The Hill 303 massacre () was a

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

that took place during the opening days of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

on August 17, 1950, on a hill above Waegwan,

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Forty-one

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

(US)

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

were murdered by troops of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) during one of the engagements of the

Battle of Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, known in Korean as the Battle of the Naktong River Defense Line (), was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one ...

. Operating near

Taegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

during the Battle of Taegu, elements of the US 2nd Battalion,

5th Cavalry Regiment The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on March 3, 1855, as the Second Cavalry Regiment. On August 3, 1861, it was redesignated as the 5th Cavalry Regiment following an ...

, 1st Cavalry Division, were surrounded by KPA troops crossing the

Nakdong River The Nakdong River or Nakdonggang (, ) is the longest river in South Korea, which passes through the major cities of Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Three Kingdoms of Korea, Kor ...

at Hill 303. Most of the US troops were able to escape, but one platoon of mortar operators misidentified KPA troops as

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

(ROK) reinforcements and was captured. KPA troops held the Americans on the hill and initially tried to move them across the river and out of the battle, but they were unable to do so because of a heavy counterattack. US forces eventually broke the KPA advance, routing the force. As the KPA began to retreat, one of their officers ordered the prisoners to be shot so they would not slow them down. The massacre provoked a response from both sides in the conflict. US commanders broadcast radio messages and dropped leaflets demanding the senior North Korean commanders be held responsible for the atrocity. The KPA commanders, concerned about the way their soldiers were treating prisoners of war, laid out stricter guidelines for handling enemy captives. Memorials were later constructed on Hill 303 by troops at nearby Camp Carroll to honor the victims of the massacre.

Background

Korean War begins

Following the invasion of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

by North Korea, and the subsequent outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) decided to enter the conflict on behalf of South Korea. The United States, a member of the UN, subsequently committed ground forces to the Korean Peninsula with the goal of fighting back the North Korean invasion and to prevent South Korea from collapsing. The 24th Infantry Division was the first US unit sent into Korea. The unit was to take the initial "shock" of KPA advances, delaying much larger KPA units to buy time to allow reinforcements to arrive. The division was consequently alone for several weeks as it attempted to delay the KPA, making time for the 1st Cavalry and the 7th and 25th Infantry Divisions, along with other

Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which commands all United States Army forces in South Korea. It is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys in the Anjeong-ri of Pyeongtaek, Pyeongtaek, South Korea.Task Force Smith, were badly defeated in the

Battle of Osan The Battle of Osan () was the first engagement between the United States and North Korea during the Korean War. On July 5, 1950, Task Force Smith, an American task force of 540 infantry supported by an artillery battery, was moved to Osan, south ...

on July 5, the first encounter between US and KPA forces. For the first month after this defeat, the 24th Infantry was repeatedly defeated and forced south by superior KPA numbers and equipment. The regiments of the 24th Infantry were systematically pushed south in engagements around Chochiwon, Chonan, and Pyongtaek. The 24th made a final stand in the

Battle of Taejon The Battle of Taejon (16–20 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between U.S. and North Korean forces. Forces of the United States Army attempted to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division (United States), 24th Infa ...

, where it was almost completely destroyed but delayed KPA forces until July 20. By that time, the Eighth Army's force of combat troops was roughly equal to KPA forces attacking the region, with new UN units arriving every day. With Taejon captured, KPA forces began surrounding the

Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, known in Korean as the Battle of the Naktong River Defense Line (), was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one ...

in an attempt to envelop it. They advanced on UN positions with

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

and superior numbers, repeatedly defeating UN forces and forcing them further south.

