Axe Murder Incident
Encyclopedia
The axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area
The Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. It is often called the "Truce Village" in both the media and various military accounts...
(JSA) located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
(DMZ) which forms the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
border between North
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The killings, credited to Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
's power consolidation, and the response three days later (Operation Paul Bunyan) heightened tensions between North and South Korea as well as their respective allies, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The incident is also known as the hatchet incident and the poplar tree incident because the object of the conflict was a poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
tree standing in the JSA.
Background
Bridge of No Return
Located in the Joint Security Area , the so-called "Bridge of No Return" crosses the Military Demarcation Line between North Korea and South Korea. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The name originates from the claim that many war prisoners captured by the...
, a 100 feet (30.5 m) poplar tree blocked the line of sight between a United Nations Command
United Nations Command (Korea)
The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...
(UNC) checkpoint (CP#3) and observation post (OP#5).
CP#3, situated next to the Bridge of No Return, was the northernmost UNC checkpoint and only visible from OP#5 during the winter months. During the summer months, only the top of CP#3 was visible from one other UNC checkpoint (CP#2). Running across the middle of the bridge was the Military Demarcation Line
Military Demarcation Line (Korea)
The Military Demarcation Line , sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the land border or demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea. On either side of the line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone...
between North Korean and South Korean territories. The Korean People's Army
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
(KPA) had made numerous attempts to grab UNC personnel from CP#3 and drag them across the bridge into North Korean territory. The proximity to North Korean territory and the North Korean checkpoints on all access routes, along with the repeated attempts to kidnap the UNC personnel working there, led to CP#3 being referred to as “The Loneliest Outpost in the World”.
On one occasion before the incident, North Korean soldiers held a group of U.S. troops at gunpoint, so Joint Security Force (JSF) Company Commander Captain Arthur Bonifas was sent to force the North Koreans to stand down and bring the Americans back to safety, which he did successfully. Bonifas was one of the two killed in the axe murder.
Initial trimming
On August 18, 1976, a group of five Korean Service CorpsKorean Service Corps
The Korean Service Corps was an auxiliary civilian formation organised by the South Korean Army during the Korean War to provide labourers and porters to carry ammunition and supplies, supplementing the integral logistic elements of the US Eighth Army. Due to the nature of their employment on the...
(KSC) personnel escorted by a UNC security team consisting of Bonifas, his South Korean (ROK) Army counterpart, Captain Kim, the platoon leader of the current platoon in the area (1LT
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
Mark Barrett), and 11 enlisted personnel, both American and South Korean, went into the JSA to trim the tree as previously scheduled with the KPA delegation. The two captains did not wear sidearms, as members of the Joint Security Area were limited to only five armed officers and 30 armed enlisted personnel at a time. However, there were mattock
Mattock
A mattock is a versatile hand tool, used for digging and chopping, similar to the pickaxe. It has a long handle, and a stout head, which combines an axe blade and an adze or a pick and an adze .-Description:...
s in the back of the 2½ ton truck
M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck
The M35 family of trucks is a long-lived vehicle initially deployed by the United States Army, and subsequently utilized by many nations around the world. A truck in the 2½ ton weight class, it was one of many vehicles in U.S...
. The KSC workers had the axes they brought to prune the tree branches. The tree had been scheduled to be trimmed seven days earlier, but rain had forced the work to be rescheduled.
After trimming began, 15 to 16 KPA soldiers appeared, commanded by Senior Lt. Pak Chul, whom the UNC soldiers had previously nicknamed "Lt. Bulldog" due to a history of confrontations. Pak and his subordinates appeared to observe the trimming without concern for approximately 15 minutes, until he abruptly told the UNC to cease the activity stating the tree could not be trimmed "because Kim Il Sung personally planted it and nourished it and it's growing under his supervision." Capt. Bonifas ordered the detail to continue, and turned his back on Lt. Pak Chul.
Attack
While Capt. Bonifas died instantly, Lt. Barrett jumped a low wall which led into a 15 ft. (4½ m) deep tree-filled depression, just across the road from the tree. The depression was not visible from the road because of the dense grass and small trees. The entire fight lasted for only about 20–30 seconds before the UNC Force managed to disperse the KPA guards and place Capt. Bonifas' body in their truck. However, there was no sign of Lt. Barrett and the two UNC guards at OP#5 could not see them.
