Evening star., 1953-05-04

weary and weak from malnutri-
ton and dysentery, he was
brought to Walter Reed in an
ambulance.
Searching for words as a man
might after having regained his
voice, Corpl. Wiseman wearily
gave a brief account of that two
and a half years. Other than
lack Of food and only primitive
accommodations, he said he was
never personally mistreated.
But there were those first two
awful months at the mining
camp"
Two Bowls of Meal.
Many died there, the others
subsisting on two bowls of meal
a day. to which sometimes was
added little cracked corn.
"The worst food we had was
none at ALL" he said. "The best
was last Christmas when they
gave us fried chicken-one
chicken to three men.
"In January. 1851, they herded
us together and began a two-day
march north to a bigger camp
on the Yalu River" the soldier
continued.
Along the way several men
dropped out or passed out, and
the Chinese just left them there"
New experiences awaited them
at the Yalu prison. For one
thing. about 1000 prisoners were
hauled out each day to unload
rice barges.
Work details, he said, included
foraging and cutting of wood and
building the mud houses they
lived in. Camp routine called for
a roll call at Z am. There was
no lights OUT" he went on. 1--WE
had no lights"
Recreation included baseball,
football and basketball.
Attempts at Communist indoc-
trination came three times week.
ly and attendance was compul-
sorry. They told us certain stuff
we were supposed to believe. We
didn't listen. We just sat there.
Friends Died Daily.
Friends died every day from
wounds and sickness. We had
burial details almost every day
during that first year. Capt.
Anderson "a doctor whom Corpl.
Wiseman was unable to identify
further) helped keep us alive.
1.-THE second winter they gave
us some clothing and blankets,
but for the whole 21a years we
lived in mud houses and slept
on the floor.
I'VE didn't have much in the
way Of shaving gear. Late in
1851 they issued a razor-it
looked like a butcher knife-one
razor to a squad. GIs were cut
ting each others hair. We never
saw a Red Cross or any other
welfare worker. There was no
barbed wire around us, and
guards never bothered us. They
were instructed to not even talk
to U.s." No escapes were at
tempted that he knew of, the
corporal said.
AS for war news, he said, "all
we got was from the bitch
boxes,'" which, he explained,
were loudspeakers. But I never
believed any Of that stuff"
He said his captors, particu-
larly during the first winter,
Jared only a little better as far
as food and medical supplies
were concerned. AS for his
capture:
1--WE were supposed to attack
around Wonsan. We heard the
Chinese were just on the other
side Of the hill. After it got
dark we heard and saw one of
our Sergeants out there. We
went over to get him. He was
wounded in f1ve places and |
hollering for help.
1--WE made a Stretcher out of |
wood and carried him all night
trying to get around the Chinese.
We finally got into this building
and tried to bind up the sergeant
to keep him from bleeding.
1.-THE next morning they
us-about 10 Chinese.
They fired their burp guns into
the building. One boy got hit
in the shoulder and the few of us
decided it was best to surrender.
1--WE held out a white handker-
chief or something.
II don't know whether the ser
zeant ever pulled through. He !