Korea International War Crimes Tribunal, June 23, 2001, New York
1. Report from the Korean Truth Commission
Report on US Crimes in Korea 1945-2001
(South) on U.S. War Crimes During
the Korean WarJune 24, 2000
January 20, 1951
The village of Nu-Ti is located 10 minutes away by car from the nearest town, Young Choon. It is reached through winding roads in the middle of farmlands. The houses in the village are clustered around the farm fields and set against a steep mountain slope.
On January 20, 1951, Nu-Ti which was located near the refugee route at Hyang San Village was crowded as refugees poured in from other towns. These people had to stop their journey near Nu-Ti village because they had heard rumors that refugees trying to cross the bridge to Hyang San village had been shot by the U.S. troops who were occupying the area.
Trapped between the U.S. troops and the oncoming north Korean army, the refugees and the villagers decided to take shelter in a nearby cave called Gok-Gye. With the U.S. fighter planes ("black sack-sack") looming above in the sky, the wide, cavernous opening on the side of the mountain seemed an excellent shelter from an air raid. The villagers gathered food and supplies to last for a few days, and hurried to the cave with the other refugees.
In the rush of such a large crowd to the cave, many people were still at the entrance of the cave when the bombing assault began. The U.S. fighter planes dropped the bombs onto these refugees. Body parts were blown off and scattered everywhere from the explosion. When some villagers decided to run out, fearing that the cave would collapse from the bombing, they were greeted by machine gun bullets from U.S. ground troops. Most of those slaughtered were the women, children and old. Once the guns stopped firing, the noise of the exploding bombs was heard again. This time it came from the village itself. The bombing raid became more intense, as if the airmen were bent on total annihilation of the village. Those few survivors lying on the ground could only witness silently the fires consuming what was left of their homes.
50 years after the bombing, surviving villagers still remember the day vividly. As they told their stories to reporters, their faces quickly became filled with terror and despair from the painful past. Many who had survived the bombing raid and machine guns subsequently died from contagious diseases or suffered post-traumatic symptoms.
Cho Il Won (35 years then) who had been inside the cave on the day of bombing, was too sick to speak to the visitors due to the speech impediment from the bombing. His wife Kim Ok Yi (26 years then.) who had been going back and forth from home to bring back some meals to her husband during the bombing raid gave following account.
"It all happened in the blink of an eye. Suddenly the cave was filled with black smoke, and I saw people running out of the cave only to be gunned down. What was his name? Cho, Gwang Won…, Yes, he got shot in the stomach, guts spilled all over… Oh, It was terrifying.” “The cave quickly became a graveyard. It took several days just to remove the corpses. And I suspect there were many bodies that were left behind. Up until the following year, we would find, after a heavy rain, all kinds of body parts, heads, and severed limbs washed up onto the ditches of the village. We even saw a dog running around with a severed head in its mouth. It was really revolting". After her comment, other survivors also took their turn telling in detail how the villagers lost their lives.
Cho Tae Won (27 years then), who left the village the day before the bombing only to return to find the entire village turned to a heap of ashes tells: "At the time of the bombing, the village had about 60 households. People were good-hearted, and made a good living from farming tobacco and pepper. But the bombing destroyed our village completely. I lost 4 people in my family. And there are many families who lost more. Since our village turned to an ash pit, there were no ways for us to feed ourselves. We all left the village soon after."
Cho Tae Won, who currently presides over the investigation committee on the U.S. bombing raid of Gok-Gye cave guided us to the site of the massacre. The Gok-Gye cave was a water source for the villagers, it provided the water supply for the farming. Kim Joo Ho, who had been collecting and archiving the bones of the victims and other articles such as lanterns and utensils left behind by the refugees in the cave and the surrounding area for last twenty years, led us into the cave.
The entrance to the cave is now barely large enough to admit one person in a crouched position. It was explained that the entrance had been much wider and higher prior to the bombing. Inside the cave, there were still remnants of old plates and bombshells scattered about, quietly displaying evidence of the horrifying massacre.
Kim Joo Ho comments: "I didn't experience the war, but I've lost family members and relatives in the bombing. For decades, no one was speaking up about the massacre. The people were living in silence. Then one day, I said to myself, this isn’t right, so I decided along with some friends to search the cave. And we came across many remnants like bowls, lantern, and bones. We have carefully collected them all, hoping that they would be put to good use some day."
He also added, just in case the authorities may decide to confiscate the evidence of the massacre, he had carefully stored them in a secured place.
On January 20th of each year, the anniversary of the bombing, most of the households in the village hold a memorial for the massacre victims. The survivors put the death toll at approximately 300.
One may wonder why did it take so long for this story to be known?
Cho Tae Won explains: About 20 years ago, in a near town called Young Choon, a local historian named Woo Gye Hong filed an appeal to the county government on the Gok-Gye massacre. The appeal stated that tragedies such as the Gok-Gye massacre must be remembered and revealed to the world, in order to appease the souls of the deceased. But the county government flatly ignored his petition.
At the time, there wasn’t much they asked of the government and the U.S. military who supposedly had come to help them.
In the despair of their outrageous situation, they were only hoping to erect a memorial for the deceased. Also they all knew too well of consequences that awaited those who spoke up about such an issue. Cho Tae Won sighed and exasperated.
