Father Mulcahy seems like a good character to be profiling
on Christmas Day. He was the chaplain
for the 4077th. As a priest
in an Army unit full of doctors and soldiers, he often felt inadequate – as if
saving souls didn’t have any value as compared to saving lives. As such, on several occasions he performed
super-hero acts such as bargaining with black marketers for medications,
recovering stolen drugs while under sniper fire, performing a tracheotomy while
Hawkeye coached him over a radio, and last but not least, risking his life
(& going deaf) while trying to save enemy hostages stuck in a pen. In addition to being the camp’s resident
priest, he exercises his talents as an amateur boxer and often talks about his
sister the Sister who is back home.
When
the Korean War ended, it seems that Father went back to his old parish in
Philadelphia. While he was grateful to
be home with his family, he kept thinking about all of his beloved orphans back
in Korea. He decided to volunteer his
services to an inner city orphanage in Philadelphia. In addition to trying to place those orphans
in permanent homes, he also got involved with an international adoption agency
that placed Korean children in homes in the United States. He never did see any of his “children” from
his days in Korea, but he took solace in seeing the thankful eyes of the many
Korean children he did help find a home.
In addition to his services with children, he also got involved with the
school for the deaf located in Philly.
As I mentioned, his rescuing efforts took the bulk of his hearing
ability. While he did regain some of it
with the help of some reconstructive surgery, he remained functionally
deaf. Interestingly, he started a boxing
program at the school for the deaf – in order to build up the confidence of the
children. This program became nationally
known and earned him many accolades. For
a man who did not have a family of his own to keep him busy, he led a very full
life.
Once he retired, he and his Sister
sister got a condo together and continued to keep very active with his various
interests. Fr Mulcahy plans to take his
sister to the memorial dedication to meet all of the wonderful people he served
with. He is absolutely thrilled to be part of the festivities!
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