International: Morale

South Korea's navy had 7,500 men, lots of morale, but no fighting ships. A few old U.S. minesweepers, a fleet of ten former Japanese minelayers and some picket boats were no substitutes for the real thing. A year ago a group of Korean enlisted men at navy headquarters in Seoul got the idea of chipping in each month to buy a man-o'-war. They sounded out Commander in Chief Admiral Sohn Won Yil, who promptly queried his base commanders to see what their enlisted men thought of the idea. They liked it.

Soon afterward 5% of each enlisted man's $10 a month and...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!