Re: Killings of US POWs Sunchun by NK and Civilians at Sinchun by US

["ysk" <ysk@kimsoft.com>]

Re: Killings of US POWs at Sunchun by NK and Civilians at Sinchun by US
troops:

According to an American source, a total of  71 dead GI POWs were found near
Sunch'on, which is about 25 miles NE of Pyongyang on Oct. 21, 1950.

The POWs left Pyongyang on 2 trains Oct 17 which could barely move because
of constant US air attacks, and every day, 5 or 6 POws died from disease and
exposure and a few were able to escape. On Oct. 20, the US 187th airborne
RCT was dropped near Sunch'on and one of the trains hid in a RR tunnel.
Survivors say they left the train for dinner and the NK guards shot them.
There were
37 dead on the ground in three groups and 34 who had been buried in
traditional Korean mound graves. In all there were 23 survivors, and 7 who
died of disease and were found on straw mats in the tunnel. Only the US
version of events is available. Other reports claim some POWS were killed by
US air attacks on buildings where they were held.

So the dead POWs were found a few days after the massacres of civilians by
US troops at Sinchon (about the same distance SW of Pyongyang) beginning on
Oct. 17.

In an earlier post, I assumed Sinchun = Sunchon and that the civilian
massacer had occured after the dead POWs were discovered.  The fact is that
the POW killings occurred after the Sinchon killing of NK civilians, which
was an order of magnitude larger than the No Gun Ri affair.

I am looking for info on the US units that were in Sinchun in October 1950.


ysk