Evening star., 1953-04-29
| Made 10 Stare al Sun,
Soldier in Red Camp
Lost Sight for ; Days
By The Associossd Press

BY ths Associofed Press
TOKYO, April 29.-An Ameri-
can soldier freed last week by
the Communists said today the
Reds forced him to stare wide
eyed at the sun for two hours as
punishment for being sarcastic
during questioning.
II couldn't see for three days.
Corpl. Pedro A. Herrera of La
MADEIRA, N. Mex, said.
The New Mexico infantryman
a former member of the 9th
Regiment of the 1st Cavalry
Division, said he knew of one
American forced to stand on ice
until both his feet froze.
Corpl. Herrera was one Of three
returned prisoners who told
newsmen today of life in North
Korean prison camp No. 5 at
Pyoktong. The others are Corpl.
Ulysses K. Abraham of Sisseton.
s. OAK, and Pfc. George w. Gray
of Ogden. Utah.
Corpl. Herrera was captured
November S. 1850, and said 600
of 5000 United Nations prisoners
died the first three months he
was in the camp.
Weak and Lame Were Clubbed.
Pfc. Gray, a sturdy Negro. told
of q bitter weeks-long forced
march in weather 20 to 80 below
zero, during December of 1850.
-Four or five thousand Americans
were on that march northward
to Pyoktong, he said, and about
800 died en- route.
"They were abandoned along
the road when they couldn't go
any further" he said. I'VE never
saw them again"
Men who Jagged were clubbed
with rifle butts.
Corpl. Abraham, a member
Of Company B. 38th Infantry
Regiment, I'd Division, told
how so Americans ran into a
Red command post during the
great Chinese offensive of May.
1851, on the central front.
1.-The Chinese broke through on
both our flanks and we were
surrounded for two days." he
related. I'VE had radio along
with us and we were told to wait
that a company of rangers
(about 200 mem attached to the
I'd Division were on the way
to help us.
u. S. Planes Bombed Own.
1.-The Rangers didn't get there.
Later on, some Rangers who
were captured said their company
was practically wiped out when
United States planes bombed
them by mistake. So when the
Rangers didn't arrive we were
given the order to get back to
our lines as best we could-every
man for himself"
At 3 am, May 19, Corpl.
Abraham and his group of so
walked smack into q Chinese
command post.
MANY of us were shot and
some were killed." he said. They
captured the living. They started
marching us north Immediately" /"
The first big stop was the So
called Mining Camp" collection
station near Pyongyang, North
Korean capital. a.,
Fever From Lice"
"They fed us powdered beans,
millet-that's chicken feed back
home-and cracked corn. There
were $50 of us at the mining
camp. Every one Of us got dysen-
terry. Sixty per cent of us died,
There was a bad sickness
caused from lice-that many of
us had. 1 had it. You get a
terrible fever and awful head
pains. I saw one man beat his
head with his hands because his
head hurt so bad. He began
hemorrhaging at the nose and
mouth. Two hours later he died.
There was an American doc
tor. a prisoner, there. The only
medicine he had was q kind of
aspirin and he was under orders
not to give it to any but the
most seriously ILL.,. The doctor
finally died. too"
At Pyoktong. English-speaking
Chinese-known as instructors
lectured and tried to peddle COM
munism to the Americans, but
made almost no headway, the re-
turned POWs said. d.
Both Corpl. Herrera and Corpl.
Abraham said the Red interro-
gators were greatly interested in
learning little details about how
each captive lived back in the
States-even to the names of his
close friends.
II think this was a means of
promoting communism" Corpl.
Abraham said. IF a man came
of a poor family or if he had a
dark skin. the Communists may