Special KWVA "W in Your Dream Vacation Fund-Raiser" Information ...
Special KWVA "W in Your Dream Vacation Fund-Raiser" Information ...
Special KWVA "W in Your Dream Vacation Fund-Raiser" Information ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese and Korean. They would provide their <strong>in</strong>formation to the<br />
CIA operatives. They, <strong>in</strong> turn, would write a report, and Sergeant<br />
Baker would reduce the report to a coded message that would be<br />
transmitted at a prearranged hour to a designated airplane.<br />
The author is detailed <strong>in</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g their mission, the sub voyage<br />
to the coast, the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese protectors, the equipment, the vehicles, and<br />
the preparations made for their arrival.<br />
They are put ashore on January 11, 1952, at Kosong, NK. They<br />
travel by night, contact<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>-place spies. They hide dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
day to avoid be<strong>in</strong>g bombed.<br />
They travel through Wonsan, NK, then on to Munam-pi, Sibyonni,<br />
Kumchon, Yonan, Haeju, Ongj<strong>in</strong>, and f<strong>in</strong>ally to the west coast of<br />
NK. They are to signal a navy ship and are to be rescued. All along<br />
this route of travel they meet the <strong>in</strong>-place spies and obta<strong>in</strong> their<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation.<br />
They encounter Communist soldiers along the way. A battle<br />
ensues between their protectors and the Communist. Seven of the<br />
ten group members are killed, as were the National Ch<strong>in</strong>ese who<br />
were to protect them.<br />
Only Boyd, aka Sergeant Michael Baker, and two companions<br />
survive the battle and cont<strong>in</strong>ue their trek to the west coast of NK.<br />
The two companions die. Boyd is rescued by helicopter and flown<br />
to South Korea. He is debriefed and returns to the States. All seems<br />
well and he cont<strong>in</strong>ues his military career.<br />
The questions arise as to how the <strong>in</strong>-place operatives were to be<br />
contacted and how they would know when and where to meet the<br />
convoy as it trekked across the North Korean countryside. Who put<br />
these operatives <strong>in</strong> place, and what was the f<strong>in</strong>al fate of these spies?<br />
Then, these thoughts might occur to the reader: how did President<br />
Truman learn of the <strong>in</strong>-place spies…who was Colonel<br />
Brown….what did the reports sent by Sergeant Baker from the CIA<br />
operatives conta<strong>in</strong>….why did the author leave such vital <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
out of his book?<br />
The details of these accounts are almost beyond belief. After all<br />
these years, after all he suffered <strong>in</strong> North Korea, after the classified<br />
brief<strong>in</strong>gs and debrief<strong>in</strong>gs he could still recall the most m<strong>in</strong>ute detail.<br />
The reviewer searched for a ghost writer and found none until at<br />
the end of the book, and he is found there. Still, the m<strong>in</strong>ute details<br />
of the mission, the operation by Nationalist Ch<strong>in</strong>ese troops, fac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
roadblocks, all of these together caused the reviewer to doubt the<br />
authenticity of Operation “Broken Reed.”<br />
But, it is a must read for everyone, especially those of us who<br />
were there.<br />
Reviewer’s Note: I was <strong>in</strong> the first group of Air Force personnel<br />
sent <strong>in</strong>to South Korea. We arrived at Pusan <strong>in</strong> the late afternoon of<br />
June 29 or 30, 1950. We were to go to Taejon, South Korea to establish<br />
air operations under the 5th U. S. Air Force.<br />
We traveled by Korean tra<strong>in</strong> from Pusan with two Air Force men<br />
act<strong>in</strong>g as the eng<strong>in</strong>eers of the tra<strong>in</strong>. South Korean rail workers<br />
would not operate the tra<strong>in</strong> for us. However, we were stopped<br />
between Taegu and Taejon by a unit of the U. S. Army.<br />
General Dean was there. He told us to reverse course to Taegu,<br />
take a side track to an old Japanese air field east of Taegu, and<br />
