air Base south of Seoul if he could work as a houseboy.
Air Force Lt. Gerald D. Winger, then 26 and a squadron adjutant, accepted and underwrote most of Han’s tuition.
Han finished his education, served in the South Korean army, and later served 25 years as a senior officer in the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Last week, Han, now 79, arrived in the United States to reconnect with Winger, 85.