55th Military Police Company, 1953
MP PEEWEE - M/Sgt. Yo-Yo (center) was not always the sharp soldier he is in the picture. No, as a matter of fact, the little Korean orphan was found freezing to death on the streets of Seoul two-months ago. He was brought in by the 55th MP Company there and is shown here with his buddies Cpt. Carl Wilson (left), Lubbock, Texas, and Sgt. Billy Graves, Lorado, West Virginia. 7-year old Korean War orphan Yo-Yo was 'adopted' as the unit mascot of the 55th Military Police Company early 1953 after one of the unit's members found the little boy wandering the streets of Seoul. During and right after the Korean War, stories of Korean orphans being "adopted" by various U.S. military units in South Korea filled the pages of Stars and Stripes. Some of these stories had follow ups when the children would get adopted by one of the unit members and taken to their new American homes. The stories often describe the "Americanization" of the children, taking on American dress, customs and tastes (and sometimes the language) of the U.S. military men they live with.