establish air operations from there. I was <strong>in</strong> the Air Police Squadron<br />
(same as Military Police <strong>in</strong> U. S. Army) and the security, safety, and<br />
protection of Air Force resources was our mission.<br />
Along about April or May 1951 a check po<strong>in</strong>t guard advised our<br />
PMO that an <strong>in</strong>dividual was at his location and he could not understand<br />
the man. I took an <strong>in</strong>terpreter and went to that check po<strong>in</strong>t.<br />
There, I found an oriental man of 30 to 35 years of age who was<br />
wear<strong>in</strong>g very rough cloth<strong>in</strong>g such as a Korean farmer might wear.<br />
With my limited command of Japanese, I attempted to converse<br />
with him. The <strong>in</strong>terpreter tried to talk to him. All of this was to no<br />
avail. We thought he might be a deserter from the Communist army,<br />
a spy try<strong>in</strong>g to learn about us, or a front man for an attack on the<br />
air field. F<strong>in</strong>ally, he grasped the hem of his left pants leg and tore it<br />
open.<br />
From there, he took a small rolled up bit of paper, about onefourth<br />
of an <strong>in</strong>ch wide. This he unrolled to a length of ten <strong>in</strong>ches and<br />
showed it to me. Typed on this length of paper were <strong>in</strong>structions to<br />
take this man to the O.S.I. at once. (The O. S. I. is the Office of<br />
<strong>Special</strong> Investigations and is the counter <strong>in</strong>telligence arm of the U.<br />
S. Air Force.)<br />
I put the man <strong>in</strong> my Jeep with the <strong>in</strong>terpreter and a guard and<br />
took him to the O.S.I. agents, who were quartered near the air field.<br />
That was the last I saw of this man.<br />
At that time I realized this man must be a Ch<strong>in</strong>ese operative<br />
work<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d enemy l<strong>in</strong>es gather<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>telligence for our forces.<br />
Could there have been a connection?<br />
James S. Allen, 109 Market Street, Water Valley, MS,<br />
jimallen@ms.metrocast.net<br />
RECON from page 57<br />
had upon perceptions and actions of American soldiers, look<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
see if the military’s <strong>in</strong>tegration policies <strong>in</strong>fluenced the civil rights<br />
movement. The <strong>in</strong>tended title of my paper is: “The Korean War:<br />
Overture to the Civil Rights Movement.”<br />
While scholars of military history cont<strong>in</strong>ue to debate the<br />
nomenclature, Korean War historians of the Civil Rights movement<br />
(CRM) have created a more expansive framework for the<br />
study of activism and race relations <strong>in</strong> the United States.<br />
For an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g number of students of the CRM, events lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
up to the Brown decision or the Montgomery Bus Boycott<br />
shed light on organiz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>itiatives among African-Americans and<br />
what were perceived as Cold War imperatives: the post WWII<br />
projection of America’s war for democracy and aga<strong>in</strong>st totalitarianism—<strong>in</strong><br />
all its forms.<br />
The desegregation of the military was one of the key events <strong>in</strong><br />
this “long Civil Rights movement” and the Korean War played a<br />
substantial role <strong>in</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g perceptions and policy regard<strong>in</strong>g<br />
desegregation. I am hop<strong>in</strong>g to locate veterans (both combat arms<br />
and support<strong>in</strong>g arms) of the Korean War to <strong>in</strong>terview on their personal<br />
experiences <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g race, racism, desegregation, and <strong>in</strong>tegration<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g the period lead<strong>in</strong>g up to and <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the Korean<br />
War.<br />
Thank you very much for your time and assistance.<br />
Crispien Van Aelst, 2407 W. Berwyn Apt. 2A,<br />
Chicago, IL 60625, (312) 330-7751 (anytime),<br />
crispien@mac.com<br />
67<br />
The Graybeards<br />
May – June 2009