An attic discovery, a daughter's gift

An attic discovery, a daughter's gift: "An attic discovery, a daughter's gift
A Portland woman traces stories her father never told to horror and honor in Korea
Sunday, October 02, 2005
TOM HALLMAN JR.

Mary Emerton uncovered her father's secret in 1978.

She was 17, a high school senior, and her parents had asked her to clean the attic as they prepared to move from their Southeast Portland home. She sorted boxes and carted them downstairs, eventually clearing a space that revealed an old steamer trunk. It was too heavy for her to lift, so she opened the lid to remove the contents.

That's when she discovered the scrapbook.

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As books go, it was thin, maybe 50 pages. Some, brittle with age, had pulled loose from the dark-brown leather binding. Although her family enjoyed passing around photos and reminiscing, Emerton had never seen this scrapbook."