They did, however, observe the KPA guards grab (by the heels) approximately five members of their own force and drag them back across the bridge. They also observed the KPA guards at KPA#8 (along the UNC emergency egress road) exhibiting strange behavior, in that one guard would take an axe and go down into the depression for a couple of minutes and then come back up and hand the axe to another guard who would repeat the process. This went on for approximately 90 minutes until the UNC guards at OP#5 were informed that Lt. Barrett was missing, at which time they informed their superiors about the KPA activity in the depression. A search and rescue squad was quickly dispatched and found Lt. Barrett had been attacked with the axe by the North Koreans.
Lt. Barrett was recovered and placed in the back seat of Lt Col Vierra's sedan, whereby Capt Shaddix and Lt Col Vierra's driver rushed Barrett to the Camp Greaves Aid Station. A helicopter with civilian passengers was immediately diverted to Camp Greaves, the passengers got off, Barrett was placed on board with a Camp Greaves Medic and Shaddix. The helicopter proceeded to Seoul, and met a Medivac helicopter. Both landed, Barrett was transferred to the Medivac helicopter because of its medical capabilities, which immediately headed to Seoul with Shaddix. Barrett was pronounced dead soon after taking off, and the Medivac landed and Barrett was again transferred to the non-medivac helicopter, which took Barrett and Shaddix to Seoul, and the Medivac proceeded to the JSA.
Captain Shirron (Bonifas' replacement), Captain Shaddix, the Joint Duty Officer's driver, the Joint Duty Officer, and the OP#5 guard witnessed the attack from OP#5 and recorded the incident with both a black and white camera, which ran out of film, and Shaddix's 35 mm camera with a telephoto lens recorded the pictures published. The UNC Guard at CP#3 (Bridge of No Return) recorded the incident with movie camera.
Reaction
Shortly after the incident, North Korean media began airing reports of the fight. The North Korean version stated:"Around 10:45 a.m. today, the American imperialist aggressors sent in 14 hoodlums with axes into the Joint Security Area to cut the trees on their own accord, although such a work should be mutually consented beforehand. Four persons from our side went to the spot to warn them not to continue the work without our consent. Against our persuasion, they attacked our guards en masse and committed a serious provocative act of beating our men, wielding murderous weapons and depending on the fact that they outnumbered us. Our guards could not but resort to self-defense measures under the circumstances of this reckless provocation."
Within four hours of the attack, Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
(son of the North Korean leader Kim Il-sung) addressed the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he presented a prepared document describing the incident as an unprovoked attack on North Korean guards, led by American officers. He then introduced a resolution asking the conference to condemn that day's grave U.S. provocation and called on participants to endorse both the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Korea and the dissolution of the United Nations Command, which was seconded by Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. With such a short time since the incident, with details still sketchy, and the pro-Soviet nature of Conference of Non-Aligned Nations, the members of the conference passed the resolution.
The CIA considered that the attack had been pre-planned by the Red regime. A variety of responses were evaluated. Readiness levels for American forces in Korea were increased to DEFCON 3 early on August 19. Rocket and artillery attacks in the area were considered, but discounted due to an unfavorable 4:1 ratio of artillery pieces.
Operation Paul Bunyan
In response to the "axe murder incident", the UN Command determined that instead of trimming the branches that obscured visibility, they would cut down the tree with the aid of overwhelming force. The operation, named after mythical lumberjack Paul BunyanPaul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue...
, was conceived as a US/South Korean show of force
Show of force
Show of force is a military term for an operation intended to warn or intimidate an opponent and to showcase one's own capability or will to act if provoked...
, but was also carefully managed to prevent further escalation. It was planned over two days by General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Richard G. Stilwell
Richard G. Stilwell
General Richard Giles Stilwell served as Commander, United States Forces Korea from 1973 to 1976, and Acting Commander of the U.S. Army, Pacific from September to December 1974...
and his staff at the UNC headquarters in Seoul.
