DATE=10/7/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=KOREAN G-IS - MASSACRE
NUMBER=5-44439
BYLINE=ANDRE DE NESNERA
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// Eds: This is the first of a two-part series on the
alleged massacre of South Korean civilians by U-S
soldiers during the Korean War ///
INTRO: American veterans have spoken out for the first
time about an alleged massacre of South Korean
civilians just several weeks after the outbreak of the
Korean conflict. Correspondent Andre de Nesnera has
talked with three of these former soldiers and reports
they have conflicting views as to what exactly
happened on July 26th, 1950 in the South Korean hamlet
of No Gun Ri.
TEXT: The U-S Defense Department has ordered a new
investigation into allegations American soldiers
gunned down South Korean civilians - including women
and children - under a bridge near the hamlet of No
Gun Ri. For years, survivors and families of the
victims said American G-I's killed about 300 people.
The Koreans have asked for compensation - but their
claims have so far been rejected.
But now, The U-S Defense department has decided to
reopen the No Gun Ri investigation after American
soldiers -- who either participated in or witnessed
the killings -- decided to speak out. Some say it is a
question of personal guilt. Others are responding to
newly-released military documents on the Korean War.
What is emerging from their testimony is conflicting
accounts of what exactly happened under the bridge at
No Gun Ri almost 50 years ago.
Most Korean War veterans agree U-S troops were still
retreating from the northern part of South Korea a
month after North Korean troops invaded the country
(invasion started June 24th, 1950).
Henry Patterson was an 18-year-old rifleman with the
U-S Army's First Cavalry Division at the time. He
remembers thousands of Korean civilians fleeing
southwards - and he says there was a lot of confusion,
fear and even panic.
On July 25TH, 1950, as the First Cavalry Division
decided to stop near No Gun Ri. Mr Patterson says the
unit came under heavy sniper fire. The next day he
says hundreds of South Korean civilians gathered on
nearby railroad tracks.
/// PATTERSON ACT ///
We sent a jeep down to the civilian people and
told them to disperse, that we were setting up
our front lines there and we could not let them
stay there. And they didn't disperse. So a (U-S)
Navy fighter (jet) came in and strafed (fire
near with bullets) beside them.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Patterson - and other veterans - agree that after
the strafing, the several hundred South Korean
civilians sought refuge in a concrete bridge,
underneath the railroad tracks.
Edward Daily was a 19-year-old machine-gunner at the
time.
/// DAILY ACT ///
So they went in there. And of course, they were
all jammed in there. What I think more than
anything else, they were seeking cover from a
possible air attack by the U-S Air Force. But we
were told then to keep an eye on those refugees
in this concrete structure because there were
rumors that there were North Korean soldiers
mixed with them - and they were dressed as
refugees. So we set up machine gun positions. I
set up on the west side, Jim Kerns - one of the
other machine-gunners - was on the other side.
And we had our machine guns aimed at the
refugees, but above their heads.
/// END ACT ///
But here is where the agreement ends.
Mr. Daily says he began shooting at the civilians
after gunfire came from underneath the railroad
bridge.
/// SECOND DAILY ACT ///
Once that firing started, I started firing also
and then of course, the ricocheting bullets were
hitting the refugees because they dropped all
the way down, flat as they could get. And we
lowered our machine-guns on to the bodies and
that firing went on for approximately half an
hour. And there was a lot of screaming and a lot
of cries coming from the women and children.
/// END ACT ///
But Jim Kerns - another 19-year-old machine-gunner
across the bridge from young Daily - says he did not
see any civilians being shot.
/// KERNS ACT ///
I did not see them being shot. But we stopped
them from coming through and the (machine) gun I
was on, we were firing over their heads.
/// END ACT ///
For his part, rifleman Henry Patterson - who was
placed several hundred meters behind the machine-
gunners - acknowledges the refugees were shot by
American soldiers. But he says he heard only rifle
shots - not machine-gun fire.
The veterans also disagree as to who gave the order to
shoot the refugees under the No Gun Ri bridge.
Some veterans - including machine-gunner Daily - say
the order came from officers on the ground. Mr. Daily
also says he recently saw documents quoting senior U-S
military officers saying refugees should be treated as
the enemy.
But other veterans - including rifleman Patterson -
say there were no orders to shoot civilians.
/// SECOND PATTERSON ACT ///
No sir. We were ordered not to let them cross
our front lines, yes sir. But we were not
ordered to shoot them or anything like that. We
just were ordered not to let the civilian
population cross our front lines or get behind
us or amongst us, because there were suspicions
of North Korean infiltrators. Now we did have
that order. But nobody ever gave an order to
shoot that I know of.
/// END ACT ///
The veterans who say they shot at the refugees are
also unclear as to how many civilians were killed -
but many of them reject the South Korean claim that as
many as 300 were gunned down.
The U-S Defense Department investigation into No Gun
Ri is expected to take a year. Military analysts say
it is unlikely official Defense Department records
contain a detailed account of the events on July 26th,
1950. So investigators will have to rely on - among
other things - the testimony of U-S G-I's - which may
or may not help uncover what happened.(Signed)
NEB/ADEN/JO
07-Oct-1999 14:34 PM EDT (07-Oct-1999 1834 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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