Pusan Perimeter at Taegu

In the meantime, Eighth Army commander

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Walton Walker Walton Harris Walker (3 December 1889 – 23 December 1950) was a United States Army four-star rank, four-star General (United States), general who served with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, where he commanded the ...

had established Taegu as the Eighth Army's headquarters. Right at the center of the Pusan Perimeter, Taegu stood at the entrance to the Nakdong River valley, an area where large numbers of KPA forces could advance while supporting one another. The natural barriers provided by the Nakdong River to the south and the mountainous terrain to the north converged around Taegu, which was also the major transportation hub and last major South Korean city aside from Pusan itself to remain in UN hands. From south to north, the city was defended by the US 1st Cavalry Division and the ROK

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 6th Infantry Divisions of ROK II Corps. 1st Cavalry Division, under the command of Maj. Gen. Hobart R. Gay, was spread out in a line along the Nakdong River to the south, with its 5th and

8th Cavalry Regiment The 8th Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army formed in 1866 during the American Indian Wars. The 8th Cavalry continued to serve under a number of designations, fighting in every other major U.S. conflict since, except Wor ...

s holding a line along the river and the

7th Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

in reserve along with artillery forces, ready to reinforce anywhere a crossing could be attempted. Five KPA divisions massed to oppose the UN at Taegu; from south to north, the 10th, 3rd, 15th, 13th, and 1st Divisions occupied a line from Tuksong-dong and around Waegwan to Kunwi. The KPA planned to use the natural corridor of the Nakdong valley from Sangju to Taegu as its main axis of attack for the next push south. Elements of the KPA 105th Armored Division were also supporting the attack. Beginning August 5, these divisions initiated numerous crossing attempts to assault the UN forces on the other side of the river in an attempt to capture Taegu and collapse the final UN defensive line. The US forces were successful in repelling KPA advances thanks to training and support, but forces in the ROK sectors were not as successful. During this time, isolated reports and rumors of war crimes committed by both sides began to surface.

Military geography

Hill 303 forms an elongated oval long on a northeast–southwest axis with a peak elevation of . It is the first hill mass north of Waegwan and its southern slope comes down to the edge of the town. The hill grants observation of Waegwan, a network of roads running out of the town, the railroad and highway bridges across the river at that point, and long stretches of the river valley to the north and to the south. Its western slope terminates at the east bank of the Nakdong River. From Waegwan a road runs north and south along the east bank of the Nakdong, another northeast through the mountains toward Tabu-dong, and still another southeast toward Taegu. Hill 303 was a critical terrain feature in control of the main Pusan-Seoul railroad and highway crossing of the Nakdong, as well as of Waegwan itself.

Massacre

The exact details of the massacre are unknown and based on the accounts of four US soldiers who survived the event. Three captured KPA soldiers were pointed out by the survivors as participants in the killings, and these three also gave conflicting accounts of what happened.

North Korean advance

The northernmost unit of the 1stCavalry Division's sector was GCompany of the 5th Cavalry Regiment. It held Hill 303, the furthest position on the Eighth Army's extreme right flank. To the north lay the ROK 1st Division. Waegwan Bridge

For several days, UN intelligence sources had reported heavy KPA concentrations across the Nakdong, opposite the ROK 1st Division. Early in the morning on August 14, a KPA regiment crossed the Nakdong north of Waegwan into the ROK 1stDivision sector through an underwater bridge. Shortly after midnight ROK forces on the high ground just north of the US-ROK Army boundary were attacked by this force. After daylight an air strike partially destroyed the underwater bridge. The KPA attack spread south and, by 12:00 ( KST), KPA small-arms fire fell on GCompany, 5thCavalry Regiment, on Hill 303. Instead of moving east into the mountains as other landings had, this force turned south and headed for Waegwan. At 03:30 in the morning on August 15, GCompany troops on Hill 303 spotted 50 KPA infantry supported by two

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

tanks moving south along the river road at the base of the hill. They also spotted another column moving to their rear, which quickly engaged FCompany with small-arms fire. In order to escape the enemy encirclement, FCompany withdrew south, but GCompany did not. By 08:30 the KPA had completely surrounded it and a supporting platoon of HCompany mortarmen on Hill 303. At this point the force on the hill was cut off from the rest of the US force. A relief column, composed of BCompany, 5th Cavalry, and a platoon of US tanks, tried to reach G Company but was unable to penetrate the KPA force that was surrounding Hill 303.

