Re: 'US Soldiers Abused PoWs During The Korean War'

[Joe Brennan <jbren1@optonline.net>]

Would also opine that many "secrets" revealed about KW in recent years turn
out to be bs,  which is *not* to dismiss all of them out of hand.

"Slant eyed bastards" vs. atrocities is something of a gap. As previous
discussions on this list have revealed acceptable racial attitudes have
changed since 1950-53;  most Europeans of that time held views which would
not be viewed as acceptable now, and the British generally would be big time
glass house stone throwers on that one. Just the fact that he points out the
use of that sort of epithet by US soldiers as if it was something notable at
that time makes me a little suspicious.

I've noticed things written about Korea by Commonwealth guys generally seem
to have more sniping at US than  WWII, or it's more sharp edged and nasty,
rather than condescending as earlier. Forgotten now but realization of
decline by Britain in 50's had anti-US aspect to it, esp in 56 Suez crisis a
bit later, esp in the Brit military.  The humourous side was immortalized in
the supposed exchange between US and RN sailors in Korea: US: "what's it
like to be in the world's second largest navy?" RN: "what's it like to be in
the world's second best?" But it wasn't funny, UK was coming apart at seams
back then. I remember reading book "Wings Over Suez" attitudes of UK air
services guys really pretty shocking, ready to go to war with US, literally,
with gusto, over Ike trying to supress their colonialist behavior toward
Egypt. All forgotten now.

Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Davino" <mdavino@yahoo.com>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu>
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 3:11 PM
Subject: 'US Soldiers Abused PoWs During The Korean War'


> I think the UK has a fifty-year "Official Secrets"
> law.  I wonder what other Korean War "secrets" like
> this one will be coming out in the next couple of
> years.
>
> Mike Davino
>
> War London Times
> January 3, 2003
>
> 'US Soldiers Abused PoWs During The Korean War'
>
> By Richard Ford and Richard Beeston
>
> A young British army officer ordered to take over a
> prisoner of war camp during the Korean War wrote a
> scathing report about the treatment of North Korean
> prisoners held by American troops.
>
> The attack was brought to the attention of ministers
> but kept secret until yesterday. It accused the
> Americans of incompetence, ill-discipline, abuse and
> breaking the Geneva Conventions on treatment of
> prisoners. The document was written in August 1952 by
> Major Dawney Bancroft of the King's Shropshire Light
> Infantry, who commanded a Commonwealth unit sent to
> the island of Koje-do to take over the running of a
> prison camp where 3,200 North Korean officers were
> held. Although British troops were fighting alongside
> the Americans against the Chinese-backed North
> Koreans, co-operation between the allies appeared to
> break down away from the front.
>
> The British reported that American soldiers on sentry
> duty often fell asleep, or abandoned their posts to
> spend the night in local brothels. They rarely
> searched the prisoners' quarters and mail was
> distributed erratically. He said that prisoners were
> usually addressed by their American captors as
> "slant-eyed, yellow bastards".
>
> Early on in his command, Major Bancroft intervened to
> protect a sick prisoner who was being mistreated by an
> American soldier assigned to take him to hospital.
>
> "This was the first of many occasions I witnessed US
> troops openly violating the Geneva Conventions," he
> wrote.
>
> He was in no doubt of the fanaticism of the North
> Korean commissars who effectively ran prison life. On
> one occasion he watched as 100 prisoners were killed
> in clashes with American troops trying to clear a
> camp.
>
> "It was during this phase of reorganisation that it
> became more evident that the US officers and soldiers
> responsible for the operation of enclosure thought the
> Chinese and Korean PW (prisoners of war) were Oriental
> cattle who were to be given quite different treatment
> to a European," he wrote.
>
> Major Bancroft went on to become a brigadier-general
> and died in 1995.
>
>
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