Sunchon tunnel massacre

Not to be confused with Sinchon Massacre.
Sunchon tunnel massacre
Part of the Korean War
LocationSunchon tunnel
DateOctober 30, 1950
Deaths68
Injured21[1]
VictimsAmerican prisoners of war
Perpetrators Korean People's Army

The Sunchon tunnel massacre was a death march followed by a massacre of American POWs during the UN offensive into North Korea. The death march began in October 1950 when around 180 prisoners of war who had survived the Tiger Death March from Seoul to Pyongyang[2] were loaded onto railcars by the Korean People's Army (KPA) and transported deep into North Korea. The journey is said to have taken four to five days. The climate was very harsh and many of the POWs, who were unprotected and given no food, water, or medical treatment, died during the trip.[3]

The cars unloaded on October 30 at the Sunchon tunnel in Sunchon, South Pyongan where the Americans were told by the North Koreans they would be given food and treatment. They were divided into groups of 40 and marched to the ravine, where the KPA mowed the Americans down en masse with submachine guns. A witness said the prisoners "went around the corner, into this ditch. They [the KPA] said, “Get down; the planes. Get down; the planes. So when we all ducked down some more of them came up on us over a little rice paddy and they just opened up."[4] 68 people were killed out of 138 people who died during the journey.[5][6] By the time they had been rescued by a South Korean-American rescue mission, there were only 21 survivors, who a ROK detachment safely conveyed along with the dead to Pyongyang, where C-54 Skymasters flew them to Japan. 2 of the survivors died of their wounds following their return to US military control.[7]: 661–3 

The massacre was documented by Charles E. Potter in the Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities.[8]

  1. ^ Korean War Atrocities: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities. United States Government Printing Office. 1953. p. 39.
  2. ^ Davis, Clifford. "More than 60 years later, former medic may be honored with Distinguished Service Cross". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  3. ^ Miller, Thomas W. (2012). The Praeger Handbook of Veterans' Health: History, Challenges, Issues, and Developments. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-38349-6.
  4. ^ "7 horrifying atrocities of the Korean War". We Are The Mighty. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  5. ^ "Atrocities Against American Pows In Korean War - Page 1". www.b-29s-over-korea.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  6. ^ Korean War Atrocities, Hearing, Part 1 loc.gov
  7. ^ Appleman, Roy (1961). United States Army in the Korean War: South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu June - November 1950 (PDF). Center of Military History, United States Army. p. 607. ISBN 0160359589. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ Potter, Charles E. (December 3, 1953). "Korean War Atrocities" (PDF, online). United States Senate Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations. US GPO. Retrieved April 24, 2022.