The Nu-Ti village was annihilated and the villagers were massacred leaving survivors to suffer silently with the knowledge for past 50 years. This forced silence would not heal the wounded and recently the villagers decided to wage a struggle to stop this silence.
They organized the local investigation committee on the Gok-Gye massacre, and they have sent a petition to nine different places including the Blue House (south Korean Presidential Palace), local and state governments and the U.S. embassy to actively demand the truth about the massacre.
But it proves to be a difficult battle. Vice president of the Investigation Committee, Um Gi Joon(26 years then) says with a deep sigh: " It took Nogun Ri, ten years of struggle to get any kind investigation. We don't have many years left on us. Will our story be revealed before our end?"
As visitors left the massacre site, there remained a question that had persisted throughout the visit: Why? It must have been obvious that the people hiding in the Gok-Gye cave were civilians and refugees (including little children and women). Why did US troops bomb them? The U.S. troops blocked the refugee route at the bridge of Hyang-San village, then bombed the cave and burned the whole village. Why? This certainly appears to have been a planned massacre. Why did they do it?
Jan 28, 1950
One gets to Moht Dong Gol by a long bus ride on the beautiful country road from Dae Ku. Thirty houses sit leisurely against the grape fields in the village. The head of the village Jung Gil Su who is also active in the Investigation Committee just came from the grape fields for an interview.
He recalled 1950 when he was 10 years old. "It was January 28, 1950. We were busy preparing for the New Year. After having fled south, people came back when the south Korean and ally army advanced north. Naturally, it was very festive being reunited.
In the morning about 9 a.m. a plane appeared and circled about 3 or 4 times, flying very low.
We had never seen a plane like that, so we watched and the children ran after it waving their arms." 20 minutes later, four planes appeared, different than the previous one, soaring through the sky. Before the villagers could finish asking, "what is that?” they were showered with bombs accompanied by shrieking sounds. "The explosions were deafening. Torn limbs flew through the air and houses burst into flames.
The village became a sea of flames. Torn limbs were everywhere, I thought this is hell. Houses collapsed and people were crushed under them. I remember a cow whose back had caught on fire running wild and screaming.
There wasn't any time to look for parents and brothers and sisters. I ran towards a stream, covered my head, and trembled in fear."
After 20 minutes, the bombing stopped. The survivors frantically searched for family members. Soon wailing was heard everywhere in the village as people found the bodies of family members, some still on fire.
After the No Gun Ri story broke, Jung Gil Su conducted the search into the bombing and found that 17 people died, 21 were wounded, and all the food supplies and livestock were destroyed and killed. "Because of the war, things were scarce already. After the bombing, we became beggars. We went begging for food and went to the mountains to eat grass roots.”
The one of the survivors, who will remain anonymous in this report, testified "Shortly after the war broke out, I was drafted into the military. After being discharged, I came back to the village. And I could not imagine that such horrors were visited to my town. It was May 1951, and the place was utterly ruined. The entire village was turned to ashes. The villagers were living in makeshift tents like the refugees. My house was no exception. I had lost my father that day. My wife was wounded by a bomb fragment but did not receive adequate treatment. But we couldn't even eat much less get treatment. It was fortunate simply to have survived."
Having no recourse for a livelihood after the bombing, the villagers left for somewhere else one by one.
Some also left the village to get away from memories of the atrocity. Out of thirty households, only three continued to live in the village after the bombing.
"There was a woman who had lost her son but could not find the body. That night she dreamed of her son crying out to her. She followed the cry to a burned house where she found her son crushed underneath a wall. As soon as she woke, she ran to the house, and found her son crushed underneath a wall. How deeply stricken with grief and rage he must have been to appear in his mother’s dream. His body was severely burnt and there was smoke still coming out of his head. It's enough to make anyone go mad."
Many of the villagers left the hometown, unable to bear the horrible memories, unable to speak out and mourn their losses, unable to find out who were dead or alive. They lived through 50 years suppressing the tears and the nightmares.
When the Nogun Ri Massacre was brought to the public, the villagers at Moht Dong Gol also decided to speak out about the bombing of their village and they formed an investigation committee. It was difficult to assess the casualties because many of the original villagers had left town. They also decided that nothing would be resolved simply by looking into a single incident. They sought an advice from experts on how to approach this matter.
In the process of investigation, they found out that the U.S. held all the planning and strategic command during the Korean War and only the U.S. military had bombers. They also learned that in order to prove the existence of a civilian massacre, the record of the battles from the military was needed. However they learned such information can be obtained only through a request by a government and not a civilian group. In any case, they filed a signed petition to the president of south Korea and the Department of Defense.
To their amazement, the formal replies from both parties were the same: 1. We would like to offer words of condolences to the ones who suffered the loss of family and relatives and endured hardships during the most tragic period of our recent history-June 25th War (as is called in Korea). 2. Regarding the tragedies occurred during the war, our position is to first concentrate our efforts on the Nogun Ri incident, and we plan to investigate fully without any negligence those pending cases that possesses clear evidence."
“We expected something like this. We are not surprised. We placed so much effort into the petition, that if they had even a little bit of genuine interest in hearing our case, they should at least have read the petition carefully. If they genuinely responded, the reply could not have been the same from two different government organizations. This is really outrageous." Jung Gil Su showed two replies from the government, which were in fact word for word identical letter. These letters clearly tell the government's attitude and position toward the civilian massacre.
