Residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, launched a collection drive when they learned of the need for blankets for hundreds of orphans in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. By December 1964, they had gathered 3,300 blankets and donated more than two tons of medical supplies for hospitals in the Seoul area.
To airlift the relief cargo to South Korea, the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133d Air Transport Wing flew a C–97 Stratofreighter airplane. Wing Commander Brig. Gen. John Dolny rode aboard the craft, which landed in Seoul on December 10. Participants in the blanket airlift called it Operation Warmth.