From left to right; Ricky Maddox, Anthony O'Connor, Kevin Thomas, Kenton Detweiler, Chul Botticello, Greg Joo Hyun Noh, and Danny Ware met in an orphanage in the 1970s in Korea and were befriended by Sgt. Andrew James Singley. They came from across the country to pay their respect to Sgt. James Singley at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media.)

Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media for Nj.com

On a recent humid morning at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden, seven men each held a yellow rose in their hands, and Sgt. Andrew J. Singley in their hearts.

More than 40 years before, they were abandoned Amerasian children at an orphanage in Incheon, Korea. Then an unbelievable blessing entered their lives -- Singley. To this day they don’t know why, but this unselfish gentle man looked after them as if they were the children he never had in life.

His unconditional love brought the seven to his grave last month, to say a proper goodbye with a headstone that had not been installed when he died in 2002. Singley was 57.

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Copy photo of Sgt. Andrew James Singley with the Korean orphans that he befriended and helped. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

With tears in their eyes, they thanked the Army sergeant for caring about them after the war, at a time when no one else did. He made them feel like a family, creating a bond and brotherhood that they held on to as American families adopted them in the 1970s.

“I bet you didn’t expect to see us here,” said Anthony O’Connor, 59, of Pittsgrove Township. “Because of you, we are here. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I’ll always love you.”

His brothers traveled distances that covered the Pacific Ocean, and from the Southern and Midwest regions of the country, all the way through to New England.

Kenton Detweiler, 54, flew in from Maui, Hawaii; Danny Ware, 58, Oklahoma; Ricky Maddox, 58, Iowa; Chul Botticello, 59, Virginia; Greg Noh, 63, Delaware; and Kevin Thomas, 58, Maine.

Singley meant that much to these men.

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Sgt. Andrew James Singley's headstone that the orphan boys purchased in appreciation for all that Singley did for them in the orphanage back in 1970 at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

“I can’t say anything but thank you very much for your kindness and your guidance and the way you helped us when we needed it the most,” Detweiler said. “Back then, nobody loved us except you.”

He dropped to his knees in prayer, bending to place his forehead to the ground, his face buried in the American flag he was holding.

Everyone had something to say, a memory to share. From his hugs to his jovial personality, Singley was remembered by his boys as a godsend and an angel.

“I’ve never seen one, but I’m looking at one here,” said Botticello as his brothers gathered around him.

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An emotional Kenton Detweiler thanks Sgt. Andrew J. Singley for taking caring of him and many other children when they were in a Korean orphanage. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media for Nj.com)

When they were done, the men walked toward Singley’s grave, each holding a yellow rose symbolizing remembrance. They placed the long-stemmed flower on top of Singley’s headstone, where their Korean birth names are etched.

They then turned toward several of Singley’s family members and in unison bowed at the waist, a sign of respect in Korean culture.

“It never dawned on us the effect he had on them,” said Bob Singley, his nephew from Saratoga, New York. “They looked up to him, like a dad almost.”

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From left to right; Ricky Maddox, Anthony O'Connor, Kevin Thomas, Kenton Detweiler, Chul Botticello, Greg Joo Hyun Noh, and Danny Ware met in an orphanage in the 1970s in Korea and were befriended by Sgt. Andrew James Singley. They came from across the country to pay their respect to Sgt. James Singley at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

Singley gave them the childhood they never had when he appeared in the doorway of the Myung Sung Won orphanage in 1970. They were 6 to 15 years old then; Singley was in his mid-20s. His massive frame made them nervous as he stood in the building’s entrance, blocking the sunlight into a hallway that turned dark.

Staring at his towering silhouette, the boys didn’t move. It was quiet until they heard their native tongue spoken with an American dialect.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” Singley said.

Translation: “Hi or hello.”

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Kevin Thomas lays a rose on Sgt. Andrew James Singley headstone at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

The boys didn’t know English. His Korean wasn’t good, either. But smiling is a universal language, and that’s how they began to connect.

