List of American and British defectors in the Korean War facts for kids

This article is about 22 soldiers from the United Nations (one British and 21 American) who chose not to return to their home countries after the Korean War. Instead, they decided to stay in China. We'll also look at soldiers who went to North Korea.

Background of the Korean War Defectors

One of the biggest challenges in ending the Korean War was deciding what to do with prisoners of war. The fighting sides, the United Nations and China/North Korea, finally agreed on a plan.

First, sick and injured prisoners were exchanged in an event called Operation Little Switch in 1953. Then, in June 1953, they made an important agreement: no prisoner would be forced to go back home if they didn't want to. This was a big deal because China and North Korea had wanted all prisoners returned.

Prisoners who chose not to go home were given 90 days in a special neutral area near Panmunjom. This time was for them to think about their decision. After this, they could choose to stay in enemy territory. The fighting officially stopped when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. (South Korea did not sign this agreement).

The main prisoner exchange, called Operation Big Switch, began in August 1953 and lasted until December. Over 75,000 Communist soldiers were sent back to their homes. About 12,700 UN soldiers, including Americans and British, were sent back south.

However, over 14,000 Communist soldiers refused to go home. Similarly, one British soldier and 23 American soldiers (plus 327 South Koreans) also chose not to return. Two American soldiers, Corporal Claude Batchelor and Corporal Edward Dickenson, changed their minds during the 90-day period. They faced legal trouble when they returned.

This left 22 UN soldiers who willingly stayed with the Communist side after the final prisoner exchange. The 21 Americans were given a "dishonorable discharge" from the military. This meant they were no longer active soldiers. This also meant they couldn't be tried by the military when they eventually returned to the United States. However, they could still be held responsible for any bad actions or cooperation with the enemy while they were prisoners.

On February 24, 1954, a train carrying the 21 American defectors crossed into China. Some of these men were sent to study language and politics. Others went to work in factories, mills, and farms across eastern China.

List of Soldiers Who Stayed

American Soldiers

• Adams, Clarence (Cpl.) from Memphis, Tennessee. Adams, who was African-American, said he didn't want to return because of unfair treatment in the United States. As a prisoner, he learned about Communist ideas and later taught other prisoners. He also made radio broadcasts during the Vietnam War for a Chinese office, telling black American soldiers not to fight. He said they should fight for fairness at home instead. Adams married a Chinese woman and lived in China. He returned to the United States in 1966 when the mood in China became less friendly to Westerners. He later opened a Chinese restaurant in Memphis. Clarence Adams passed away in 1999. His life story, An American Dream: The Life of an African American Soldier and POW Who Spent Twelve Years in Communist China, was published after his death.
• Adams, Howard Gayle (Sgt.) from Corsicana, Texas. He worked in a paper factory in Jinan, China. He chose not to give interviews to the media.
• Belhomme, Albert Constant (Sgt.) was born in Belgium and moved to the United States as a teenager. He lived in China for ten years, working in a paper factory in Jinan. He later returned to Antwerp.
• Bell, Otho Grayson (Cpl.) from Olympia, Washington. He chose to stay even though he had a wife and baby back home. In China, Bell was sent to work on a farm with William Cowart and Lewis Griggs. Bell said they were sent there because they couldn't learn Chinese. They all returned to the United States together in July 1955. They were briefly arrested but then released because the military no longer had power over them after their discharge. Bell died in 2003.
• Gordon, Richard (Sgt.) from Chicago. He returned to the United States in January 1958. He was reported to live in Milwaukee and later Chicago. He continued to support Communist ideas after returning. He passed away in 1988.
• Cowart, William (Cpl.) returned with Bell and Griggs. The three soldiers later tried to get their military pay from the time they were captured until they were discharged. Their case went to the United States Supreme Court, which decided they should receive their back pay.
• Douglas, Rufus (Sgt.) passed away in China a few months after arriving in 1954. It's believed he died from natural causes.
• Dunn, John Roedel (Cpl.) born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He married a woman from Czechoslovakia while in China and moved to Czechoslovakia in 1959. He died in Slovakia in 1996.
• Fortuna, Andrew (Sgt.) from Greenup, Kentucky. He had received awards for his service in Korea before being captured. He returned to the United States on July 3, 1957. He worked in different cities like Portsmouth, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago. He passed away in 1984.
• Griggs, Lewis Wayne returned with Bell and Cowart in 1955. He later studied sociology at Stephen F. Austin State University and graduated in 1959. He died in 1984.
• Hawkins, Samuel David (Pfc.) from Oklahoma City. He married a Russian woman in China. He returned to the United States in February 1957, and his wife was later allowed to join him. He successfully asked the government to change his discharge status. He raised a family and has given interviews, but keeps his location private.
• Pate, Arlie (Cpl.) worked in a paper mill before returning with Aaron Wilson in 1956. He died in 1999.
• Rush, Scott (Sgt.) married in China. After living in China for ten years, he and his wife moved to the United States and settled in the Midwest.
• Skinner, Lowell (Cpl.) His mother asked him to come home over the radio during the prisoner exchange, but he didn't. He married in China but left his wife behind when he returned to the United States in 1963. He later spent time in a hospital for mental health reasons. He died in 1995.
• Sullivan, LaRance returned in 1958 and died in 2001.
• Tenneson, Richard (Pfc.) returned in 1955. He later went to Louisiana to welcome home fellow defector Aaron Wilson. He settled in Utah before dying in 2001.
• Veneris, James (Pvt.) (1922–2004) was born to a Greek family in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. He stayed in China and became a strong supporter of Communist ideas, taking the Chinese name 'Lao Wen'. He worked in a steel mill and was involved in important Chinese political movements. He married three times and had children. He visited the United States in 1976 but returned to China, where he is buried.
• Webb, Harold (Sgt.) from Jacksonville, Florida. He married a Polish woman in China and moved to Poland in 1960. He was later allowed to settle in the United States in 1988.
• White, William (Cpl.) married and earned a degree in international law while in China. He returned to the United States in 1965.
• Wills, Morris (Cpl.) from Fort Ann, New York. He played basketball for Peking University and got married in China. He returned to the U.S. in 1965 and worked at Harvard University. His autobiography, Turncoat: An American's 12 Years in Communist China, was published in 1966. He died in 1999.
• Wilson, Aaron (Cpl.) (1932–2014) from Urania, Louisiana. Cpl. Wilson was one of five American defectors who had not finished high school. He was captured in 1950. His lack of education and three years of learning Communist ideas are thought to be reasons for his decision to stay. He returned to the U.S. on December 6, 1956. Wilson married an American woman and worked in his hometown's mill. Later in life, Wilson proudly flew a U.S. flag at his home. In a 2002 interview, he said, "This is the greatest country in the world, and maybe when I was 17 years old I didn't know it, but I do now." He died in 2014.

