The Chaplain–Medic massacre was a war crime that took place in the Korean War on July 16, 1950, on a mountain above the village of Tunam, South Korea. Operating at the Kum River during the Battle of Taejon, troops of the US Army's 19th Infantry Regiment were cut off from resupply by a roadblock established by North Korean troops of the NK 3rd Division. The roadblock proved difficult to break, and forced US troops to move through nearby mountains to evacuate their wounded. Thirty unarmed and critically wounded US troops were stranded at the top of a mountain along with a chaplain (Herman G. Felhoelter, pictured) and a medic. They were discovered by a North Korean patrol. Though the medic was able to escape, the North Koreans executed Felhoelter as he prayed over the wounded, then killed the rest of them. The massacre was one of several incidents that led US commanders to establish a commission in July to look into war crimes during the war. The same month, the North Korean commanders, concerned about the way their soldiers were treating prisoners of war, laid out stricter guidelines for handling enemy captives. (Full article...)
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