Evening star., 1950-10-23

continued From First Page.(
daughters reside here. They
are Mrs. John Hoy Kaufman
OF 6 Worthington drive, West
moreland Hills, Md. and Miss
Mary Allen of 2800 Woodley
road N.WD
This is the way the atrocity
was discovered:
AS assistant divisional com
mander of the United States Isl
Cavalry Division, Gen. Allen de-
cided Saturday to drive by jeer
from Pyongyang to Sunchon tc
check on the progress of the task
force driving north. This task
force from the 1st Cavalry hao
gone north to link up with Ameri-
can paratroopers who had dropped
near Sunchon.
I went with them.
AT Sunchon we heard the re-
port of a massacre at a railroad
tunnel. No one had any specific
information and this appeared tc
be just another rumor. But Gen
Allen was determined to run it
down.
I'D never feel right about it,
he said. IF we don't do all we
can to find out about this"
The general stopped at the
headquarters of the South Ko-
rean 9th Division and requested
a guide to the tunnel. At that
time We had no troops in this
area.
The South Koreans provided a
guide and we headed for the tun-
mel. A South Korean colonel
found the first seven bodies. Men
who had starved to death had
been laid beside the railroad
track.
And then we began finding the
survivors and the bodies of the
men murdered by the Koreans.
Gen. Allen directed the job of
getting litter bearers to carry the
wounded across a ridge.
He walked among che men, pat
ting them on the back, encourag-
ing them, and assuring them their
nightmare was over.
Maj. Harry Fleming of Racine,
Wis, and Capt. Alfred Olson of
Columbia. S. c., were with the
South Koreans as military ad-
visers and they quickly had
troops swarming in to help the
Americans and to search the hills
for other possible survivors.
South Korean Nurses Help.
Two South Korean nurses were
brought up to help the wounded.
These girls quickly began cleans
ing wounds and easing the pain of
the wounded.
Then Capt. Robert Bernstein,
Yonkers, N. Y, arrived to give
expert medical aid. Capt. Bern
stein was from the paratroop out
fit near Sunchon.
One gaunt wounded boy-Pfc.
Valdor John of Milwaukee-stood
trembling while waiting for some
one to help him over a ridge. I'm.
cold" he said apologetically. Gen.
Allen quickly took off his jacket
and draped it about the boys
shoulders.
I'm promoting you to a one
star general" Gen. Allen smiled.
John said: But I'm awfully
dirty, sir. And I'm pretty lousy"
Gen. Allen replied: Don't you
worry about that"
Slowly the men moved over the
ridge-pitifully emaciated figures
whose clothing hung in folds from
their starved bodies. The wounded
were carried in litters improvised
from mats and poles. Survivors
were put on trucks brought up by
the South Koreans and taken back
down the road to Sunchon.
Two of % Survivors Die.
Most of them were taken to
q crude little house which had
been Red Army hospital. Capt.
Bernstein converted the rooms
into wards and began working
over the most seriously wounded.
But although he worked all
through the night, two of the %
survivors died.
Those who were able to walk
sat in a little courtyard around
campfire, huddled in blankets and
silks of parachutes which Capt.
Bernstein used as emergency bed
ding.
An American chaplain with the
paratroops-Capt. James A. Skel-
ton of Hannibal. Mo.-came to
the hospital to see the men.
You are the first chaplain