Name, rank, and serial number : exploiting Korean War POWs at home and abroad

257 Pages·2014·1.908 MB·English

by  Young, Charles Steuart

Name, Rank, and Serial Number

Name, Rank, and
Serial Number
Exploiting Korean War POWs at Home and Abroad
ChaRleS S. YouN g
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Young, Charles S. (Charles Steuart), 1959-
Name, rank, and serial number : exploiting Korean War POWs at home and abroad / Charles S. Young.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–518348–1 (hardback)
1. Korean War, 1950–1953—Prisoners and prisons. 2. Prisoners of war—United States.
3. Prisoners of war—Korea (North) 4. Korean War, 1950–1953—Public opinion—United States.
5. Public opinion—United States. I. Title. II. Title:
Exploiting Korean War POWs at home and abroad.
DS921.Y68 2014
951.904′27—dc23
2013040056
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Lisa Van Donsel
♫ It was Christmas Eve, Babe.

CoNteNt S
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Cold Welcome 1
PaRt oNe oveR theRe
1. Limited War Sets the Stage for the POW Odyssey 11
2. The Middle Passage: Life-Changing Horrors in the First Year of
Captivity 24
3. Andersonville East: Communist Prisoners Are Pressured to
Defect 32
4. Welcome, Fellow Peasant: The Chinese Seek Converts 46
5. Prisoners of Limited War Languish as Propaganda Becomes a
Substitute for Victory 59
6. The Failure of Chinese Indoctrination 80
7. The United Nations Command Withholds POWs 89
PaRt two oveR heRe
8. Home to Cheers and Jeers 109
9. The Brainwashing Dilemma: Atrocity Reports Undermine
Punishment 127
10. Prosecutions Rile the Nation 142
11. Target Mom: Disciplining “Misplaced Sympathy” 151
vii
viii Contents
12. Missing Action: Hollywood Films Try and Fail to Fix
Captivity 162
13. The Hidden Reason for Forgetting Korea 175
Conclusion: Two Wars, the Visible and the Cloaked 182
Abbreviations 193
Notes 197
Bibliography 215
Index 233
aCkN owledgmeNt S
My committee members, Lloyd Gardner, John Chambers, Marilyn Young, and
the late Dee Garrison, were encouraging, helpful, and got the manuscript to the
top of the pile at Oxford. My editor Susan Ferber took a wrench to the manu-
script and tightened all the loose places. My gang, Dan Katz, Kathy Stratton,
Tami Friedman, Bill Haywood, and Lisa Van Donsel, were coaches of writing
and the soul, and Lisa also transcribed interviews. Bruce Franklin and Elliot
Gruner broke trail in POW territory and made incisive comments. Elliot’s warm
encouragement helped give a nonmilitary author confidence in his subject,
and he also lent an Outer Limits tape. Several anonymous manuscript reviewers
made acute suggestions. Collection and reproduction of photographs was made
possible by the Southern Arkansas University Research Committee. Barbara
Constable at the Eisenhower Library was a dream archivist, while Donna
McCloy at SAU managed a never-ending stream of interlibrary loan books.
James Matray and William Stueck used their vast knowledge to catch a number
of errors. David Buck answered questions about things Chinese while Daehwan
Cho was my Korean consultant. The estate of my eldest brother, William Roland
Young, provided a research grant and my father, Charles W. Young, found useful
articles. I would never have gone the academic route without my high school
debate coach Jim Holt, who provided Ivy League instruction in a cow town in
Wisconsin (my research methods are little changed). The sweetest assistance
came from my son Lukas, who intently helped print 4x6 evidence cards, which
still bear smears from his moist, two-year-old hands. The card printing was over
by the time Abbie and Quinn Young came along, but they helped restore my
energy for editing. This book has been a long process, so I am pleased to fulfill
the wish of my mother, Linda Rehm Young, 92, to “hurry up and finish before
I die.”
ix