Korean Atrocity! by Chinnery Philip D.;

Author:Chinnery, Philip D.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1718473
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited

By April 1951 Harry Gennaro had already reached his prison camp.

‘The death rate was dropping. We began adjusting to being POWs. The ration now was two bowls of barley each day. It was full of small rocks that remained after blowing out the husks. This raised havoc with our teeth as several would be broken or chipped when biting down on a rock. With the winter thaw barges were able to come in on the Yalu. Once a pig weighing maybe eighty-five pounds was brought in for the platoon. Our people scraped and cleaned it. A fifteen-foot tapeworm was removed from its stomach. The pig was butchered, boiled and served up to 350 POWs.

We were issued a lightweight blue uniform of pants, jacket and cap for summer and a padded uniform of jacket, pants and a cap with ear flaps for winter. The summer and winter periods each lasted six months.

The Chinese sent in their political cadre and began the start of brain washing. First they would break you down, as was evident with the conditions suffered during winter captivity and the death of our fellow POWs. The Chinese would pretend to be your friend and say that their only wish for you was a safe return home to your loved ones. They would blame America for intruding into a Korean civil war.

They segregated the troops. All officers were removed to Camp 1. The NCOs were put in a separate camp. The blacks were put in the 1st Platoon. The British were placed in a separate platoon. The Turks were placed in a separate platoon. The enlisted whites were placed in the 3rd Platoon. This practice removed leadership from our ranks.

A Marine general named Squabble announced over the speaker system to cooperate. Two air force pilots were brought in and announced that they had dropped germ warfare on the Koreans. Most of us knew these confessions were forced and paid no heed.

All prisoners were initially brought into Camp 5. With massive over-crowding, the Chinese began opening a couple of new camps. Almost half the POWs from our platoon were loaded on to barges. They were taken to a camp a short distance away on the Yalu.

Classes were intensified. We were forced-marched daily to a large meeting area to listen to Instructor Linn. We referred to him as the Screaming Skull. Other Chinese aides would patrol the aisles and crack you across the head or back if it appeared that you were not paying complete attention. Having to listen was most stressing.

Another ploy to get you on board was to hold back incoming mail from home. It was twenty-two months before I got my first letter. In all, maybe I received six letters over the thirty-three months of captivity. A big turn-off on sending letters home was the way they demanded that you give the return address: “People’s Republic of China for World Peace Against American Aggression”.

A stressful situation occurred daily, when each morning at roll call we were forced to sing songs about Mao Tse-tung and Stalin.

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