When the Nogun Ri incident received an international publicity, the local government sent an investigation team to the villages, which did raise some hopes among the survivors.
However when the U.S. announced that it would only investigate the Nogun Ri incident, south Korean government immediately approached all other cases of civilian massacres with little enthusiasm. The south Korean government instead of actively seeking to resolve these matters is gingerly feeling out the U.S.- the chief perpetrator's reactions.
Why did the U.S. military bomb Moht Dong Gol? To answer this question, Jung Gil Su asked and probed. "Do you see that mountain back there? That's Gum Sung Mountain. Our village is at the bottom of it. If you look across, there is a town called Chun San, situated at the bottom of Chuk Hwa Mountain. The terrain of these two towns is very similar. At the time of bombing, there were rumors that some of the retreating north Korean soldiers were hiding out in the Chuk Hwa Mountain, and it's been also said that the U.S. military bombed our village having mistaken it for Chun San village." If this rumor is true, there should be a record in the U.S. combat mission log, but it is highly unlikely that the U.S. would permit an access to the log.
This still doesn't justify the bombing of Chun San village, which was populated by farmers as well. A movie titled "Saving Private Ryan" depicts a story during WW II in which a U.S. squad enters enemy territory in order to save a private for the reason that he is the third and last remaining son of his family, as the other two had been killed in combat. It depicts a piece of beautiful humanism. Such humanism could not be found in the Korean peninsula.
As soon as they heard rumors that the north Koreans may be hiding in such and such a town, they bombed and attacked those towns regardless of who lived there, whether parents who had already lost their children in the war, refugees hiding from the war, or innocent peasants and farmers. It was as if the entire population of the Korean peninsula was not worth one son of one household in the U.S.
July 11, 1950
It was a sunny afternoon where one could find elders resting or playing board games in the shade of the willow trees. There was also a large group of local high school students listening to a speech by Congressman Bae in a theater near the train station. Despite the news, the dark gloom of the war had not yet reached the city. Every now and then airplanes darted across the sky. And at the Iri train station, railway workers were working double shifts in case of possible transportation emergencies, and the place was also crowded with young men on their way to the army enlistment office.
According to local Investigation Committee of the Iri Massacre, on July 11 the public square near the transformer station next to the Iri train station was also crowded with people from nearby villages who had come for the big cattle market day.
About 2 p.m. two airplanes appeared. From their markings, the villagers easily identified them as U.S. B24 bombers. In recognition, they waved their hands and south Korea flags at the airplanes.
But one of the planes then launched, a bomb- carrying parachute which blew up the train station and killed many people instantly. The torn and burned bodies inside and around the train station included railway workers, students and villagers. The station was totally destroyed. Those who narrowly escaped death fled to nearby buildings, but the U.S. planes returned 15 minutes later and bombed the Iri and other nearby villages, killing more people. The next day July 12, as the villagers came to the station to help out with the dead and wounded and to find their missing relatives, the bomber attacked again and killed hundreds.
Unlike other massacres, the Iri train station massacre had been well recorded by both the U.S. military and south Korean governments. According to the official U.S. Air Force records, the U.S. airplanes on their first combat mission hit the wrong city, they were supposed to attack Su Won 60 miles north.
Many reports by the railway unions and other groups refer to the Iri station incident as an accident. A special report prepared by the south Korean Ministry of Transportation in 1953 also calls the incident an accident. And the mutual railway workers association called “Hong-Ik Hei” compensated survivors and the families of the dead railway workers for 10 years for the accident. The railroad workers who were killed in the bombing were also listed as National Martyrs by the south Korean government.
Despite the claims of mistaken identity, strong doubts have been raised by survivors and the families of victims about the real military motivations for the bombing.
Sohn Moon Sun, the executive director of The Investigation Committee on the Civilian Massacre at the Iri Station calls for a full disclosure of the military motivations behind the bombing and he says whether the incident was accidental or part of military strategy, full compensation and an apology must come from the U.S. government.
The Investigation Committee on the Civilian Massacre at Iri Station believes the bombing was part of a deliberate U.S. military strategy. They say that on July 11, 1950, a major battle was taking place at Su Won city, and the first battle in Iri between the north Korean army and the allies did not take place until July 20.
They have trouble comprehending the need for such an early air raid on their village. Was it really a mistake or a pre-emptive air assault?
They have asked the U.S. military many times for the flight records of the airplanes which would reveal the intended flight destination, but the U.S. military has repeatedly denied all requests.
In the beginning the U.S. military maintained the bombing was a mistake, but when survivors and families of the victims demanded compensation and an apology, they changed their position. Now they are saying the bombing was a part of a tactical military plan.
Unlike at No Gun Ri, where most of the survivors still live in the same place and are neighbors, the victims at the Iri station were from many different villages, so it has been difficult to locate survivors and the families of the victims and get their testimonies.
Kim Dae Gyu, a law professor at Won Gwang University and the president of the Survivor’s Committee, who lost a father in the bombing, believes that it is highly unlikely that the most advanced air force in the world would make such a big mistake as Su Won is 60 miles from Iri. He also suggests that a large number of civilians waving hands and flags could hardly be mistaken as a gesture by the enemy. To the U.S. military’s response that the bombing was a tactical necessity to deter the advancing north Korean army, he replied that the battle with the north Korean army did not occur until 9 days after the bombing, and if they really intended to bomb military targets, they should have bombed the railroad tracks and bridges, instead of a train station and a market which were filled with people.