Every weekend, they looked forward to Singley. He brought them treats: M&M’s, gum, candy bars and cookies, goodies they never had. In his Jeep, he’d take them to the park, tourist attractions and military bases to eat.

“That first hamburger I taste,’’ Noh said. “Man it was so great.’’

He looked out for their health, supplying them with medicine to treat lice and parasites they had contracted.

Life for these boys was not good in the orphanage. They ate leftover food scraps from military bases that were boiled and sold in the street. Socially, all they had was each other.

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Copy photo of a young Sgt. Andrew James Singley. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

Korean society looked down on Amerasians. Born out of wedlock to Korean mothers and American soldiers, the men said Korean families didn’t accept their mothers, and definitely not them.

Singley, however, did. He never left them, even when other soldiers would not return after initial visits to the orphanage.

Two years after meeting Singley, the boys and other children from the orphanage were sent to Seoul, where the Holt adoption agency placed them with families in the United States and around the world.

Singley was right there, helping from 1972 to 1975. He’d write letters to American families, explaining who the boys were and what they liked. He’d visit them to see how they were doing, sometimes more than once.

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Korean orphans and Sgt. Andrew Singley's family gather around his new headstone at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

The second time for Maddox was when he graduated from eighth grade in South Carolina.

“I don’t think he realized what he was really doing,” Maddox said of his impact.

If the boys or any other children had a hard time adjusting, Singley called Holt to see if they could be assigned to another family. If that didn’t work, he’d advise the children on how to handle their situation at home.

At each pit stop, Singley gave the children an address list of kids from the orphanage, so they could write to each other. He wrote letters, too, and sent audiotapes with the voices of Korean children saying their name, the country or state where they were living.

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Sgt. Singley nephew Robert Singley, center, attends the memorial that the orphan boys put together to remember their friend who helped them when they were children in a Korean orphanage at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

On one 1975 recording, Singley greets O’Connor in Korean, telling him to study hard and to pray every day. It would be the last tape O’Connor received.

The boys grew up and eventually lost touch with Singley. He left the military after 20 years and became a toll collector with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Born in Newberry, South Carolina, Singley was one of nine siblings. He never married.

Once he began to comb through old letters earlier this year, O’Connor wanted to know what had happened to Singley. After dogged, sleuth-style research, O’Connor learned Singley was buried in Rosehill, without a headstone.

“I said, ‘This man deserves something from us,’" O’Connor said. “We want the whole world to know what he did for us.”

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Copy photo of the Korean orphans that Sgt. Andrew James Singley befriended and helped. Top Row from left to right: Danny Ware,, Chul Botticello, Anthony O'Connor Bottom row from left to right: Kevin Thomas, Kenton Detweiler, Ricky Maddox. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

O’Connor rounded up his Korean brothers to purchase a headstone, but he needed permission from Singley’s family. With some luck, he somehow found them, too.

Bob Singley was stunned once he spoke with O’Connor, saying the family thought the Army had made arrangements for a headstone after the military funeral. The nephew was then floored to hear about the tribute O’Connor and the guys were planning.

On the front of the headstone is a picture of Singley. The American and South Korean flag is underneath with an inscription: “You were gone before we knew it but not forgotten. Your spirit lives on forever within our hearts.”

During his service, Singley became a drill instructor, re-enlisting several times. When he came home, his nephew said, he talked of the kids from the orphanage. He showed them pictures and videotapes, but family members didn’t have a clue about the magnitude of his involvement.

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Sgt. Singley new headstone at Rosehill Cemetery in Linden on July 27, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

“Our mother and father always taught us to be nice to everybody,” said Ernest Singley, 81, a Roselle resident who is Singley’s brother.

It was the only explanation he could provide for Singley’s unshakable altruism.

All these years later, his boys still can’t believe Singley embraced them. As men, they’re forever grateful that he did.

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Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.