Hundreds Fathered by G.I.s

April 5, 1947
Frankfurt, Germany

According to Mrs. Jean McCool of the newly-incorporated American charity Orphans, Inc., 450 abandoned babies are living in terrible conditions in local orphanages where there is little or no milk, food, medicines, linens or clothes for the infants. More than half of the foundlings are the illegitimate children of American servicemen.

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

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Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

2 thoughts on “Hundreds Fathered by G.I.s”

  1. Many thanks for this fascinating personal recollection. All of the stories on the 1947project are inspired by vintage newspaper stories, mainly from the Los Angeles Times. We’re glad you found us. Your mother was a heroine, and hers is one of the more uplifting stories on our mainly true crime-themed blog.
  2. Our Mother, Mrs Jean McCool took us with her to an orphanage run by Nuns in Frankfurt AMain to deliver food & meds from St Cecilia Nuns in San Antonio, Tx, in response to her having seen babies swaddled in rags, a building riddled w/broken windows during the coldest winter in Europe in 100 years. The bitter cold, the starving children prompted Mom to found Orphans, Inc. One delivery was a blessing the Nuns said, “…the skin cream for the dry skin of the babies.” Mom asked to see the cream – she knew no skin cream had been sent. It was mayonnaise. Her children have always been proud of our Mom for seeing a need and so lovingly filling it. Community activism applied globally at its finest!
    We would very much like to know where this information came from, so out of the blue!
    Barbara McCool Kaufman
    MaryCarroll McCool Eisenmenger

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