British Soldier

• Andrew Condron, a Scotsman from the 41 (Independent) Royal Marine Commando, was the only British soldier to refuse to go home. Some reports say he was influenced by claims about American actions during the Korean War. However, those who knew him said he was motivated by his political beliefs. Condron stated, "I made my gesture because I am against war. I have spent my years in China learning a lot."

The British government said he could be arrested and tried if he returned to the United Kingdom. An officer from the Admiralty stated that the Royal Navy considered Condron a deserter and he could be charged. This made it difficult for Condron to return home.

In 1955, Condron contributed to a book called Thinking Soldiers – by Men Who Fought in Korea. In his writing, he shared his feelings about military life:

'... the soldier today can no longer be viewed as a robot. The more different kinds of experience he has, the more he fits them together in his mind. That is why all those who consider the soldier merely as a thing to be used, like the rifle he carries or the pack he wears, are bound to come out very badly in their calculations. Our experience, and that of the men who wrote this book, included battle, capture and much thought in Korea. We were a few among many thousands.

Despite his political reasons for staying, Condron's life in China didn't always fit the country's strict rules. In 1959, Condron was in a relationship with Jaquelin Hsiung-Baudet, whom he met while teaching English at the Beijing Language and Culture University.

Condron returned to the United Kingdom in 1960 because of growing anti-Western feelings in China. He received an honorable discharge from the Royal Marines. In 1962, Jaquelin moved to the UK to join him. Condron later worked selling encyclopedias, and Jaquelin worked at the BBC World Service. Condron and his wife had a son, Simon. Jaquelin later divorced Condron and moved to the US. Condron lived in London until his death in March 1996 at age 68.

Documentaries About Defectors

• They Chose China (2005) is a 52-minute documentary film directed by Shui-Bo Wang. It includes interviews with Samuel Hawkins and the families of Clarence Adams and James Veneris (who had passed away). It also features older interviews with Veneris and Adams.
• Crossing the Line (Korean: 푸른 눈의 평양시민, "A Blue-Eyed Pyongyang Citizen in North Korea") is a 2006 documentary film by Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner.

Other Soldiers Who Went to North Korea

Since the Korean War ceasefire, seven more American servicemen are known to have gone to North Korea:

• Larry Allen Abshier (1962)
• James Joseph Dresnok (1962)
• Jerry Wayne Parrish (1963)
• Charles Robert Jenkins (1965)
• Roy Chung (1979)
• Joseph T. White (1982)
• Travis King (2023)