List of American defectors in the Korean War
Encyclopedia
This list of American and British defectors in the Korean War names the twenty-two United Nations
soldiers and POWs
(one Briton and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom
and United States
after the Korean War
in favor of remaining in China
, and their subsequent fates. Also listed are soldiers who defected to North Korea.
and those of China
and North Korea
. The warring factions finally agreed on an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners, Operation Little Switch, which was carried out in April and May 1953. That June, the two sides agreed that no prisoner who did not wish to be repatriated would be forced to do so (this had long been a sticking point in negotiations, with the Chinese and North Koreans wanting all prisoners returned to their home countries). Prisoners who did not wish to go back to their home countries would be given 90 days in neutral territory to reconsider before being allowed to stay in enemy territory. Following the armistice
that was signed on July 27, 1953, effectively ending the Korean War (South Korea
never signed), the main prisoner exchange was free to proceed.
Operation Big Switch
, the exchange of remaining prisoners of war, commenced in early August 1953, and lasted into December. 75,823 Communist fighters (70,183 North Koreans, 5,640 Chinese) were returned to their homelands. 12,773 U.N. soldiers (7,862 South Koreans, 3,597 Americans, and 946 British) were sent back south across the armistice line. Over 22,000 Communist soldiers, mostly North Koreans, refused repatriation. Similarly, 1 British and 23 American soldiers (along with 327 South Koreans) also refused to be returned to their homelands. Two, Corporal Claude Batchelor and Corporal Edward Dickenson, changed their minds before the 90-day window expired. Both were court-martial
ed and sentenced to prison terms, with Batchelor serving 4½ years and Dickenson 3½.
Shortly before the deadline was about to expire, Americans south of the DMZ broadcast a message to the defectors in Panmunjeom
, saying "We believe that there are some of you who desire repatriation." Defector Richard Corden (see below) shouted "Do any Americans want to go home?", and his fellow detainees answered "No!".
That left 22 U.N. soldiers who voluntarily stayed behind with the Communists after the final exchange of prisoners. The 21 Americans were all given dishonorable discharges. This had the unintended consequence
of rendering them immune to court-martial when they finally returned to the United States, which the majority eventually did, because they were no longer active-duty military.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
soldiers and POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(one Briton and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in favor of remaining in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and their subsequent fates. Also listed are soldiers who defected to North Korea.
Background
Prisoner repatriation was one of the greatest stumbling blocks in the long cease-fire negotiations between the forces of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and those of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and North Korea
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...
. The warring factions finally agreed on an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners, Operation Little Switch, which was carried out in April and May 1953. That June, the two sides agreed that no prisoner who did not wish to be repatriated would be forced to do so (this had long been a sticking point in negotiations, with the Chinese and North Koreans wanting all prisoners returned to their home countries). Prisoners who did not wish to go back to their home countries would be given 90 days in neutral territory to reconsider before being allowed to stay in enemy territory. Following the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
that was signed on July 27, 1953, effectively ending the Korean War (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...
never signed), the main prisoner exchange was free to proceed.
Operation Big Switch
Operation Big Switch
Operation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been going on between Communist and UN forces since 1951, with one of the main stumbling blocks being the Communist insistence that all prisoners be returned home, with the UN insisting that...
, the exchange of remaining prisoners of war, commenced in early August 1953, and lasted into December. 75,823 Communist fighters (70,183 North Koreans, 5,640 Chinese) were returned to their homelands. 12,773 U.N. soldiers (7,862 South Koreans, 3,597 Americans, and 946 British) were sent back south across the armistice line. Over 22,000 Communist soldiers, mostly North Koreans, refused repatriation. Similarly, 1 British and 23 American soldiers (along with 327 South Koreans) also refused to be returned to their homelands. Two, Corporal Claude Batchelor and Corporal Edward Dickenson, changed their minds before the 90-day window expired. Both were court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed and sentenced to prison terms, with Batchelor serving 4½ years and Dickenson 3½.
Shortly before the deadline was about to expire, Americans south of the DMZ broadcast a message to the defectors in Panmunjeom
Panmunjeom
Panmunjom, located in Gyeonggi Province, is a village on the de facto border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. The building where the armistice was signed still stands, though it is on the northern side of the Military...
, saying "We believe that there are some of you who desire repatriation." Defector Richard Corden (see below) shouted "Do any Americans want to go home?", and his fellow detainees answered "No!".
That left 22 U.N. soldiers who voluntarily stayed behind with the Communists after the final exchange of prisoners. The 21 Americans were all given dishonorable discharges. This had the unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
of rendering them immune to court-martial when they finally returned to the United States, which the majority eventually did, because they were no longer active-duty military.
The 22 who stayed
- Cpl. Clarence Adams was a soldier from Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Adams cited racial discrimination in the United States as the reason he refused repatriation. While a prisoner, Adams took classes in Communist political theory, and afterwards lectured other prisoners in the camps. During the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, Adams did propaganda broadcasts for Radio Hanoi from their Chinese office, telling black American soldiers not to fight: "You are supposedly fighting for the freedom of the Vietnamese, but what kind of freedom do you have at home, sitting in the back of the bus, being barred from restaurants, stores and certain neighborhoods, and being denied the right to vote. ... Go home and fight for equality in America." He married a Chinese woman and lived in China until the increasingly anti-Western atmosphere of the Cultural RevolutionCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
led him to return to the United States in 1966. Adams was charged with treasonTreasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
by the House Un-American Activities CommitteeHouse Un-American Activities CommitteeThe House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
, but charges were dismissed. He later started a Chinese restaurant business in Memphis. Clarence Adams died in 1999. His autobiography An American Dream: The Life of an African American Soldier and POW Who Spent Twelve Years in Communist China was posthumously published in 2007 by his daughter Della Adams and Lewis H. Carlson. - Sgt. Howard Adams is from Corsicana, TexasCorsicana, TexasCorsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
. He worked in a paper factory in JinanJinanJinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, China. He refused all media requests for interviews. - Sgt. Albert Constant Belhomme is a native of Belgium who immigrated to the United States as a teenager. He lived in China for ten years, working in a paper factory in Jinan, before returning to Antwerp, Belgium.
- Cpl. Otho Grayson Bell was originally from Olympia, WashingtonOlympia, WashingtonOlympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. In China was sent to a collective farm with William Cowart and Lewis Griggs (see below). Bell described himself, Cowart and Griggs as "the dummy bunch", saying they were sent to the farm because they could not learn Chinese. They returned to the United States together in July 1955, were arrested, but were released when it was found that the military no longer had jurisdiction over the defectors after they were dishonorably discharged. Bell died in 2003. - Marine Andrew Condron, a Scotsman of the 41 (Independent) Royal Marine Commando, was the only Briton to decline repatriation. He returned to Britain in 1960, and faced no disciplinary action.
- Sgt. Richard Corden was a native of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He returned to the United States on 19 January, 1958. He was reported to live in Milwaukee, WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
in 1961 and moved to Chicago in 1962. He reportedly continued to favor communism even after returning to the United States. He died in 1988. - Cpl. William Cowart returned with Bell and Griggs. Later the three soldiers sued for their back pay. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which held that Bell, Cowart and Griggs were entitled to their back pay from the time they were captured to the time they were dishonorably discharged.
- Sgt. Rufus Douglas died in China a few months after arrival in 1954. The manner of his death is not certain but is believed to have been from natural causes.
- Cpl. John Roedel Dunn is from Altoona, PennsylvaniaAltoona, Pennsylvania-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. He married a Czechoslovakian woman while in China and settled in Czechoslovakia in December 1959. - Sgt. Andrew Fortuna was originally from Greenup, KentuckyGreenup, KentuckyGreenup is a city in Greenup County, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Sandy Rivers. The population was 1,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greenup County. Greenup is named in honor of Christopher Greenup....
. He was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service in Korea before he was captured. He returned to the United States on July 3, 1957. He worked in Portsmouth, OhioPortsmouth, OhioPortsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
in 1958, in Detroit, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
from 1963-64 and Chicago in 1964. He was reported to be in Gary, IndianaGary, IndianaGary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
as of 1964. He died in 1984. - Lewis Wayne Griggs returned with Bell and Cowart in 1955. He was listed as a senior majoring in sociology at Stephen F. Austin State UniversityStephen F. Austin State UniversityStephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
, graduating in 1959. He died in 1984. - Pfc. Samuel David Hawkins is from Oklahoma CityOklahoma cityOklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. He married a Russian woman in China and returned to the United States in February 1957, shortly before his wife was permitted to come to the United States. He successfully petitioned the government to change his discharge from dishonorable to other than honorable. He raised a family, and has given interviews to the press on the condition that his location not be disclosed. - Cpl. Arlie Pate worked in a paper mill before returning with Aaron Wilson (see below) in 1956. He died in 1999.
- Sgt. Scott Rush married in China. After living in China ten years, he and his wife moved back to the United States and settled in the Midwest.
- Cpl. Lowell Skinner's mother begged him to come home over the radio at the time of the prisoner exchange, to no avail. He married in China, but left his wife behind when he came back to America in 1963. Later he would have problems with alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and spent six months in a psychiatric hospital. He died in 1995. - LaRance Sullivan came home in 1958 and died in 2001.
- Pfc. Richard Tenneson came home in 1955. He went to Louisiana a few months later to welcome home fellow defector Aaron Wilson (see below). He settled in Utah before dying in 2001.