July 29, 1950
Sa Chun, a 30 minutes drive from Jin Joo, is well known for persimmons. With farmers busying harvesting in the field, and beautiful red persimmons dangling out of old persimmon trees, the place looks so serene and peaceful, it is very difficult to find evidence of the slaughter that happened a half century ago.
But 50 years of forced silence is slowly being broken as one by one, by the people of Sa Chun are coming forward.
Survivors with arms and legs still suffering from wounds and witnesses to the massacre who had kept silent from fear of reprisals and being accused of being communists, are now declaring, “We were bombed by the U.S. planes.” when on August 2, 1950, US bombs killed over100 villagers at the Jo Jang Ri.
Although the war had began a month before, Sa Chun, which is located in southern point of the Korean peninsula, had been relatively peaceful until the bombs were heard from the near- by village of Ha-Dong on July 26, 1950. The villagers could also sense the danger from the shooing flow of refugees passing through their village.
On July 28, 1950, a large battle took place between north Korean troops and a combined force of south Korean and US troops at Hwang Toh Hill near Sa Chun. The allied force took heavy casualties and trucks filled with wounded soldiers passed by Sa Chun.
Early in morning of July 29, 1950, about 20 vehicles carrying an advance unit of the north Korean army passed the village. Around 10 am that day, following a US reconnaissance flight, some 20 US bombers filled the sky and began air attacks that lasted into the early evening.
As their homes were engulfed in flames from the bombs and as planes strafed the village, the villagers quickly changed into white clothes and gathered near the bank of Gon Myung river near the village. Refugees had said that if people wore white clothes and stayed together, they would not be attacked.
The 300 villagers at the river bank did not foresee the tragic massacre that was to happen a few days later.
“We had lunch and it was about 2pm. As usual we were all gathered by the river and suddenly four US fighter jets came and started strafing us. Although my right arm and leg were hit by shell fragments, I didn’t even notice the bleeding. I just ran as fast as I could with my rubber shoes in my hand. I wanted to live. Most of the people who were on my right were killed and off the left survived.”
“In front of me, I saw a baby crying next to his dead mother who had been running with him in her arm. Many people were shot and fell to the ground.”, Kang Hwa Suk(16 years then), clearly recalled. For two hours the US fighter jets kept strafing the villagers in the bank.
At the time, Jo Jang Ri had 350 people living in 70 households. 54 were killed in the attack, and 57 were seriously injured.. Of the injured, 14 eventually died from their wounds.
Kang Hwa Suk continued, “Due to the lead poisoning from the shell fragments, the cuts on my ankle and wrist started to rot and maggots crawled inside giving off a horrendous smell of rotting flesh. It didn’t heal easily. There wasn’t an adequate supply of medicine then, so I took some traditional herbal medicine, and a new skin started to grow after 2 months.
The wound on his leg was so severe he had a second surgery 10 years ago in which flesh in his thigh was surgically removed and used to repair his wounded leg. To relieve acute recurring pain from his wound, Kang Hwa Suk frequently visits the village health clinic. The doctor there tells him that his pain will not go away and it is very hard for him to endure the pain.
“At least I got better after taking the herbal medicine, uncle Dong Wook who took a bullet through his nose wasn’t so lucky. His wound never completely healed and he soon died.”
Kang Hwa Suk says he doesn’t understand why the U.S. fighter jets attacked the villagers. He also adds, “I did meet north Korean soldiers. When I was laid in bed recovering from the injury, one of them came to visit me and he called me, ‘comrade’.”
Kang Hwa Suk says the north Korean soldiers didn’t harm them, it was US soldiers who killed the villagers. “I heard it’s going to rain tomorrow, I’ve got lot of things to do in the field”, he stood up ready to go to the fields. Although this was a busy season for farming, Kang Hwa Suk had happily agreed to be interviewed.
Although more than hundred were killed or wounded in the Jo Jang Ri massacre, the attackers remain silent.
With the village head Kang Doo Shik, the survivors and the families of the victims are preparing for the investigation of Jo Jang Ri massacre. They made a list of the victims and they are collecting petitions to be sent to local and national government officials. They want the truth to be come out.
Kang Doo Shik said that because of the harvest season, they had difficulty getting villagers to be involved in the investigation. He also added bitterly, “A few years ago some folks from Seoul came to us saying that we must reveal the truth behind the massacre, and then they asked us for $10,000, saying they needed the money to pay for trips to the US for the investigation.” And he was also unhappy about the local press which comes and asks lots of questions but never reports their story.
Choi, Ik Tae, a representative of the Sa Chun Democratic People’s Committee, said, “The survivors and the families of the victims ask for two things. When there is a crime, there must be an offender and a victim. But in Jo Jang Ri massacre, there are hundreds of victims but no offender! We demand the truth. Secondly, besides compensation for the victims, at a minimum, there should some financial assistance to relocate to a better location the remains of some of the dead who were buried hastily in the midst of the war”
He said the Jo Jang Ri massacre is not a local issue, it’s an issue for whole greater Sa Chun region. They are forming the Sa Chun Investigation Committee to reveal the truth behind the Jo Jang Ri massacre.
