[KS] No gun ri

[Mark Caprio]

It seems that the debate over the activities of the
American troops in Korea at "No gun ri" has turned to
a question of whether or not the key witnesses to the
incident were actually there at the time the shooting
reportedly took place.  An account written by one
Korean (retelling her grandmother's experience) suggests
that the shooting did (or could have) taken place at other
locations as well.  Helie Lee (_Still Life with Rice_
(Touchstone Books, 1997)) tells the story for her grandmother.  Lee
writes that as her grandmother approached Sinmak to cross the Imjim River
(30 miles north of Seoul), "A loud megaphone voice boomed into our ears
from across
the river. "Retreat! Do not attempt to cross the river or we will be forced
to shoot."  (The grandmorther did cross safely but as she stepped on the
ice to cross "wild shell fire fractured the ice.) pp. 231-2.

On pp. 220-222 the author tells of UN air forces bombing the refugees
as they fled toward the southern border.

"B-29! B-29!"  Hysterical men, women, and children dashed here, there,
trying to avoid death.  Some collapsed to their knees and hid their faces.
Others
just dropped dead.  WHACK!  WHACK! It was the sound of bullets slapping
into flesh."

And,

"The planes flew down the line, toggling a bomb every few hundred yards,
then swung
back to machine-gun the blazing ruins.  Bullets hammered the ground,
forever stitching
bodies to the earth.  I was surrounded.  In front, to the right, to the
left, behind me,
shells flashed and danced madly.  With each shot, I jerked as if struck.
I was certain one mortally wounded me."

And,

"And the planes did come again and again, swooping down for the kill.
Each time the children dropped into their drill positions and summoned, 'Jesus!
Jesus! Jesus!'"

She later learns that the reason the UN air forces were bombing
refugees was because they  believed the north Koreans were posing
as refugees in order to haul artillery and food.

For sure others have written their Korean War stories, and perhaps have included
similar experiences.  (I recall seeing one in another book recently but
can't remember
where it was.)  It seems that, in addition to American troop testimony, the
Korean participants in this incident have a story to tell, as well.

Mark Caprio
Rikkyo University
Tokyo, Japan




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