Forces
Operation Paul Bunyan was carried out on August 21 at 7 AM, three days after the killings. A convoy of 23 American and South Korean vehicles ("Task Force Vierra", named for Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Victor S. Vierra, commander of the United States Army Support Group) drove into the JSA without warning to the North Koreans, who had one observation post manned at that hour. In the vehicles were two eight-man teams of military engineers (from the 2nd Engineer Battalion
2nd Engineer Battalion (United States)
The 2nd Engineer Battalion is an engineering battalion in the United States Army which can trace its lineage back to 1861.-Lineage:Organized 31 December 1861 in the Regular Army at Washington, D.C., from new and existing companies of engineers as a provisional engineer battalion Expanded 14 March-7...
, 2nd Infantry Division) equipped with chain-saws to cut down the tree. These teams were accompanied by two 30-man security platoons from the Joint Security Force, who were armed with pistols and axe handles. The 2nd Platoon would secure the northern entrance to the JSA via the Bridge of No Return, while the 3rd Platoon would secure the southern edge of the area.
Concurrently, a team from B Company, commanded by Capt. Walter Seifried, had activated the detonation systems for the charges on Freedom Bridge and had the 165mm main gun of the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle
M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle
The M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle is a military engineering vehicle based on an M60A1 Patton main battle tank chassis with a hydraulically operated dozer blade mounted on the front effectively functioning as an armored bulldozer, plus an A-frame crane boom hinged on either side of the turret and a...
aimed mid-span to ensure that the bridge would fall should the order be given for its destruction. Also B Company, supporting E Company (Bridge), commanded by Capt. Williams, were building M4T6 rafts on the Imjin River should the situation require emergency evacuation by that route.
In addition, a 64-man ROK special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
company accompanied them, armed with clubs and trained in Tae Kwon Do, supposedly without firearms. However, once they parked their trucks near the Bridge of No Return, they started throwing out the sandbags that lined the truck bottoms, and handing out M-16 rifles and M-79 grenade launchers that had been concealed below. Several of the special forces men also had Claymore mines strapped to their chests with the firing mechanism in their hands, and were shouting at the North Koreans to cross the bridge.
A U.S. infantry company in 20 utility helicopters and 7 Cobra attack helicopters
AH-1 Cobra
The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It shares a common engine, transmission and rotor system with the older UH-1 Iroquois...
circled behind them. Behind these helicopters, B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
es escorted by U.S. F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
s from Kunsan Air Base
Kunsan Air Base
Kunsan Air Base , is a United States Air Force base located on the west coast of the South Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is at the town of Gunsan about 150 miles south of Seoul. The town can be romanized as both Gunsan and Kunsan...
and ROK F-5 Freedom Fighter
F-5 Freedom Fighter
The Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and the F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely-used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop...
s were visible flying across the sky at high altitude. At Taegu Air Base, General Dynamics F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
bombers of the 430th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in southwestern Idaho, United States. The base is in Elmore County, 12 miles southwest of the city of Mountain Home, which is 40 miles southeast of Boise, via Interstate 84.The host unit at Mountain Home since 1972...
, were stationed. The aircraft carrier Midway
USS Midway (CV-41)
USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...
task force had also been moved to a station just offshore. In addition, near the edges of the DMZ, many more heavily armed U.S. and ROK infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
including the Second Battalion, 71st Air Defense Regiment armed with HAWK missiles, and armor were waiting to back up the special operations team. Bases near the DMZ were prepared for demolition in the case of a military response. The defense condition (DEFCON) was elevated on order of Gen. Stillwell, as recounted in Col. De LaTeur's research paper later. In addition, 12,000 additional troops were ordered to Korea, including 1,800 Marines from Okinawa.
Altogether, Task Force Vierra consisted of 813 men: almost all of the men of the United States Army Support Group, of which the Joint Security Force was a part; a ROK reconnaissance company; a ROK Special Forces company which had infiltrated the river area by the bridge the night before; and members of a reinforced composite rifle company from the 9th Infantry Regiment. In addition to this force, every UNC force in the rest of South Korea was on battle alert.
