Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-09-14
Korea Reds Thought
Lectures Succeeded,
Fleming Trial Hears
BY the Associated Press


BY the Associated Press
FORT SHERIDAN, ILL.,. Sept. |
IA witness at the court mar.
tial of 1t. Col. Harry Fleming |
testified today their Communist |
captors predicted that repatri-
ated prisoners of war in Korea
would mot be accepted at home"
Testifying for the second day,
1t. Col. Paul Lilies of Fort Lewis,
Wash, said the Reds believed
their indoctrination program
among war prisoners had been
successful.
Col. Fleming, 46-year-old in
fantry officer from Racine, Wis,
is accused Of collaborating with
the Reds after his capture in
November, 1850. The Army
charges his conduct as a pri-
soner was detrimental to other
POWs.
Col. Lilies. SO. was a fellow pri-
soner of Col. Fleming at a COM
pound near Pyongyang. North
Korea. He testified about con-
versation he said he had with
a Chinese general named Ding
about the time United Nations
prisoners were being repatriated.
Thought Regulations Blasted.
Col. Lilies said Gen. Ding in
quired if he (Col. Liles) thought
the Red indoctrination program
had been successful. The wit
ness said he emphatically told
Gen. Ding mo"
Gen. Ding smiled, Col. Lilies
related. and replied: Il
"We feel that our program
has been successful, as you will
learn later. We think we have
ruined the regulations of officer
prisoners to the extent that they
will never again be permitted to
fight Communists, When you
get home you will find that you
will not be accepted"
Col. Lilies, defense witness,
said that Col, Fleming, who was
prison compound leader, incurred
the wrath of other POWs by
telling them, Let your con-
science be your guide" when
their captors were demanding
that the men take part In Red
propaganda activities.
The witness said he feels that
In their resentment ''the men
even went so far as to cause
this trial"
Burden of Decision Resented.
Col. Lilies said the Communists
wanted the POWs to sign Red
prepared propaganda and that
Col. Fleming told the 70 or more
prisoners in the compound:
Il can't tell you to resist. It's
up to you. ct your conscience
be your guide"
The witness testified the POWs
apparently did not understand
that Col. Fleming feared the
Reds would administer harsh
punishment to those who refused
to sign. -<
THE men felt that Fleming
was putting the burden of de-
cision on them. They didn't
understand what he meant. They
wanted Fleming to act as
buffer between themselves and
the enemy" Col. Lilies said.
Col. Fleming is expected to
take the stand before the IL
man court-martial today to de-
fend his behavior as prisoner.
Says He "Sabotaged" Reds.
Col. Lilies testified yesterday
Col. Fleming repeatedly "sabo-
tagged" efforts of the Communists
to indectrinate American prison.
ers in Korea by using double
talk to confuse their Communist
guards. Col. Fleming did this,
Col. Lilies said, during classes he
was compelled to conduct among
POWS.
Col. Lilies, a West Point grad
uate, testified that when the
North Korean guards were not
present, the Americans played
cards, drew cartoons or slept
during the two-hour lecture pc
Rod during which Col. Fleming
was supposed to instruct the
prisoners on the state and So
cial structure of the u. S. S. r.
Col. Lilies told the court that
he. too. made tape recordings at
the insistence of his captors, but
that they were made under du-
ress. Other defense and prose-
cution witnesses have testified
they made recorded appeals"
for broadcast by the Reds while
in captivity.
Threatened With Shooting.
Col. Lilies testified that the Red
POW camp commander. Col.
Kim Dong Suk. threatened to
shoot Col. Fleming when six
American officers escaped early
in 1851 and Col. Fleming took
sole responsibility for the in
cident The six men were re-
captured.
On another occasion, Col.
Lilies said, the defendant took
the blame when the Reds dis
covered that POWs in the COM
pound had arranged a signal in
the snow to let American airmen
know they were over a POW
camp.
Despite Col. Kim's threats,
Col. Fleming was not physically
punished, the witness said.