Forgotten War, Forgotten Soldiers

Book: American POWs left behind from Korean War
American Trophies

BY:
July 26, 2013 4:08 pm

U.S. prisoners of war were left behind in North Korea, China, and Russia after the Korean War and the Pentagon failed to win their release or a full accounting of their fate, according to research contained in a new book that is highly critical of U.S. POW recovery efforts.

“The Obama White House and Pentagon show not a trace of urgency in recovering our Korean War POW/MIAs, perished or alive,” said Mark Sauter, the book’s co-author who has spent more than two decades investigating missing soldiers.

“Time is running out for many of their family members, not to mention American POWs reported in North Korea long after the war, if any still survive,” he told the Washington Free Beacon. “Contrast this with South Korea, which has recovered dozens of its POWs alive in recent years. Some family members believe the U.S. government is simply waiting for the problem to go away.”

The book, American Trophies: How American POWs Were Surrendered to North Korea, China, and Russia by Washington’s ‘Cynical Attitude, includes numerous cases of missing Americans from the Korean War, along with several from the Cold War and Vietnam War. It is based on years of research, interviews, and documents by the authors, Sauter and John Zimmerlee.

Declassified intelligence reports obtained by the authors reveal that Americans were being held captive in China, North Korea, and the Soviet Union at least through the 1990s.

Publication of the book follows the recent disclosure of a Pentagon report highly critical of Defense Department POW search efforts. “The Pentagon’s effort to account for tens of thousands of Americans missing in action from foreign wars is so inept, mismanaged and wasteful that it risks descending from ‘dysfunction to total failure,’” said an internal Pentagon study suppressed by military officials but first reported by the Associated Press July 8.

The book cites the same report and others, saying they “cast grave doubt about government goals for finding and identifying the missing from Korea and other wars.” The study said the cost of recovering a single missing soldier can reach between $2.1 million and $5.7 million.

“The Obama administration has failed to manage these POW programs effectively or press other countries for answers,” the book says. “It has even sidelined the long-running Presidential US-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, now stuck in White House bureaucracy.”

The House Armed Services Committee will conduct a hearing Aug. 1 when senior Pentagon POW officials are expected to face tough questioning on the matter.

The book documents several cases of missing Americans who were reported alive but never returned after the conflict. The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953 and involved a coalition of U.N. states led by the United States fighting a Soviet-backed North Korea and later China.

The cases include the fate of Harry Moreland, who the Chinese say escaped from an enemy prison despite having both legs amputated. In another case, Air Force Capt. Sam Logan went missing after his aircraft went down near Pyongyang in late 1950. He disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Richard Desautels was captured by the Chinese in 1950 and taken to Manchuria where he was kept prisoner and was never returned after Beijing released other prisoners.

Gilbert Ashley and four other B-29 crewmen parachuted safely after their plane went down in North Korea, but they were never returned after the conflict.

“The U.S. military radioed a demand to return them: Communists cannot plausibly deny you are alive and must arrange your exchange. They never came home,” the authors said of Ashley and his crew.

One former Soviet colonel told the authors that an U.S. F-86 pilot captured by the Russians was sent to Moscow because Soviet leader Josef Stalin wanted to speak to him. And a North Korean source revealed that the North Korean communist government kept American prisoners for the same reason serial killers keeps mementos of victims.

“Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow kept our prisoners for several strategic and tactical reasons,” the book states. “American captives were also sometimes a sort of ‘trophy.’”

China conducted show trials of U.S. POWs captured in Korea and traded them for scientists held by the United States. The book says evidence reveals the Chinese were holding other American prisoners who were never released.

“We expect mendacity and indifference from North Korea, China, and Russia, and it is they who kept American captives and frustrate attempts to account for them,” the authors said. “But we hold the US government to a higher standard, which it has failed to meet.”

