Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [70]
During the march we witnessed several deaths due to wounds, frozen feet, exposure to the weather, and from the hands of the guards. We received no medical care and were fed boiled sorghum, and on one occasion a cold rice ball. Dysentery had become prevalent by the time we reached our destination.
For hours we marched until we stopped at a farm house that was located deep in the mountains. This is where we were stripped of all our personal belongings, pictures, wallets, ID cards, jackets and or overcoats. The only item I was able to keep were my dog tags, which I had taped together around my neck.
During the seventh or eighth day of our march, we were turned over to North Korean soldiers. They were given the assignment of escorting us to our final destination, and they were capable of and willing—to kill us. As we marched through the villages, the North Korean locals would come running out of their huts, and throw rocks at us. There was not one of us who went un-tortured.
Those too weak to continue, or didn’t have the willpower, were left behind with a guard. We would hear gunshots and the guard, or guards, left behind soon returned to the group. I was very fortunate during our march to have been helped by an American Marine and a British Marine. They carried and dragged me over some of the most rugged mountain trails in North Korea. If it had not been for these valiant men, I surely would have died.
Our Chinese and North Korean guards gave no special considerations for the wounded; we were carried, or dragged, by other prisoners or just limped along as best as we could. I vividly recall the brutality that we suffered, men being pushed off the snow covered mountain trails, and being kicked and beaten with rifle butts. Many died, or were killed, on this march; we all had a sense of imminent death.
Finally, after nineteen days of marching, we reached our stopping place. It was located near the village of Kanggye, which was southeast of the Yalu and north of Chonch-on. It at least had some shelter to guard us from the cold, biting winds. This camp was used mostly as an interrogation center; from there we were sent to other camps along the Yalu.
Upon our arrival, we were taken to a hut—on the edge of the village—and the locals were moved into one room and we crowded into the other. When some of the prisoners took off their boots for the first time, after reaching the camp, the skin from their feet came off with their boots. A guy by the name of Skinner, from Baker Company, lost his toes from both of his feet.
We were divided into squads and housed in Korean homes, which were made of mud and had no heat. They packed twenty-plus men into rooms that were roughly eight feet by eight feet. Since the homes had no heat, we huddled together to keep warm.
During the first few days we were so tired, and beaten, we hardly moved. We reached from underneath our jackets to get food the Chinese had poured into our ration cans. Those who had no cans used their caps. They fed us boiled sorghum, bean curd, etc...
After a few days, they moved us to the north end of town. Being divided into two companies, we again were housed in civilian homes. I was in a group with eight-to-ten Army personnel. The room next to ours consisted of about six or so Marines and one Navy Corpsman. Then we were informed that we would go through a period of schooling—to educate us on the true political situation in the world. After learning this, and to our captors’ satisfaction, we would be returned home.
A record was kept on every man, including a photo ID. Their interrogations seemed to be more economic than military. We soon found ourselves arguing with the Chinese over the amount of our income, or the social status of our families. The Chinese seemed to be pleased, and less likely to argue, after we made a downward revision to our economic and social status. We started making up stories about having little to eat as children, and after our parents bought food they had no money to buy clothes; these stories seemed to please our Chinese captors.