Evening star., 1951-11-24
.Atrocity Report
Before Han|ey's
Listed 5000 Toll
Ridewoy's Figures
Are Said to Include
Unconfirmed Cases
By John A. Giles

"A uGWly ulSClOScu report Dy
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway has
raised the possible total of Ameri-
can prisoners slain by Commu-
nists in Korea to a new high Of
1000.
The general. who is United Ma
tions commander in Korea, made
the report to the U. N. to cover
a period up to July 20.
The report-which was bound
to add only more confusion to
the already muddled atrocity pic
ture-was described as saying ex-
act evidence of executions num-
bered about 400 killings. The
5000 figure was the sum of what
were described as unconfrmed re-
ports from various sources and in
various forms.
Preceded Hanley Report.
This report was apparently
made weeks before Col. James M.
Hanley. chief of the 9th Army's
war crimes investigation section.
said on November II that the
Reds had slaughtered about 5000
of their American prisoners and
290 other Allied captives.
Four days after the colonels
sensational announcement at Pu-
san, Korea, Gen. Ridgway-in re-
sponse to urgent Pentagon orders
to clarity the situation-responded
that the American people should
not have been surprised.
Two days 1ater-when the De-
fense Department stepped in over
the Army Department with new
requests for clarification-Gen.
RidgWay came up with some fig
ures.
He said on November 20 the
total might be as high as 5000. of
which 365 were confirmed atrocity
killings, 294 of them identified.
Lower Figures Not Explained.
There was no immediate ex-
planation of these lower figures
given. apparently. at a later date
than that of the supreme COM
mander's report to U. N. His No
Ivember 20 announcement did not
specify what period was covered.
Col. George P. WEIGH, general
headquarters press officer in Tokyo.
ladded to the mystery of the ap-
parent surprise caused by Col.
Hanley's atrocity summary.
He said last night the U. N.
command makes monthly reports
to the U. N. and that they are
delivered to the U. N. through the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and the State
Department.
This contrasted with the ex-
pressed surprise-indeed, top Pen
tagon and State Department off,
cials maintained when the Hanley
report broke that they were
stunned. Officials maintained
that they just could not possibly
justify Col. Hanley's calculations
no matter how they added up re-
ports on atrocities.
Transmitted in Secret Form.
Col. WEIGH said the reports
leave Tokyo in secret form and
that so far as is known in Tokyo
the U. N. secretariat is the only
agency that releases Gen. Ridg-
ways reports to the public.
His statement indicated, never
theless. that Gen. Ridgway's re-
ports to the U. N. would at least
be known to the Pentagon and
State Department..
The $500 to 5000 atrocity cases
are listed among more than 10, 900
currently missing in action cate
CORY of the Defense Department
summation of Korean war cas-
ualties. The next of kin of those
men have been notified only that
they are missing and that status
will not be changed until definite
proof has been obtained as to
what happened to them.
Multitude of Sources.
Col. Hanley told reporters he
got his figures from a multitude
of sources. But when his state
ment first was announced officials
here maintained that, even so, the
total did not mount into the thou
sands.
But all the time the generals
U.N. statement-not his remarks
to the public on the Hanley dis
closure-reposed IN official chan
nels. The figures were contained
in an otherwise routine U.N. re-
port for the period Of the last two
weeks of August. Relayed through
military and diplomatic channels.
it appeared to have reached Paris,
where the U.N. Assembly was
meeting. about November IL.
In light of this, special signifi-
canoe is now attached to the cold
and angry statement of Secretary
of State Acheson to the assembly
November 13 that Red China was
far below "the general line of bar
barism." He presumably mad re-
ceived the Ridgway report before
he made his successful Did to bar
Communist China from a U,N.
seat.
400 Gases on File.
Here is what the Ridgway re-
port to the U. N. said about the
atrocities:
Recommendation and investiga-
tion of reported war crimes in
cidents are continuing. AS of July
20, 1851. approximately 5000 United
States military personnel have
(See ATROCITIES, Page A-63
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