The authors’ investigation of missing POWs found that the Pentagon had “substantial evidence” American POWs remained in enemy hands after the end of the Korean War but declared all of them dead—even those that were thought to be alive.

At one point after the war, the Air Force’s most senior general, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Nathan Twining, asked the CIA to conduct a covert action program in 1954 to recover what the general said was “apparently substantial number of U. S. military personnel captured in the course of the Korean War (who) are still being held prisoners by the Communist Forces,” according to one document.

The CIA rejected the request claiming it did not believe reports of secretly held POWs.

Russia initially agreed to cooperate in the late 1990s with the Pentagon on accounting for missing servicemen but continues to “stonewall” access to KGB files that could shed light on the missing Americans, including those Moscow admitted were sent to Russia, the book says.

MORE HERE

Views: 382

Reply to This

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

"With all due respect this guy comes off as a drunken asshole and he didn't even  know who…"
11 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Was a Planned Civil War Averted?

We are living in sadly historic times where good and evil are in battle all the time. Not that this…See More
22 hours ago
Sandy posted a photo
yesterday
Less Prone posted a video

President Trump addresses U.N. General Assembly - FULL SPEECH

President Donald Trump speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.Full video here: https://www.c-span.org/event/white-house-event/preside...
yesterday
Burbia posted a video

2 MIN AGO: Western Provinces MAJOR New WEXIT Announcement - Canada EXPLODES!

In a stunning turn of events, Western provinces just made a major new WEXIT announcement — and it’s shaking the foundations of Canadian unity. Is Western sep...
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

How You Provoke a Civil War

In the world of counter intelligence which is simply one aspect of many pertaining to asymmetrical…See More
Friday
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

"I don't follow as much with Josh Reeves than I use to. He seems to be a documentary producing…"
Friday
Burbia posted a video

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

DONATE-paypal-dayglow76@yahoo.comCashapp-reevesradioVenmo-Josh-Reeves-61FILMS AND AUDIOBOOKS DOWNLOAD STORE-https://store.payloadz.com/results/242828-josh-re...
Friday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Thursday
tjdavis posted a video

CHARLIE KIRK VIDEO THAT KEEPS GETTING REMOVED OFF OF SEVERAL PLATFORMS

I had not planned to share this publicly, but I believe Advar, who spoke with Charlie Kirk while I was very ill, would have wanted me to. After my interview ...
Thursday
pohonemas33 team commented on Chris of the family Masters's photo
Thumbnail

Gold-Coast-Message

"untuk bermain slot, kamu cukup kunjungi situs kacang99 pasti langsung gacor"
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Wednesday
Burbia posted a blog post

Former President Trump?

When was this article written? It is attributed to Victor Davis Hanson. He is a Fellow at Hoover…See More
Sep 22
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Don’t Go Hunting For Bigfoot

It is October 19, 2019 at 5:46 AM. This will be the last time any visual evidence of Mark is seen…See More
Sep 22
tjdavis posted a video

Most Corrupt Series: Elizabeth Warren | Forgotten History

Elizabeth Warren has built her reputation as a "reformer", but her political career has also drawn sharp criticism. Questions have been raised about her fina...
Sep 19
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Ashrams and Moonies Perfect Case for Mind Control
"less prone, Thanks for your support Buddy! "
Sep 18
Doc Vega posted a photo

main-thumb-ti-6724328-100-cnsgqkrgkrhyeyyerazynmuwoplecnbx

When will they put Trump on Mt. Rushmore?
Sep 18
Doc Vega's 4 blog posts were featured
Sep 18
Burbia's blog post was featured

Charlie Kirk Assassination

September 10th 2025 in Utah Turning Point USA CEO has been assassinated. Coincidentally,  answering…See More
Sep 18
Charles Magus's blog post was featured

FURTHER PROOF OF WALK-INS! Prisoners of the Dulce Base by Sherry Shriner

There is a real connection between the Cabal and what is happening at this Undergroung…See More
Sep 18

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted