Phil Feehan
Bio
Phil Feehan was born November 23, 1932 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After moving to Kansas City, Kansas, at 8 years old, he attended St. Agnes Catholic School where he graduated in 1951. After attending one year of college, he then enlisted in the Army. He went to Korea in September of 1952 after attending basic training in Fort Riley, Kansas. Upon returning to the United States, he married Joanne Feehan in January 1956. The Feehans have six children of their own and five adopted Korean children. In 2013, Phil and Joanne Feehan revisited Korea together.
Video Clips
More Good Times than Bad
Phil and Joanne Feehan describe their marriage and their desire to help Korean children. They discuss their six born children and their five adopted Korean children.
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First Assignments
Phil Feehan discusses heading to Sandbag Castle, where he was stationed upon first arriving in Korea. He described it as being opposite a North Korean division. After being at Sandbag Castle a short time, he was sent to Christmas Hill where he described fighting four nights in a row.
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Injured and a Gentleman's Agreement
Phil Feehan was wounded in the hand by a mortar shell that also killed his artillery officer and first sergeant that were beside him. He noted the Chinese would not fire at you if you were carrying wounded soldiers. However, they would shoot at you in the exact same spot when you returned, especially if you were carrying supplies.
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Reason for Fighting - Proving You Can Do It
Phil Feehan said his mentality was that he knew he was going to die, he just wanted it to be quick. He believed in the cause but the real reason he was fighting was to prove he could do it. He was fighting for his own life at the time.
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Adopting Children
Phil and Joanne Feehan adopted five Korean children in addition to the six children already in their family. They considered human life was more important than gaining material things. The couple had difficulties getting mixed children but believe it was most important to adopt them because of the challenges they faced in Korea.
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