Evening star., 1945-02-20
Nearly IS Boys Of st. JosephIs Home and School
Are Now Serving in Nation Armed Forces
Those Left Behind
Prey Daily for Boys
Now Overseas
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

Now Oversees
BY MIRIAM OTTENBERG.
just inside the entrance of St..
Joseph's Home and School is an
honor roll with nearly rs names on
1t and the request, Remember them
in prayer"
Sister Leila, superintendent of the
home for motherless or fatherless
boys, pointed to name with a gold
star beside it. Seaman (First Class
Sinclair Cordua, oldest of the three
orphaned Cordua boys who grew up
at st. Joseph's, was lost at sea.
"He was on his way back to go to
officers school," she said.
Sister Leila stood before the honor
roll, calling off the names of the
boys she had once seen racing down
the slopes that surround the house
on the hill, the boys she sat beside
when they were sick, the boys she
patted on the head when they
earned a weeks good conduct"
card.
There are the four O'Connell
boys. Their mother died when they
were little. Mikes in hospital in
Georgia now. He wears the Purple
Heart"
Tells of Other Boys.
The way she said it you could
tell she was proud of Mike. She
pointed to other names.
aIasc Ea,tto,orf
Forces. And he's a paratrooper.
He's on submarine chaser. This
one came in to see us on his last
leave. He looked like child dressed
up in his uniform. He's only 49,"
There were other brothers-the
three Shannons and the three
Ryalls and the Mangum brothers.
Nineteen-year-old Joseph Mangum
Is a prisoner of war in Germany
and Maurice Mangum, his younger
brother, is in the Navy, somewhere
in the Pacific.
"But we still have Raymond Man
gum with us. He was so little when
the three boys came we had to find
high chair for him." Sister Leila
recalled
Inside her study she drew a pile
of letters from her desk drawer.
There were V-mails, airmails, let
ters on Navy stationery, Christmas
cards, painstaking scrawls on lined
paper. The letters were creased
from many readings.
Letters Read to Youths.
'The sisters read them to the
boys" Sister Leila explained. Then
they know who they're praying for"
She read aloud from one of the
letters, 81 call on God when the
going is tough. =" There was
more to the sentence but Sister
Leila couldn't finish it right then.
Poor boys" she said, 'it's always
been tough for them"
Most of the letters were of the
kind boy writes home to his family.
They assured Sister Leila that they
weren't in much danger. They said
they went to mass every Sunday.
One wrote about a buddy who was
"a swell guy" They guessed about
when they'd come home. One of
them wanted Sister Leila to say
hello to Wimpy for him.
.'Al and Wimpy used to play foot
ball together here" Sister Leila ex-
planned.
There were letters fun of boyish
exuberance, like the ones from
Donald. Sister Leila recalled how
Donald had visited on a Christmas
eve-looking like a real sailor with
his hat pushed way back on his
head" They had little talk then.
II told him he was too young to
bother with girls and now look what
he's writing" smiled Sister Leila,
pushing a four-page letter across
the desk.
tits been a year now since left
the States and so far not a sight
of woman as yet. Wow!" wrote
the irrepressible Donald, adding
what the ship had served for
Thanksgiving dinner and how much
money he lost on Dewey.
Admits "Going Is Tough"
Mixes letters were different. He
promised the sister that Il won't
let you down. I'll keep think
ing of what you said" Mike added
that what. he was going through
was pretty tough, but "an you need
Is good, old Irish smile and a
prayer on your lips"
Even after the boys left st.
Joseph's they always used to re-
turn for the midnight mass on
Christmas eve, and Joseph, writ
ing his V-mail by candlelight, re-
membered that.
"On Christmas" he wrote, "I at
tended mass in one of the local
churches and the little childrens
voices singing the mass gave me
thoughts of my days at st. Joe's."
Sister Leila heard the scuffling of
children's feet in the hall outside
her study and went to the door to
watch the "minims"-the 5 and 6
year olds-march by.
They're going into the assembly
room to get their good conduct
cards." she explained as she patted
the head of little fellow with his
two front teeth out and asked
another where his sweater was.
Most Were on Honor Roll.
Most Of those boys on the honor
roll were just this age when they
came here" she reminisced.
She passed the library where six
violins were on q table, waiting for
the next lesson. She nodded at two
sisters mending sweaters and trou-
sers for S boys. She went up the
stairs, passed room with very small
beds where the "minims" sleep, then
the shower room where the sisters
insist that the boys scrub thoroughly
every night, passed the juniors
sleeping room with jig-saw puzzle
laid out on the table.
Finally, she came to the door Of
the chapel. Here, on Tuesday