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Posted 15 July 2004 - 09:37 PM
My father was a POW during the Korean war. He was about Jessi's age when he was captured and held for 27 months (minus the short time he had escaped). This is from the family history book I am writing:
Clyde Livaudais was a corporal when, on May 19, 1951, he was captured when his battalion was overrun and taken prisoner of war by the Chinese. It was in the evening of May 17, while the U.S. troops on Karisan Mountain, northeast of Hongchun, were maintaining a general fire on the Chinese forces in the front, which one of the Chinese units broke through the U.S. defensive line. The unit had approached one of the peaks from the rear and destroyed four wire entanglements and cleared away the mines on the mountainside without being noticed.
Other Chinese units arrived by midnight and followed in a wedge formation penetrating the U.S. defensive line. They hurled hand-grenades at the tents of the officers of the 38th Regiment. The U.S. soldiers took cover in their bunkers and began to defend their position. Fierce fighting broke out that lasted several days.
During this time the Chinese cut off the highway south of Taisutong, blocking the road by wrecking a U.S. truck. This cut off any attempt to evacuate the 100 trucks and armored cars through the valley. The American troops fought back bravely against insurmountable odds, but the Chinese forces continued to advance. They attacked the mountain from the front, taking one peak after another.
On May 19, the Chinese fought off counter attacks by the U.S. 2nd Division and the Syngman Rhee troops. Despite heavy losses, the Chinese were able to take over the Mountain. Most of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd U.S. Battalions were lost with nearly 1,000 Americans killed and almost 800 captured.
The Chinese captors begun marching their prisoners towards the prison camp to the north. On Livaudais' first night of captivity the prisoners were crowded into an abandoned mine shaft where there was barely enough oxygen to breath. That night several men died from being crammed into the rear of the shaft and not having enough air to breathe.
The journey took the prisoners through treacherous mountain trails hundreds of miles north. Their only food was a long, cylinder bag of ground or powdered millet, which was usually, bug infested. This led to many developing dysentery. Those who stopped along the way would be executed. So the prisoners endured the illnesses, the starvation, the heavy rains and bitter cold in their struggle to survive. When marching through towns the civilians beat them with rocks and sticks. Many men died along the way, and even after reaching the prison camp there were daily deaths.
Many of the prisoners died to disease or wounds that were never treated. During Livaudais' time as a prison of war at Camp 1, in the village of Chang Song near the Yalu River boundary of Manchuria, there was little to do and much to fear, such as the malnutrition he developed and the indoctrination sessions run by his Chinese captors. But most of all were those times when, in the middle of the night, guards would come and drag out prisoners who would never be seen again. Nearly 400 men disappeared in this manner. No one knew why these men were taken or what ever happened to them.
They were housed in small huts so small and crowded that they had to sleep on their sides and all had to turn over at the same time. Sanitation was a concern, and despite their efforts to keep themselves clean, they were subject to body lice, dysentery, intestinal worms, skin disorders, and dental problems. The freezing temperatures well below zero led to many cases of frostbite and pneumonia. Of the 7,190 men captured as prisoners during the Korean War only 4,460 survived.
Clyde Livaudais was released on the 21st of August 1953, after surviving captivity for 27 months. His release was part of Operation Big Switch. Most of those released in this exchange were from prisoner of war camp 1, known as the camp for the "incorrigibles". The exchange on this day began at 8:30 a.m. on an overcast, hot and sultry day. The American P.O.W.s waited in the Russian made carriers until their names were called out. They were in high spirits, one danced a jig and many others yelled with shouts of joy. They tossed away their faded blue denim prison garb and blankets as they scrambled from the carriers to the reception center.
Press photo taken after my father's release from POW camp.
