Evening star., 1953-08-19
BY Fronk Noel
R PHOTOGRAPHER. as told to Olen

@ PHOTOGRAPHER. as told to Olen
Clements.
TOKYO, Aug. 19.-After / re-
ceived my camera in January,
1852, the Chinese let me take
pictures in four of the six camps
where on-Korean war prisoners
were held.
In my wandering around the
camps I got a pretty fair idea
-----@------- ------------------
This is the last story by Associoted
Press Photographer Fronk Noel on
his 81 months as Communist Pis-
oner in North Korea. He is receiving
medicol treatment in Tokyo before
returning to the United Stotes.
of how many men were in each
and I estimated there were be-
tween 1000 and 5000 men,
mostly Americans, in the hands
of the Reds. Another 5000
died in the camps and are buried
in the hills around Pyoktong
and Chonchong. where most of
the camps were located. That
would account for up to 5000
of the $4,000 non-Korean troops
estimated to be missing today.
The Chinese did not mark
these camps for aerial identifi-
cation during the first year of
the war. When they did mark
them they used the Chinese
characters that I was told
meant peace" rather than a
prisoner camp.
One day about three months
ago I saw three wagon loads of
TNT-about so boxes of it to
the wagon-dug up and taken
out of Camp 5 where 1900
Americans, British, Filipinos,
Puerto RicanS, Turks, French
and Greek POWs were held. If
a bomb had struck that camp
accidentally the whole bunch
would have been killed.
Tried to Cover up Deaths.
The Reds tried to cover UP.
the great number of deaths
among the POWs-sometimes as
many as 48 bodies in one day
were seen being moved out of
the camp-by trying to force
Allied doctors to say the men
died of syphilis contracted be-
fore they were captured. None
of the doctors would go for it
and good many of them did
time in the hole as a result.
We were held right near the
border of Manchuria and a Chi
nese leader told me one day if
the Allies ever tried to liberate
the prisoners the Chinese would
take those they wanted to keep
across the border into China.
Perhaps they have done so now.
When was captured in No
vember of 1850 along with Ma
rines, Army and British troops
at Koto, North Korea, they
walked us to Camp 5-about 700
miles over the winding route
they made us take. Camp 5 then
held officers and enlisted men.
That was about April, 1851.
In the summer they herded
about 900 men and officers into
Korean theater and made the
rest listen to loudSpeakers out
side while a high Chinese gave
a bitter harangue against the
"capitalistic warmongers."
991c Resisted IndOctrination.
He told the enlisted men they
should have turned their guns
on their officers, who were "the
real warmongers in America"
The lecture didn't go over very
we'll with either the enlisted men
or officers.
The Communists tried every
way in the world to indoctrinate
the prisoners. They succeeded
in some cases but I would say
the percentage was very small.
They used race against race
and nationality against nation
ality in an effort to stir up ami
mostly among the prisoners. On
that score I was real proud to
note SO per cent of our men, re-
gardless of race or creed, stood
pat. They knew what was going
on and didn't buy it.
Later on the Reds opened up
Camp 2 and moved all the Of
flcers up there. They insisted
that I was a Marine captain and
moved me there with the officers
despite my protests that I was
q civilian war correspondent.
In trying to make me admit