US forces captured

According to survivor accounts, before dawn on August 15, the HCompany mortar platoon became aware of enemy activity near Hill 303. The platoon leader telephoned GCompany, 5th Cavalry, which informed him a platoon of 60 ROK troops would come to reinforce the mortar platoon. Later in the morning, the platoon saw two KPA T-34s followed by 200 or more enemy soldiers on the road below them. A little later, a group of Koreans appeared on the slope. A patrol going to meet the climbing Korean troops called out and received in reply a blast of gunfire from automatic weapons. The mortar platoon leader, Lieutenant Jack Hudspeth, believed they were friendly. Some of the Americans realized that the advancing troops were KPA and were going to fire upon them, according to Privates Fred Ryan and Roy Manring, who gave their accounts when they revisited the old mortar position in 1999. Hudspeth ordered them not to fire and threatened them with a court-martial if they did. The rest of the watching Americans were not convinced that the new arrivals were enemy soldiers until the red stars became visible on their field caps. By that time, they were extremely close to the US positions. The KPA troops came right up to the foxholes without either side firing a shot. Hudspeth ordered his platoon to surrender without a fight as it was far outnumbered and outgunned. The KPA quickly took the mortarmen captive. Estimates of the number captured range from 31 to 42. They were captured by the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 206th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 105th Armored Division. The KPA troops marched their prisoners down the hill after taking their weapons and valuables. In a nearby orchard, they tied the prisoners' hands behind their backs, took some of their clothing and removed their shoes. They told them they would be sent to the prisoner-of-war camp in Seoul if they behaved well.

Imprisonment

The original captors did not stay in continuous possession of the prisoners throughout the next two days. There is some evidence that elements of the KPA 3rd Division guarded them after capture. During the first night of captivity, the KPA gave the American prisoners water, fruit and cigarettes. Survivors claimed this was the only food and water the KPA gave them over the three days of their imprisonment. The Americans dug holes in the sand to get more water to drink. The KPA intended to move them across the Nakdong River that night, but US artillery fire on the river crossing sites prevented safe movement. During the night, two of the Americans loosened their bindings, causing a brief commotion. KPA soldiers threatened to shoot the Americans but, according to one survivor's account, a KPA officer shot one of his own men for threatening this. Two captured American officers—Lieutenant Hudspeth, the platoon leader of the mortar platoon, and Lieutenant Cecil Newman, who was a forward artillery observer, were seen conferring with each other about an escape plan according to Private Fred Ryan. Both escaped during the night, but were captured and executed. The KPA attempted to keep the Americans hidden during the day and move them at night, but attacks by US forces made this difficult. The next day, August 16, the prisoners were moved with their guards. One of the mortarmen, Corporal Roy L. Day Jr., spoke Japanese and was able to converse with some of the North Koreans. That afternoon, he overheard a KPA lieutenant say they would kill the prisoners if US forces advanced too close. Later that day, other US forces began to assault Hill 303 to retake the position. BCompany and several US tanks tried a second time to retake the hill, now estimated to contain a 700-man battalion. The 61st Field Artillery Battalion and elements of the 82nd Field Artillery Battalion fired on the hill during the day. That night, GCompany succeeded in escaping from Hill 303. Guards took away five of the American prisoners; the others did not know what became of them. Before dawn on August 17, troops from both the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry Regiment, supported by ACompany of the 70th Tank Battalion, attacked Hill 303, but heavy KPA mortar fire stopped them at the edge of Waegwan. During the morning, US artillery heavily bombarded the KPA positions on the hill. Throughout the morning of August 17, the KPA guards exchanged fire with US troops attempting to rescue the prisoners. Around 12:00, the KPA unit holding the Americans placed them in a

gully A gully is a landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given ter ...

on the hill with a light company of 50 guards. Several more American prisoners were added to the group during the day, bringing the number of prisoners on Hill 303 to 45. One survivor estimated that the total number of prisoners was 67 and that the balance of the prisoners were executed on August 15 or 16.

Execution

At 14:00 on August 17, a UN air strike took place, attacking the hill with

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...

, bombs, rockets and machine guns. At this time, a KPA officer said that US soldiers were closing in on them and they could not continue to hold the prisoners. The officer ordered the men executed, and the KPA then fired into the Americans in the gully. One of the KPA who was later captured said all or most of the 50 guards participated, but some of the survivors said only a group of 14 KPA guards, directed by their

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

, fired into them with

PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. The PPSh-41 saw ...

