Evening star., 1953-09-01
Prisoner EXCHANGE
Goes Into Fifth and
Possibly Final Week
BY the Associafed Press


PANMUNjOM, Sept. 1.-The
Korean war prisoner exchange
moved into its fifth and possibly
last week today with 100 more
Americans returning to freedom
from North Korean prison
camps.
The Communists promised to
hand back another 100 Ameri-
cans tomorrow, as we'll as 200
South Koreans. for a total of
300-the smallest daily total
since the dramatic swap started
% days ago
Besides the 100 Americans, 25
British. 20 Turks. S Australians
and $50 South Koreans returned
to freedom today.
High Officers Returned.
Riding happily into Panmun-
JON on open trucks today were
two high-ranking Allied officers,
both of whom spent many
months in Red captivity.
One was 1t. Col. James P.
Carne, commander of the 1St
Battalion of Britain's gallant
Gloucestershire Regiment, which
was all but wiped out when cut
off in the Imjin River battle in
April, 1851.
Col. Carne, putting pipe,
hoped off a Red truck and told
Allied officers who greeted him
1T feels great to be back"
The other top-ranking repatri-
ate was an American, 1t. Col.
Paul v. Lilies, West Pointer who
spent almost three years as a
prisoner of the Reds.
Under Red Pressure.
He told a grim tale of sys-
tematic Communist pressure on
prisoners to make them sign
confessions and make ! propa-
ganda broadcasts. Col. Lilies said
he and a group of prisoners who
had been nearly starved to death
were forced by the Reds to
broadcast over Pyongyang radio.
He said the alternative was a
1OO-mile march over frozen high
ways" tantamount to a death
sentence"
With the exchange moving
into it's final days, the Reds, as
of today, had returned 1927
Americans of the 1913 they orig
inally said they held. The
Communists have since indicated
they hold more and have prom
ised to repatriate all who want
to go home. They have given no
figures, however.
But one American released to-
day said about $50 allied SER
geants, mostly Americans, were
still awaiting repatriation at Kae-
song, the Red holding point just
north of Panmunjom.
The returnee. M/Sergt. Robert
Barkovic of international Falls
Mimi, said he did not know the
number of enlisted men or officers
left because they were kept in
compounds apart from non-com-
miSsioned officers.
Propaganda Crimes" Charged.
Sergt. 1/c William F. Border OF
Jersey City, N. j., who also was
freed today, estimated between
500 and 800 U. N. captives were
still at KaeSong, not including &c
others being held at special
compound.
He said the 40 had been ac-
cused of propaganda crimes
and would be among the last to
be repatriated.
In all, 11,416 of the 1872
allied POWs the Reds originally
listed have been freed. leaving
1866 yet to be returned, by Red
count.
North Korea's Pyongyang ra-
dio said today that allied war
criminals" convicted by Red
military courts would be released
along with other allied POWs.
Returning prisoners have told
of fellow POWs being sentenced
to long prison terms on such
charges as "instigating against
the peace"
ReaSsurances Given.
The Red broadcast, heard in
Tokyo, reiterated assurances the
Communists gave the U. N. COM
mand yesterday at a meeting
of the Military ArmiStice Com
mission.
Pyongyang said a releasing
ceremony" was held yesterday
near Panmunjom during which
the POWs were told they would
be repatriated.
The broadcast did not say how
many were in the group. Il
called them "the worst batch Of
war criminals" and said they hac
been convicted of "terroristic &C.
tivities, riots within prison
camps, insulting women anc
children, murder and violence il
general and arson"
The U. N. command returned
another 2,400 Communist POWs