Mailbox of peace

Section 3. Love & Fr iendship Mai lbox of Peace 072 073 Korea Foundation & US Peace Corps KF COVID-19 Survival Box Gratitude Letter Col lection In the rural part of West Virginia where we live , the Covid - 19 Survival Box was an amazement . Ruth and I ( K - 8 , 1969 - 70 ) were as surprised as everyone in the post office . We opened the box , and pulled out more and more treasures . We are shar- ing the masks with our neighbors . Relatives and friends who have seen the video think we were heroes . We were not heroes , really . We were lucky to have an opportunity to live and work in a very different , very interesting country which welcomed us as friends . We were young and inexperienced - and even so , the little we could contribute was accepted with gratitude . One of the special connections we have with Korea is our son ' s birth in Sev- erance Hospital in August , 1970 - the first Peace Corps baby in Korea . It ' s hard to believe he is now 50 years old ! This half - century has brought so much change to Korea , some of which we saw during a return visit in 2009 , and it has also brought Korean culture into prominence in the United States . We continue to feel lucky that we were introduced to your country at an early age , and that our connections continue . “The first Peace Corps baby in Korea” Hugh Rogers , K - 8 Hugh Rogers & Ruth Blackwell Rogers U.S.A West Virginia It was a lovely surprise and lifted our spirits as we are mostly staying close to home these days . We think and speak so often of our time in Korea , even though it was 50 years ago . It set us on a path of service and helped us to develop an international out- look on the world . We did not return to Korea for many years , but when I turned 60 , we went back with three K - 10s who were also born in 1947 . We took advantage of the Korea Revisit trip in 2011 and visited one more time in 2015 . We still keep in touch with a few former students and co - teachers now in their 80s . I also wanted to add my husband , Michael DeVito , to your list of former Peace Corps Volunteers . Michael and I came from different parts of the U . S and met in Peace Corps K - 12 training in Brattleboro , Vermont in the fall of 1969 . My maiden name was Mary Patricia Hannan . Michael and I got married in Daegu in June 1970 . Michael taught at Jeil Girls Middle School and then at Keimyung College . We stayed in Korea for three years total . We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary this past summer . < omit > We always hold Korea very close to our hearts since the Peace Corps expe- rience is what brought us together . Again , thank you so much . “We always hold Korea very close to our hearts” Mary Patricia & Michael DeVito , K - 12 Mary Patricia & Michael DeVito