At the bombing site, the Gon Myung river flows peacefully today although the hearts of local villagers are still heavy A tall 360 year-old Zelkova tree stands by the river. Flood control construction workers by the river have a sign saying, “This was the site of the 1998 flood.” We must change the sign to “We are here to commemorate the Jo Jang Ri villagers who were killed by the US military.”
August 3, 1950
Along with Wae-Kwan Bridge, there was another bridge that crossed the Nak Dong River, which held a military strategic value to the retreating U.S. military. On August 3, Go Ryung Bridge was bombed along with Wae-Kwan Bridge. Although these bridges were the main refugee routes for the frantic evacuees, the U.S. army decided to blow up the bridges to stop the advance of north Korean army. The bombing killed unconfirmed numbers of refugees that ranging from tens to hundreds.
A former U.S. soldier Private-engineer Jojif Ikof (18 year old then) recalled the incident “As we were about to carry out the order to blow up the bridge, we shouted that many people are still on the bridge, but other soldiers shouted back that it can’t be helped.” “We tried to stop the flow of refugees from crossing the bridge, but they kept coming. There were dozens of refugees on the bridge when it was blown up, but we had a mission to accomplish.”
He added, “Because we saw civilians getting killed and injured, we do not have a good memory of the war. But we did it for our country. Because the Koreans did not take their lives seriously, we went to the war to protect them. If it weren’t for us, there wouldn’t be the south Korea that there is today.” (AP, Oct.15th 1999)
Near the bridge, at a small convenient store there were several local villagers who looked to be in their 40s. When asked about the bombing, they replied, “Well, according to local elders, many refugees were killed in the bridge bombing. Another added, “ The local villagers really don’t know much details on the bombing. Since most had already fled the village by the time of the bombing.” Then they directed us to a local elder who runs small grocery.
Park Soo Bok (20 years then) met us at his store. He opens his remark, “I heard the north Korean soldiers didn’t arrive here until two days after the bombing. My family crossed the Go-Ryung bridge on August 1st, and evacuated to the area near the where our in-laws lived. There were several thousand refugees there when we arrived.
A couple of days later, around 1 a.m. retreating south Korean soldiers who had crossed the bridge, came and asked us for food. So we fed them and soon they left. Few hours later, about 4 a.m. the U.S. fighter planes came and dropped incendiary bombs on us." He says that he doesn’t know exactly what happened to all the refugees in the village because he was hiding inside the house. All he heard was a constant explosion of bombs. His wife, quickly adds, "The roof and the wall of her parent’s house caught fire from the incendiary bomb".
Exactly one hour after bombing Oui Chun three-way intersection, the U.S. fighter planes destroyed the Ko Ryung Bridge.
Jang Joo Yi adds, “There was this great sound from the explosion of the bridge, and then the planes started dropping the flare bombs on the villages on the other side of the bridge. The entire area was engulfed in flames."
Although some say an evacuation notice was given to the Go-Ryung County people, there were some that didn’t receive such notice from the military.
Park Soo Bok claims, “I didn’t hear about any evacuation notice personally. When some of the neighbors told us that all villagers have to evacuate, we just followed them.” And he also adds, “When I heard that the U.S. soldiers were shooting at the refugees who were desperately trying to cross the river and then destroying the bridge with people on it, It was very hard to believe. It simply doesn’t make any sense.”
To ordinary people, Go Ryung massacre do not make sense. The U.S. bombed Oui Chun three-way intersection crowded with fleeing refugees, then they destroyed the bridge knowing that people were on it and finally they shoot the refugees along the bridge who were desperately trying to cross the bridge.
No one knows how many refugees were killed, since most of those killed were refugees from other towns.
The people from Wae-Kwan and Go Ryung agree that the south Korean government must start a nationwide investigation into these types of bombings. They believe their story reveals only small part of the whole truth.
August 3, 1950“The Wae-Kwan Bridge, the only foot bridge in the Wae-Kwan Village near the Nak-Dong River, connected the Interstate 4 which ran between two major cities, Kim-Chul and Dae-Kyu.
As this 500m long bridge was the major connection to the interstate leading to the refugee route, it was filled with refugees fleeing south away from the advancing north Korean army by the beginning of August in 1950.
However, U.S.led U.N. troops decided to destroy the bridge in order to stop north Korean
Army ‘s advance to south. Major Gay, who was in charge of maneuvering the retreating U.S. troops decided to blow up the bridge right after their 8th regiment, the last remaining U.S. troop, finished retreating over the bridge. However, despite the warning fires from the U.S. soldiers those refugees kept followed them and the U.S. military lost the opportunity.
Deciding when to destroy the bridge proved to be one of the most difficult decisions for Major Gay. However, he went ahead and gave the order to blow up the footbridge and a bridge near the railway bridge on August 3, 1950. “The pieces flew across the night sky like fireworks as the trusses and plates disintegrated.” (Chil-Gok county journal p193, pp205-207).
50 years later to this day, walking along the bank of the Nak-Dong River, one finds debris of concrete with iron bars scattered along the bank. The debris silently reminds people about the incident, which took the lives of several hundred people.
