Korean Atrocity!: Forgotten War Crimes 1950-1953

by Philip D. Chinnery

Overview

As there was no clear victor at the conclusion of the Korean War, no war crime trials were held. But, as this book reveals, there is evidence of at least 1,600 atrocities and war crimes perpetrated against troops serving with the United Nations command in Korea. The bulk of the victims were Americans but many British servicemen were tortured, killed or simply went missing.Much of the carefully researched material in this book is horrific but the stark truth is that those North Koreans and Chinese responsible went unpunished for their shameful deeds.Korean Atrocity examines the three phases of this little known but bitter conflict from the POWs perspective the first phase when the two warring factions fought themselves to a stalemate, next, the treatment of POWs in North Korea and China, and finally the repatriation/post active conflict period. During the third phase it was realised that a staggering 7956 Americans and 100 British servicemen were unaccounted for. Many POWs were not released until two years after the end of hostilities. Bizarrely the US Government insisted on a news black-out on those left behind which raises questions as to what has been done to find the missing.This is a shocking, sobering and thought-provoking book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473815810
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Philip Chinnery is the chairman of the National Ex-Prisoner of War Association and has carried out extensive research into the life of prisoners of the First World War in German hands. A prolific writer, he has published almost 20 books on military and aviation subjects including three on the Korean war for Pen & Sword. He also writes articles for Flypast and Aeroplane Monthly magazines and has recently produced two specials for Key Publishing on the Vietnam and Korean air wars. He is currently working on a second volume on the First World War describing the escapes carried out by desperate and determined prisoners of the Kaiser.

Table of Contents

1	A Korean Dunkirk?
2	North to the Yalu
3	The Chinese Will Not Enter the War
4	Against All Odds
5	Stemming the Tide
6	Life in the Camps
7	Stalemate
8	Hope at Last
9	The Forgotten Souls
App. 1	British Prisoners of War - Totals
App. 2	Prisoners of War Exchanged during Operations 'Little Switch' and 'Big Switch'
App. 3	British Army Personnel Killed or Presumed to have Died with no Recorded Burial Location
App. 4	Declassified Reports and Correspondence
	Bibliography
	Index

Editorial Reviews

Korean Atrocity!: Forgotten War Crimes 1950-1953 came about when Philip Chinnery, acting in his capacity of Historian for the National Ex-prisoners of War Association was conducting some research at the Public Records Office and came across newly de-classified files on the Korean War. He discovered these files contained investigations into 1,615 atrocities and war crimes perpetrated against troops serving with the United Nations command in Korea. 10,233 of these victims of war crimes by the North Koreans and the Communist Chinese were American. Much of the material is horrific and leave no doubt that had American pursued the conflict to a clear win instead of a truce there would have been an Asian style Nuremberg trial for many North Korean and Chinese soldiers and their superiors. Korean Atrocity! surveys a sampling of these war crimes as they occurred in the first part of the war when the opposing sides fought themselves to a standstill; the treatment of prisoners of war in North Korea and China; and the eventual repatriation of prisoners that left 100 British servicemen and 7,956 American military personnel unaccounted for. The role of the American government regarding these missing men is, itself, a part of the scandal kept from the American public to this very day. Korean Atrocity! is very highly recommended reading for military buffs in general, and students of American military involvement in the Korean War in particular.