MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Burley Smith remembers Christmas Day 1950 at the height of the Korean war. The retired Miami realtor, now 92, was a 21-year-old sailor aboard the United States Merchant Marine vessel Meredith Victory. READ MORE: Flu Has Virtually Disappeared In US During COVID Pandemic He and a few other shipmates had recently graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, New York. The ship was in Korean waters to carry military equipment to U.S. troops. He vividly recalls the ship. "The ship was the Meredith Victory ship, hundreds were built during World War II, the top speed was 17 knots, about 20 miles an hour. It had 15 cargo holds and carried a crew of 47 people and could only carry 12 passengers," said Smith. But the ship's assignment changed as thousands of desperate North Koreans fled from the Chinese army. In the bitter cold, Smith and his fellow crew members loaded 14,000 refugees on board for a three-day rescue mission. "We happened to be the ship that took the most because our skipper Captain Leonard LaRue said 'pack them aboard as tightly as you can'," said Smith. "We had 14,000 people stuffed on a small ship. No toilets, no food, no… Read full this story
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