“Refugees were everywhere, trying to cross the bridge and some even tried to swim across the river. Because of the earlier drought, the water level at the river was lower than usual,” testifies one of the local villagers, Sohn Toh Gahb (31years then) who had managed to crossed the river at the time.
Several local elders from the Wae-Kwan village add the following to Sohn Toh Gahb’s testimony. “We were told to evacuate in a hurry so we all had to leave the village within a matter of moments. After we arrived to an evacuation site, we heard the loud sound of the explosion. When the bomb blew up the bridge all refugees on the bridge were killed. Also many refugees who were at the northern end of the bridge, who were vying for the right timing to cross were killed by retreating US soldiers.“
Sohn Toh Gahb also adds, “At the time of bombing, there weren’t any north Korean soldiers. The area was filled with refugees and U.S. soldiers.” All others nodded their head in agreement.
Indeed backing up the testimonies by these local villagers, the Young Nam Daily newspaper’s Oct 16th article states, “……and the north Korean army arrived Wae-Kwan four days after the bombing.”
Such accounts of the Wae-Kwan bridge bombing shows that several hundred innocent civilians were killed by their own ally, by an ill-guided pre-emptive strike by U.S. military.
Sohn Toh Gahb continues, “Even before the bombing, the U.S. soldiers fired on those refugees crossing the river and also those crossing the bridge. They completely blocked the refugees.”
This shows clear disregard of refugee’s lives by the U.S. military. Some of the villagers speculated that maybe U.S. military wanted to kill all potential witnesses to the bridge bombing which they knew would kill hundreds of people.
Today, one can find monuments commemorating the “the scene of the successful defense of the fatherland” as well as memorials dedicated to the “victory” of the battle at the Nak Dong River.
The horrible Wae-Kwan Bridge bombing which massacred hundreds of innocent refugees by the “Ally” is now recorded in the history as the one of the heroic actions that defended the south Korea from the “enemy”. And the soldiers who gunned down the civilians are regarded as the national heroes. At the site of the bombing, one can see many banners fluttering in the winds. The banners are from the countries, which participated in the Korean War, and one, in particular stands out. This is from the US 1st Division of Armored Corps who carried out bombing.
August 20, 1950
Ham Ahn County in South Kyung Sang province, where the Nak Dong and Nam rivers flow northwest and the Yuh Hyang and Bak Yi mountains rise in the southeast is one of the great natural fortresses against foreign invaders. Because the south is higher than the north, the river flows from the south to the sea in the north. Because of unusual flow of the river, the region was condemned as a land of treason and it’s people were long victims of prejudice. Perhaps because of this, the Korean War, the most tragic in our history, did not leave Ham Ahn region untouched.
“God Damn Mountain” is the nickname given to Yuh Hyang Mountain, the highest mountain in Ham Ahn. This was where a bloody battle on the crucial Nak Dong River took place between the People’s Army of north Korea and US troops. You can tell how fierce the battle must have been, because the nickname of Yuh Hyang Mountain came from the US soldiers who kept saying “god damn” during the battle.
Worst and most tragic fighting did not take place at the GodDamn Mountain. The battle at the Sam-Bong Mountain was far fiercer.
On August 20, 1950, The US 25th Division under major general William Kin launched an offensive to recapture the Jin Joo and Sa Chun region from the 6th Division of the north Korean army under major general Bang Ho San. However when the battle became critical they reestablished their defense line at Pusan. As they were retreating to PuSan, US bombers attacked Nam Mountain at Jang Ji Ri and other points. Over 100 innocent civilians were killed and another 100 were injured.
“Mistakes, no, I don’t believe it. It was about 9 am, we just finished breakfast and I was washing my clothes at the stream in front of the tavern, when three US jet planes flew over and bombed the tavern. My sister-in-law and my infant daughter were under the willow tree next to the tavern, and when the bombing began, they ran toward to the field. I was so shocked I just fell to the ground and ducked my head and just sat there for a long time. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Hong Gu’s mother who was washing in the stream, had been shot in the back and had fallen in the stream and a young boy with blood all over his body also had fallen on the ground.” The survivor, Kang Ok Soon (67 years old) lost her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and her infant daughter in the bombing. Dozens of people at the tavern were killed instantly, and even those who escaped the tavern bombing weren’t saved from the flying bullets.
“We all started to run toward Dol Kye village, but the reconnaissance plane kept following us.
The villagers we passed screamed at us, “We all are going to get killed because of you! Run to some other place!” The moment we turned around, bombs fell behind me.”
For the next two hours while Kang Ok Soon was looking for her family, the bombing continued.
On her way to O Ri Mak, where her family had taken a shelter, she saw two bodies covered with straw mats. Part of the clothing that was sticking out looked familiar.
“It was my mother-in-law and my oldest daughter. You think a north Korean solder would be climbing the mountain with a child?” Rage in her voice, she said the bombers were flying so low, only 10 meters above the ground, that they could not have mistaken an old woman and an infant for north Korean soldiers. She was questioning the announcement made by military at the time insisting that the bombing was a mistake.
There were several common phrases we kept hearing about every US military massacre. “Wear white clothes because it shows you are civilians and you will not be killed.” “Stay near the stream.” and “The People’s Army of north Korea did not massacre the civilians. It was all done by U.S. soldiers.” These were passed on from refugees to refugees as a survival tactic.
