Reverend Gehring was a navy chaplain during World War II. He was a Vincentian missionary. He was ordained at St. Vincent's Seminary in Philadelphia in 1930. He was a missionary in China in the 1930s. In 1942, he went to Guadalcanal, serving as a Lieutenant in the Chaplain Corps. While there, he helped nurse a 6-year-old Chinese girl, Patsy Li, back to health after she had been found beaten and bayonetted. He eventually helped to reunite the girl with her mother. They had been on a ship, thousands of miles away, that had been torpedoed by the Japanese. His 1962 book "Child of Miracles" recounts this experience. After World War II, Reverend Gehring spent decades traveling and preaching at different parishes in Pennsylvania, New York and elsewhere. During the 1960s, he taught theology at St. John's University. He was portrayed by Richard Carlyle in the 1960 film "The Gallant Hours," which was directed by film star, and former Naval officer, Robert Montgomery. He retired as pastor of St. Vincent's Church in Germantown (Philadelphia), five years before his death. He died in his sleep while recovering from a hip fracture. Mass of Christian Burial was said on April 30th at St. Vincent's Seminary in Philadelphia. Burial, with full military honors, was attended by Patsy Li.
Reverend Gehring was a navy chaplain during World War II. He was a Vincentian missionary. He was ordained at St. Vincent's Seminary in Philadelphia in 1930. He was a missionary in China in the 1930s. In 1942, he went to Guadalcanal, serving as a Lieutenant in the Chaplain Corps. While there, he helped nurse a 6-year-old Chinese girl, Patsy Li, back to health after she had been found beaten and bayonetted. He eventually helped to reunite the girl with her mother. They had been on a ship, thousands of miles away, that had been torpedoed by the Japanese. His 1962 book "Child of Miracles" recounts this experience. After World War II, Reverend Gehring spent decades traveling and preaching at different parishes in Pennsylvania, New York and elsewhere. During the 1960s, he taught theology at St. John's University. He was portrayed by Richard Carlyle in the 1960 film "The Gallant Hours," which was directed by film star, and former Naval officer, Robert Montgomery. He retired as pastor of St. Vincent's Church in Germantown (Philadelphia), five years before his death. He died in his sleep while recovering from a hip fracture. Mass of Christian Burial was said on April 30th at St. Vincent's Seminary in Philadelphia. Burial, with full military honors, was attended by Patsy Li.
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