Evening star., 1950-09-04
Officer Who Escaped
Reds Says Captors
Didn't Mistreat Him
BY the Associated Press :

ON THE MASAN FRONT,
Korea, Sept. "A 23-year-old
West Pointer escaped yesterday
after two days as a prisoner of the
North Koreans. He said the Reds,
contrary to their propaganda
claims. treat American Negro pris-
oners with contempt"
Second 1t. Billy J. Rountree, of
Victoria, Tex. a white officer who
commanded a Negro infantry
platoon, said that while the Red
Koreans treated him as an equal,
"they would not even let the
colored boys talk to each other.
When they started to, the Reds
would make them shut up. They
were not brutal toward them
they just treated them with con-
tempt
1t. Rountree returned after a
fabulous adventure. Twice the
North Koreans made him and
several Negro prisoners accom-
pany them on attacks. Once an
American bullet grazed his chin.
Intimate Account.
His is one of the most intimate
accounts yet of how the North
Koreans fight.
.They were confident of victory
and said they held all American
soldiers in contempt" said 1t.
Rountree.
They had no non commissioned
officers in the group that held us
most of the time. They would
hold a roundtable discussion
whenever big decision had to be
made. But when it came time to
attack they made up in boldness
what they lacked in organization. ;"
Lt. Rountree and some of his
men were captured when platoon
on his flank retreated. A band of
$50 North Koreans grabbed him.
They passed him on to patrol of |
eight men, three of them wounded.
zone told me, I consider you a |
friend, not a prisoner From
what I hear such things rarely
happen. but the Reds did not mis-
treat us. One took my boots and
gave me pair of ballet slippers
he was wearing. They did not fit
SO another gave me some shoes
that did.
"They lived off the food in the
fields - corn. pears and squash.
They shared their food with us.
They were cut off but they did
not threaten to kill us.
The Communists seemed not
to know about the United Nations.
They had only heard about the
Americans. They kept asking
why we were in Korea-they did
not know about the background
of this war;" said the young 25th
Division officer.
Frightened of Air, Artillery.
"They are frightened by our
artillery and planes. They never
move when a plane is overhead.
"The eight men who had us
were really in a tizzy when they
found out they were cut off
behind our lines. They had no
medicine or medical facilities for
their wounded. They were just
schoolboys, all of them from
Seoul. They told me they would
send me back there and I could
go to school.
"One of them saw my West
Point class ring and said I better
hide it in my pocket because some
other soldier might take it from
me-" 1t. Rountree escaped
when four unwounded Reds went
ahead to look out for American
troops. They left the three
wounded Reds and one un-
wounded man to guard him. The
single guard was scared and told
us to go ahead and join the four
scouts. The other four were about
Is yards ahead so I ducked into
the bushes with the others and
we made it back to the road
where Americans rescued U.S."
1t. Rountree, who arrived in
Korea August 9, was on his honey
moon in the United States when
he received orders to fly to Japan.