March 2010
As I write, Washington is digging out from record snows, a tiny inconvenience if you have heat and shelter and food . . . . Days are also getting longer, and with that come hope in every Winter.
Turning back the pages, hope was something very badly needed in March and April of 1951. These months were vital for most KoreanWar POWs. Among men captured between July and December 1950, upwards of 2000 had died in North Korean or Chinese hands.
Now came just a hint of natural warmth. And with Chinese control of more of the North Korean camps, a little more food and fuel began to appear, sometimes almost as much as China provided to its own soldiers. Now came a faint, faint thought of living through, not simply the question of lasting just another day or week.
New POWs were also being captured, especially in large February and April 1951 battles. With them came news from the outside world, and the simple hopes that old friends and new companions would enjoy in any case. It was a chance for renewal and even a chance for those strong enough to help the sick and injured around them, to save a man or two. Easter arrived early that year, on March25th . . . and for many, even faintly hopeful men, something new was beginning to unfold. As before, the only visible comfort was in the good men around you, and even in March and April some of them would soon be gone. Even so, a hope, a prayer, a tomorrow: let’s re‐visit the groups:
Tiger Group had now Wintered‐over at the second of the Apex campvillages, Hanjang‐ni, asit is known now. Nothing good could be said of the North Korean guard commander, the Tiger, but he would soon depart. Even here, the faintest hope of survival, and a new, partially enclosed camp site, the police compound between An‐dong and Kaeyambol . . . yes, it’s still there, today.
Camp 5 at Old Pyoktong began to emerge from a great darkness, butso many men had passed. Amazing how many had collected there. There were survivors from 8th Cavalry and 19th Infantry, who fought their first battles against the Chinese on 2‐5 November 1950. Then came a stream of men from 2nd Infantry Division, and others from the 24th and 25th Divisions, who had attempted to hold against the Chinese offensive that began on 25 November 1950, from Kujang to Kunu‐ri to Ipsok and beyond. Great numbers had arrived at Camp 5 in January, and in March the very last, on foot and on carts, from the Death Valley at Pukchin‐Tarigol. Father Kapaun lived a little longer, although mortally ill. And now a few men from actions around New Years’ Day in South Korea arrived, among them our President, Lloyd Pate.
As February turned into March 1951, some men were still at Kanggye and at Uisa‐ri above the Chosin Reservoir, wondering where they would go next and if they would ever get home. Some would die along the wayside, but others, by different paths, would finally arrive at Changsong, the new Camp 1. Some arrived almost exactly on Easter Sunday. And a whole new group of men, captured in South Korea during February 1951, had begun their march northward, to a holding point called Suan, where they began to arrive at the Bean Camp in March. Still others would follow, captured in April and May.
We still have a thousand stories to tell, and we’ll get to all of them before we’re done. But now, with all the blessings we enjoy now, let us speak to longer days and to warmer days, to nourishment and shelter, and to Easter. This year, it will arrive on April 4th. But never forget that first POW Easter, 25 March 1951.