ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 2938 22 January 1951
The following information was obtained from recovered American military personnel, who were interrogated upon arrival in JAPAN from KOREA by Central Interrogation Center, ATIS. Interrogation was conducted at Tokyo Army Hospital by Lt FUSCO.
Source was captured at YONCHON with 6 other Americans on 14 December 1950 by North Korean forces. He was separated from the group and for 3 days was confined with a Japanese who claimed to be attached to an American unit as a permanent KP. Source was confined with the Japanese because the North Koreans believed he was Nisei although he was actually of Spanish extraction. His knowledge of the Japanese language consisted of what he had been able to pick up while being assigned for two years in YOKOHAMA. The Japanese was not captured with the group. It was the contention of the source that this person was not really a prisoner but was instead a plant together whatever information he could for the North Korean Army on the Japanese Army in JAPAN and Japanese units in KOREA. Because the source had no information, the Japanese was removed after 3 days and never seen again.
Source was then interrogated by a Chinese officer described as a 2 star General by the lieutenant interpreter. The General who was about 30 years old, 5’ 8” tall, and weighed about 170 lbs, did not speak English. He interrogated source for five to six hours through his interpreter. He was greatly interested in the location of concentrations of artillery and the number of pieces, number and type of vehicles and new weapons. He seemed particularly concerned about Japanese units in KOREA and also the Japanese Army in JAPAN.
Source was captured with about 30 other Americans when their unit was encircled by Chinese Communist Forces during a withdrawal on 1 January 1951 near the 38th parallel. He was taken to a CP where there were no English speaking Chinese. One of the Americans who was captured with the source could speak Chinese so he was used as interpreter.
The Chinese were too busy dodging an artillery barrage to do any interrogating. The Americans made a large PW with straw in the snow to indicate their position to the observer circling about in an artillery liaison plane. Possibly fearing a trick, the man in the plane disregarded the sign and more artillery fell on that area. As a result, two of the Americans were killed and five wounded. The Chinese-speaking American and the source were the most seriously wounded and after considerable pleading were released and allowed to make their way back to the American lines.
For the CO, TIS:
AURELL
