The Korean War, 70 Years Ago, The Morning Call, Allentown PA

Korean War Weekly Front Pages

28 September 1952 – 4 October 1952

The Morning Call, Allentown PA

A face-saving move in the negotiations.

*****

Greek UN troops slammed up to the crest of a bitterly contested outpost hill, Big Nori, on the Korean western front and minutes later were counterattacked from three sides by Chinese Reds. Fighting still raged on the hilltop 3-1/2 hours after the Greeks took it but they were still holding the high ground. The attack began after heavy artillery and mortar fire on the entrenched Communists. The next day four US jets accidentally bombed the hill and helped counterattacking Chinese Reds drive the stout-hearted Greeks from the heights. Greek casualties were not announced, but the mistaken bombing reportedly hit only a small number. However, the effect may have been demoralizing. Late in the week bugle-blowing Chinese hurled 14 separate attacks in western Korea and seized four outpost hills in bloody hand-to-hand fighting. The hills were given up in the extreme western sector south of Panmunjom, and northeast of Panmunjom, near Bunker Hill.

The Army appeared to be letting a new mandatory retirement order operate to drop three officers from its active rolls. The officers were the subjects of controversy over the Koje camp riots. They had not followed Army regulations and had “not met the high standards of an Army officer.” Late in the week came the news that five hundred Red prisoners on Cheju Island had rioted and one-third of them had been cut down by US guards. Forty-five Red prisoners were killed and seven died in hospitals of injuries, while another 113 were hurt. Two of the 80 US soldiers who rushed into the compound were wounded slightly as they met the rock-throwing, club-swinging Chnese. This was the second deadliest riot in the long, bloody history of Communist prisoner violence in Korea.

The Allies offered three new proposals on Sunday for breaking the long armistice deadlock by giving the Communists face-saving outs on prisoner exchange. The Allied plan would still let each prisoner decide whether he wanted to be repatriated but would give the Reds a chance to gloss over this angle to their people. Negotiators agreed to a ten-day truce to permit full Red study of the proposals. The senior Red delegate stated, however, that “the retaining of war prisoners is not to be tolerated.”

A highly ranked US Eighth Army officer said that 5,000 or 6,000 Russian technicians and advisors were in North Korea and probably manned the antiaircraft guns that fired on Allied planes. This was the first time that such a source had made such a charge, although there had been much speculation that Russians flew jets or served as technical advisors in AA, tank, and artillery units in Korea. The Soviets were apparently used in rear areas and in a support capacity.

Midweek US Superfortresses from Japan and Okinawa pounded a Red Korean chemical plan near the Manchurian frontier for 2-1/2 hours and left it in flaming ruin. Communist AA on the border opened up on the raiding 45 bombers but there were no reports that any were hit. MIGs also made a few non-firing passes. About 400 tons of high explosives were dumped on the target. Civilians had been given an Allied warning to flee the area.

(Photo courtesy newspapers.com, Pottstown Mercury)