Actual operation
North Korea quickly responded with about 150–200 troops, armed with machine guns and assault rifles. The North Korean troops arrived mostly in buses, but did not leave them at first, watching the events unfold. Upon seeing their arrival, Lt Col Vierra relayed a radio communication, whereupon the helicopters and Air Force jets became visible over the horizon. The North Koreans quickly disembarked from their buses and began setting up two-man machine gun positions, where they watched in silence as the tree was felled in 42 minutes (three minutes fewer than Stilwell's estimate), avoiding a violent confrontation. Also removed were two road barriers installed by the North Koreans, while the South Korean troops also vandalized two North Korean guard posts. The stump of the tree, almost 20 ft (6 m) tall, was deliberately left standing.
Five minutes into the operation, the UNC notified their North Korean counterparts at the JSA that a UN work party had entered the JSA "in order to peacefully finish the work left unfinished" on August 18.
Aftermath
Although the operation was carried out peacefully, there was concern that it could spark a wider conflict. The incident led to increased tensions along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but did not develop into full-scale war. Some shots were fired at the US helicopter which, carrying Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Morris Brady, circled Panmunjom later that day, but nobody was injured.
The United Nations Command had demanded that the North Koreans "punish those involved and make adequate reparations to the families of those killed and injured". Later on the day of Operation Paul Bunyan, they received a message from Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
expressing regret at the incident without accepting responsibility. The message was relayed by the senior member of the North Korean MAC team (Major General Han Ju Kyong) to the senior UNC MAC member (Rear Admiral Mark Frudden). It read: "It was a good thing that no big incident occurred at Panmunjom for a long period. However, it is regretful that an incident occurred in the Joint Security Area, Panmunjom this time. An effort must be made so that such incidents may not recur in the future. For this purpose both sides should make efforts. We urge your side to prevent the provocation. Our side will never provoke first, but take self-defensive measures only when provocation occurs. This is our consistent stand." While not going far enough to satisfy a previously discussed 'acceptable' Northern response, the US administration decided to emphasize this as a step in the right direction, clearly not intent on further escalation.
The Joint Security Area's Advance Camp (Camp Kitty Hawk) was later renamed Camp Bonifas
Camp Bonifas
Camp Bonifas is a United Nations Command military post located 400 meters south of the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is 2400 meters south of the military demarcation line and lies within the Joint Security Area , also known as Panmunjom...
in honor of the slain company commander
Company Commander
A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 350 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons....
. The site of the tree, the stump of which was cut down in 1987, became the location of a stone monument with a brass plate inscribed in the memory of both men. The UN command has held commemorative ceremonies at the monument on anniversaries.
The close-by UNC checkpoint (CP#3, situated next to the Bridge of No Return) was no longer used after the mid-1980s, when concrete-filled bollard
Bollard
A bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it meant a post used on a ship or a quay, principally for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles...
s were placed in the road to make vehicle passage impossible.
The incident also prompted the Military Demarcation Line to be enforced throughout the Joint Security Area, with the exception of the blue buildings on the line.
The axe supposedly used in the incident is on display in the North Korea Peace Museum
North Korea Peace Museum
The North Korea Peace Museum is in the building constructed to house the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. It is located in the former village of Panmunjeom in Gyeonggi province, North Korea....
.
General William J. Livsey
William J. Livsey
William James Livsey is a retired United States Army four star general who served as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command/Commander, United States Forces Korea/Commanding General, Eighth United States Army , 1984-1987.Livsey is a native of...
, who was the Commanding General of the Eighth United States Army in South Korea from 1984 to 1987, publicly carried a swagger stick
Swagger stick
A swagger stick is a short stick or riding crop usually carried by a uniformed person as a symbol of authority. A swagger stick is shorter than a staff or cane, and is usually made from rattan.-History:...
that was carved from wood collected at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
Axe Murder Incident poplar tree. The swagger stick was ceremoniously passed on to General Louis C. Menetrey
Louis C. Menetrey
Louis Charles Menetrey was a United States Army four star general who served as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander in Chief, ROK/U.S...
when General Livsey retired from his command.
External links
- The "Axe Murder Incident" and Operation Paul Bunyan, a Veterans of Foreign WarsVeterans of Foreign WarsThe Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
organization website - Murder at Panmunjon: The role of the theatre commander in crisis resolution, Department of State, Foreign Service Institute, Colonel Conrad DeLateur (PDF)