Kim, Kyu Hyung (59 years old) is the head of the village. He said, “When I was in 3rd grade the school text books said the North Korean army massacred the innocent civilians. We didn’t believe it, because we grew up witnessing U.S. troops killing people. I was 9 years old at the time, and I never saw any People’s army killing any civilians.”
The reporters arrived at the Doll-Kye village. There were about 15 little houses in the village, which were rebuilt after the bombing. Kim Byung Tae (70 years old) told us his story. “There were about 20 families taking a shelter in each house in the village. “The bombs fell on these houses and killed everyone. So many were killed.” When asked to explain in details, he became defensive. “Why do you want to know about this? Don’t take pictures. Are you recording this? I’m not going to say anything any more.” He became quite suspicious and kept uttered, the words, “Many were killed. Many have died.” He then directed us to his neighbor, “Why don’t you go visit the old lady. She got shot during the bombing and she lives down there.” He rose and went about his daily routine.
Kang Soo Jo (74 years old) was not able to work on the field that day, because of the pain from her wounded leg. “How did you come from so far away looking for me?” She continued to say “Thank you.” At the time of bombing she was pregnant with her first child. She was shot in her thigh. The tears started to roll down her face as she was about to tell the world what had happen to her 50 years ago. Her painful experience, which left her disabled at the age of 24, was too heavy to bear silently. She sobbed for a while, and said “When I was suffering from the wound, the north Korean solder told me to paste inner part of the pumpkin over the opening of the skin. After six months of treatment, new flesh started to grow.” She pulled up the skirt and showed us the large scar on her thigh.
“I still go to the hospital every other day and spend 2000 won (about $2 U.S.) for each shot. Sometimes I have to spend 5000 won (about $5 U.S.) if I get medication along with it.” The tragic stories of Ham Ahn and Kang Soo Jo’s painful tears can not be easily forgotten. It’s time to stop the tears and reveal the truth about the massacres in the land of Ham Ahn.
Citizens of San Po Ri testified to the Special Investigation Committee of the Civilian Massacres in Kyung Sang province, that three people were killed and five wounded when a U.S. fighter plane strafed the village.
At the hearing Ju Gi Sun (then 30 years old) said "San Po Ri was never occupied by the north Korean army and was used as a refugee shelter by neighboring villagers. On early August of 1950 a U.S. fighter plane attacked the village, killing Gang Un Young and her daughter and mother-in-law and burning several houses."
Ju Chi Ha (then11 years old) also added "My twin brothers Chi Hong, Chi Bum and my cousin Yong Sun (now 53 years old) were wounded in the strafing. My brothers died later from their wounds."
The citizens also stated civilian that massacre were carried out in the town of Won Nam(aka Mong Chun) and On Jung, both in Ul Jin county, before and after the war. They believe these massacres were carried out by Bo-Do-Yun-Maeng, a national organization created by the corrupt dictator Rhee Sung Man to suppress political opposition which included leftists. They are demanding the truth be told.
Summer 1950
In the summer of 1950, along he Nak Dong River the shots were heard ceaselessly. One of the largest rivers in Korea, the Nak-Dong River divides the southern region from the rest of the peninsula. As the south Korean and US military were losing ground rapidly, holding the river became a very important military goal. There was a saying in the military, “If you lose river and mountain, you are defeated.” Both the south Korean and US military command thought that once they lost the Nak Dong River, the whole peninsula would be under the north Korea’s control.
Thus the north Korean army and the combined forces of the south Korean and US armies fought a battle for control of the Nak Dong river that summer.
Since Yuh Cho Ri in Chang Rung County was located near the Nak-Dong river, by the beginning of the summer the villagers were used to hearing gunfire and they led their daily lives as usual.
In early August, the sounds from the battle grew louder and were heard much more frequently than before. The villagers assumed that the north Korean army had reached the mountain behind the village and that the battle was began. Indeed the guess was right. With the Peoples’ Army of north Korea behind the village and the combined forces in front of the village, the village was caught in the middle of a battle.
A survivor, Lee Sung Gil (70 years old), remembers that “It wasn’t the bullets that we were afraid of, we were frightened because of what we heard from other evacuees, who said that when the US military loses a battle on the ground they destroy entire villages. We knew if this becomes a reality, we would all be killed and our village at the base of the mountain would be engulfed in flames.”
As things got worse the villagers decided to evacuate to the US military base stationed in front of the village and possibly going with them if the troops retreated.
But as the first group of the villagers walk toward the base, they were immediately fired on.
After several villagers were gunned down to the ground the rest ran back to the village. Uncertain of who the attackers were and with no other alternative, another group of villagers made a second attempt and a third followed with more casualties.
Out of three hundred people, over sixty lay dead on the road by the end of the day.
Lee Sung Gil says that of some hundred people who were taking refugee at his large house, seven were killed including his own brother.
Lee continues, “In reality, those sixty villagers were killed by our own forces, we want to find out the truth about this massacre, we don’t want monetary compensation, but at the minimum, we want to have a public memorial for the dead.”
When the No Gun Ri massacre got the media spotlight, some Korean media also visited the Chang Ryung County, but their story did not get on the news. They were told that, because this is an international problem.
