Re: Turncoats

[Mike Davino <mdavino@yahoo.com>]

One or two of these defectors did not cross the DMZ. 
They defected through third countries.  In fact I
think one was stationed in Germany and defected to nK
through East Germany.

Abshier and Dresnock were soldiers in the 1st Cav Div
that simply walked away from their outposts (at that
time in 1962 the 1st Cav Div occupied an 18 mile
sector of the DMZ).  Both had been disciplinary
problems in their units.  In fact Abshier had been
assigned to a unit south of the DMZ and had been
busted for being too drunk to stand guard duty.  He
was assigned to the 1st Squadron of the 9th Cav Rgt on
DMZ duty as part of his punishment.  After Abshier
defected the nKs sent propaganda leaflets across the
DMZ that depicted him surrounded by pretty nK women. 
Dresnock defected a few weeks later.

In addition to these GI's several KATUSA sldiers also
defected.  One was on a patrol with the 1st Bn, 503d
Infantry in 1987 and he just bolted accross the MDL. 
I remember seeing some propganda leaflets a few months
later depicting him surrounded by pretty nK girls.  On
the back of the leaflet was a picture of his rifle,
helmet, night vision goggles and load bearing
equipment arranged neatly, as if it were layed out for
inspection.  I asked a KATUSA to translate the leaflet
and he said the nKs wanted more KATUSAs to defect and
to make sure they brought their US equipment with
them.  On a subsequent tour in Korea in 1991, I saw a
follow-up leaflet depicting the same KATUSA this time
with his wife and young son.

Mike Davino

--- James Dennis <jrdennis@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >How did these G.I.s defect?
> >Did they walk across the DMZ?
> >How did they avoid the landmines in the DMZ?
> >
> >John
> >
> The Military Demarkation Line consists of a bunch of
> yellow signs with 
> English and Korean on one side (south) and th
> Chinese and Korean on the 
> other (north).   They are generally overgrown by
> brush and were rusted 
> over (but in August/Sept 1-31 Inf put new ones up in
> what was then the 
> American sector, about 1.4 miles of MDL near
> Panmunjon).
> 
> The South and North Barrier Fences are where
> "fortifications" can 
> supposedly be built, but in reality both sides have
> platoon size guard 
> posts in the DMZ.  Both sides are restricted from
> having crew served or 
> "automatic" weapons in the DMZ.  The AKs and M-16
> have been allowed even 
> though they are automatic.  Individual infantry
> weapons have changed over 
> the years.  
> 
> The Minefields in the DMZ when I was the 3d Bde S-2
> ('84) were generally 
> laid in 1952 (older than I).   The minefields south
> of the South Barrier 
> Fence could have been any age.  In many cases the
> mines were being eroded 
> out of the ground (and you could see anti-tank and
> anti-personnel mines 
> laying on their sides in some gulleys. ). 
> Minefields in the Korean War 
> were generally poorly marked.  There is a book on
> Combat Support/Service 
> Support in the Korean War and in the Engineer
> section discusses that 1.5 
> million mines were laid by the UN and about 50 or so
> thousand were 
> accurately marked and recorded.  The minefields in
> the DMZ were overgrown 
> with 25+ year old trees, brush, grass and they had a
> white tape (dirty) 
> laying on concertina wire (partially flattened).  
> One of the days were 
> were looking at the mine boundary we had a deer skip
> through the 
> minefield (no result) and you could see paths
> (animal and human) going 
> through them.   But if you used your binoculars,
> sometimes, you could 
> still see three little prongs sticking up from the
> dirt in that tangle of 
> brush.   
> 
> To cut down on the brush, the South Koreans would
> set the brush on fire 
> and it would burn merrily along in the DMZ.   The
> North Koreans have in 
> many cases moved rice paddies and other farm plots
> in to the DMZ and they 
> are worked by the DMZ Police or very reliable NK
> citizens.  
> 
> The North Koreans have put in some obstacles but
> they are more for 
> alerting them that someone has tried to enter.  This
> could be mines, but 
> more often it was "sand barriers" where the NKs
> could more easily detect 
> foot prints in the carefully raked sand.   They used
> to mystify engineers 
> who were thinking of actually stopping something as
> opposed to showing 
> someone came through.  (North Korean OPFOR manuals
> weren't that well 
> written at times).   
> 
> As I recall on White's defection it took the NKs
> about 6 hours to find 
> him (he left at night).   It was dark (an
> understatement) and White 
> wandered all over the place before he actually
> crossed and possibly 
> recrossed the MDL, before he was detained.  


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores.  Millions of Products.  All in one Place.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/