- Pvt. James VenerisJames VenerisJames George Veneris or Lao Wen , was a soldier in the American forces during the Korean War, was captured by the Chinese and was one of 21 US soldiers at the end of the war who decided they would rather stay in China than return to the US.Veneris had served in the South Pacific during World War...
was from Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, PennsylvaniaMosher shows how Vandergrift was representative of the new industrial suburbs of Pittsburgh. Caught up in a dramatic round of industrial restructuring and labor tension, Pittsburgh steelmaker George McMurtry hired Frederick Law Olmsted's landscape architectural firm in 1895 to design Vandergrift...
. He stayed in China and became a dedicated communist, taking the Chinese name 'Lao Wen'. He worked in a steel mill, participated in the Great Leap ForwardGreat Leap ForwardThe Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
, hung posters during the Cultural RevolutionCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, married three times, and had children. He visited the United States in 1976 but returned to China, where he is buried. - Sgt. Harold Webb is from Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. He married a Polish woman in China and moved to Poland in 1960, reportedly settling in KatowiceKatowiceKatowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
. In 1988, he was given permission to settle in the United States. He is the subject of the Youth Defense LeagueYouth Defense LeagueYouth Defense League was an Oi!/New York Hardcore band formed in 1986. The band was featured in the Revelation Records compilation album New York City Hardcore, which featured several NYHC bands, including Sick Of It All and Gorilla Biscuits...
song Turncoat about rejection of a Korean War defector seeking a return to America. - Cpl. William White married and got a bachelor's degree in international law while in China. He returned to the United States in 1965.
- Cpl. Morris Wills was from Fort Ann, New YorkFort Ann (town), New YorkFort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 6,417 at the 2000 census...
. He played basketball for Peking University and got married in China. He came back to America in 1965 and got a job in the Asian Studies Department at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. His autobiography, Turncoat: An American's 12 Years in Communist China, was published in 1966. He died in 1999. - Cpl. Aaron Wilson was originally from Urania, LouisianaUrania, LouisianaUrania is a town in La Salle Parish, Louisiana in the United States. The population was 700 at the 2000 census.Urania was established in the late 1890s by lumbering magnate Henry E...
. He came home from China 06 December 1956. Wilson married an American girl and worked in his LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
hometown's mill.
Documentaries
They Chose China (2005), a 52-minute documentary film, directed by Shui-Bo Wang. Includes interviews with Samuel Hawkins and the families of Clarence Adams and James Veneris (both of whom were already deceased when the film was made), and archived interviews with Veneris and Adams. Crossing the Line (documentary) (Korean: 푸른 눈의 평양시민, A Blue-Eyed Pyongyang Citizen in North Korea) is a 2006 British documentary film by Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner.Defections to North Korea
Six American servicemen are known to have defected to North Korea after the war:- Larry Allen AbshierLarry Allen AbshierPrivate Larry Allen Abshier of the U.S. Army was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War.-Defecting:...
(1962) - James Joseph DresnokJames Joseph DresnokJames Joseph Dresnok is an American defector to North Korea, one of six American soldiers to defect after the Korean War. He was featured on the CBS magazine program 60 Minutes on January 28, 2007, as the last United States defector alive in North Korea and was the subject of a documentary film...
(1962) - Jerry Wayne ParrishJerry Wayne ParrishCpl. Jerry Wayne Parrish of the U.S. Army was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War....
(1963) - Charles Robert JenkinsCharles Robert JenkinsCharles Robert Jenkins is a former United States Army soldier who lived in North Korea from 1965 to 2004 after deserting his unit and crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone.-Military service and desertion:...
(1965) - Roy ChungRoy ChungRoy Chung is widely believed to be the fifth of six United States Army servicemen to have defected to North Korea after the Korean War.- Life and disappearance :...
(1979) - Joseph T. WhiteJoseph T. WhiteJoseph T. White born in St. Louis, Missouri, was a private in the United States Army who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982. A member of 1/31st Infantry, he shot the lock off one of the gates leading into the Korean Demilitarized Zone and was witnessed surrendering to North Korean troops...
(1982)
Further reading
- Turncoat: An American's 12 Years in Communist China, by Morris Wills and J. Robert Moskin.
- 21 Stayed: The Story of the American GIs Who Chose Communist China, by Virginia Pasley.
- The Korean War, by Max HastingsMax HastingsSir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
. See Chapter 16, "The Prisoners". - An American Dream : The Life of an African American Soldier and POW Who Spent Twelve Years in Communist China, by Clarence Adams. ISBN 9781558495951.
External links
- Essay on the GIs by Adam Zwieback
- 1963 TIME magazine article with quotes from Albert Belhomme
- AP feature with quotes from several of the repatriated GIs
- Watch They Chose China at NFB.ca