Massacres in Po Hwang Region
North Kyung Sang ProvinceAt the hearing organized by North Kyung Sang Province Assembly, Huh Mang Goo and villagers from Book Song Ri testified that, "Around noon on August 16, 1950, following some twenty reconnaissance plane flights, over Chung Ha and Shin Gwang, these villages were heavily bombed and strafed. Thirty-two were killed and two were wounded in the bombings.
Also testifying were president Choi Il Chul and members of The Reparation Committee for the Victims of the U.S. War Vessel Attack at Song Gol Valley. They said that “Around 2pm, September 1,1950, U.S. reconnaissance plane flew over Song Gol Valley where over 1000 refugees had taken shelter. Thirty minutes later, a U.S. naval vessel off the Yuh Nam Sea shore fired rockets into the valley killing thirty-six civilians."
Villagers from Yi Ga Ri testified that the village shed next to the ocean where the refugees had taken shelter was strafed twice by four U.S. bombers. Eleven local people died in the bombing.
Villagers from Kwang Chun and Bang Suk Ri also testified that on September 23, 1950, a U.S. reconnaissance plane and two fighter jets came and dropped incendiary bombs and strafed the village killing 16 people.
According to these witnesses, a total of 95 civilian were killed in Po Hwang region.
January 19, 1951
In San Sung village where the clan of Ahn lived, 11 year-old Ahn Tae Gi and his friends were playing with snowballs in the village field, while his younger brother tagged along.
Suddenly, one of his friends pointed to the sky at a reconnaissance plane flying low over the village. Mesmerized, they watches as the plane passed over village and disappeared.
Soon after a roar came from the sky as two fighter planes neared the village.
In a panic Tae Gi grabbed the hands of his brothers and ran inside the house with his friends. Then a huge explosion shook the ground. Shaking uncontrollably, he opened the door to find the field he had just been playing in was a sea of fire and black smoke covered the sky.
Soon his mother called them out and together they ran, stumbling and falling in panic, towards the mountain. While running, he saw his cousin blown up into the branches of a tree. Fear was so overwhelming that tears couldn't even come. As they approached the mountain, his father came out calling out to his mom and the children.
He ran as fast as he could, trying to avert his gaze from the shocking scenes that were all about him, "Outside, fire was everywhere. There were people blown up into the trees, others with blood gushing down their legs, many screaming in pain as their bodies were being burnt in the fire" said the 60 year old elder, head of the San Sung Ri.
In that one day of indiscriminate bombing, the village suffered 40 deaths and 90 people were wounded including 6 pregnant women. Ahn Tae Gi lost in one stroke his grandfather Ahn In Mo, his aunts Oh Ok Nan and Ahn Hi Gu, and his brother Ahn Du Gi. Many households in the village now have a memorial service January 19th.
At the time there were 150 households with 1000 people, and the village has never recovered from the bombing. " There was a lot of snow that month. Still, everything was on fire. At the time the adults were saying that the 6th division fighter planes came to bomb and machine gun then dropped barrels of gasoline to ensure that everything would burn." "About three days after the bombing, it was said that there were five U.S. soldiers came by to take pictures”
Today, there are still many who live with the wounds from the bombing. Ahn Sang Jin's left ring finger was crushed in the bombing. Yi Gi Mae (68 years old) bears a deep scar in his right leg inflicted by a bomb fragment. In 1996, the villagers made an effort to conduct fact-finding inquiries by sending accounts of the bombing to the Department of Defense.
They were told that the incident occurred too long ago and the evidences were inconclusive.
After a period of despair and discouragement, they are again preparing to publicized the incident, supported by a rising public sentiment regarding the U.S. military massacres.
Supposedly in 1980, a bomb squad from Yong Chon came with the then local police captain Jang Jung Il to clean up the bombing fragments. Apparently they set the fragments on fire and even took pictures. But the villagers haven't been able to confirm this. They are trying to find the police captain so that they will be able to ascertain about the bombing squad in a clean-up effort and to obtain the photos of the clean up.
It is reasonable to believe that the reconnaissance plane flying low would have been able to discern whether the people were civilians or soldiers.
According to the testimony, there were no members of the north Korean army in the village. Still, they turned the village into a sea of fire. The quiet village was turned into a field of death as limbs were rolled and scattered over the blood stained snow covered ground. Then a few days later, they came and took pictures.
As if to testify to the events of the past, some of the villagers bring out fragments of the gasoline barrels and two machine gun bullets whose stampings are by now illegible.
After the war, people had gone away to their relatives, then came back one by one to rebuild the village. When the taffy seller came around the village, children used to go around collecting bomb shell fragments to trade for taffy. There were plenty of those around then.
They are demanding that the survivors be compensated for damages and that a memorial be built to honor and appease the villagers killed in the bombing.
The villagers have been gathering information and data from other locations as well, and are planning to send a second petition to the Department of Defense, the President, and the news media. But having been disappointed once, they were not optimistic.
When asked about how the dead were dealt with upon the villagers' return, Mr. Ahn took our crew to a small hill behind the village. "When we came back, the corpses were unidentifiable. The limbs were missing, and had begun to rot and or be eaten by the wild animals. We nonetheless tried to identify and match limbs by articles worn on the body and parts and the color of clothing. And we buried whoever seemed to be of our family. In some cases we built a family shrine and stuffed the corpses with straw. But there were still many unclaimed corpses in the woods."
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