"burp guns". Before all the KPA soldiers left the area, some returned to the ravine and shot survivors of the initial massacre. Only four or five of the men in this group survived, by hiding under the dead bodies of others. In all, 41 US prisoners were killed in the ravine. The bulk of these men—26 in all—were from the mortar platoon but prisoners captured elsewhere were also among them. The US air strike and artillery bombardment pushed the KPA forces off the hill. After the strike, at 15:30, the infantry attacked up the hill unopposed and secured it by 16:30. The combined strength of E and FCompanies on the hill was about 60 men. The artillery and the air strike killed and wounded an estimated 500 KPA troops on Hill 303, with survivors fleeing in complete disorder. Two of the massacre survivors making their way down the hill to meet the counter-attacking force were fired upon before they could establish their identity, but not hit. The 5th Cavalry Regiment quickly discovered the bodies of the prisoners with machine-gun wounds, hands still bound behind their backs. That night, near Waegwan, KPA anti-tank fire hit and knocked out two tanks of the

70th Armor Regiment The 70th Armor Regiment is an armored (tank) unit of the United States Army. It was constituted as the 70th Tank Battalion in July 1940, an independent tank battalion intended to provide close support to infantry units. In this role, it saw acti ...

. The next day, August 18, US troops found the bodies of six members of the tank crews showing indications that they had been captured and executed in the same manner as the men on Hill 303.

Aftermath

US response

The incident on Hill 303 led UN commander General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

to broadcast to the KPA on August 20, denouncing the atrocities. The U.S. Air Force dropped many leaflets over enemy territory, addressed to North Korean commanders. MacArthur warned that he would hold North Korea's senior military leaders responsible for the event and any other war crimes. The incident at Hill 303 would be only one in a series of atrocities the US forces accused KPA soldiers of committing. In late 1953, the United States Senate Committee on Government Operations, led by

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

, conducted an investigation of up to 1,800 reported incidents of war crimes allegedly committed throughout the Korean War. The Hill 303 massacre was one of the first to be investigated. Survivors of the incident were called to testify before the committee, and the US government concluded that the KPA violated the terms of the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

, and condemned its actions.

North Korean response

Historians agree there is no evidence that the KPA High Command sanctioned the shooting of prisoners during the early phase of the war. The Hill 303 massacre and similar atrocities are believed to have been conducted by "uncontrolled small units, by vindictive individuals, or because of unfavorable and increasingly desperate situations confronting the captors." T. R. Fehrenbach, a military historian, wrote in his analysis of the event that KPA troops committing these events were likely accustomed to torture and execution of prisoners due to decades of rule by oppressive armies of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

up through

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On July 28, 1950, General Lee Yong Ho, commander of the KPA 3rd Division, had transmitted an order pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war, signed by Choi Yong-kun, Commander-in-Chief, and

Kim Chaek Kim Chaek (, 14 August 1903 – 31 January 1951) was a North Korean revolutionary, military general, and politician. His birth name was Kim Hong-gye (). Life 200px, left, Choe Yong-gon, Kim Chaek, Kim Il, and PPSh-41.html" ;"title="Kang K ...

, Commander of the KPA Advanced General Headquarters, which stated killing prisoners of war was "strictly prohibited". He directed individual units' Cultural Sections to inform the division's troops of the rule. Hill 303 Memorial

Documents captured after the event showed that KPA leaders were aware of—and concerned about—the conduct of some of their soldiers. An order issued by the Cultural Section of the KPA 2nd Division dated August 16 said, in part, "Some of us are still slaughtering enemy troops that come to surrender. Therefore, the responsibility of teaching the soldiers to take prisoners of war and to treat them kindly rests on the Political Section of each unit."

Monument

The story quickly gained media attention in the United States, and the survivors' accounts received a great deal of coverage including prominent magazines such as ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

''. In the years following the Korean War, the US Army established a permanent garrison in Waegwan, Camp Carroll, which is located near the base of Hill 303. The incident was largely forgotten until Second Lieutenant David Kangas read about the incident in the Korean War history book ''South to the Nakdong, North to the Yalu'' by

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

while stationed at Camp Carroll in 1985, and after checking with various US Army and local sources, he realized that the location of the massacre was unknown. He obtained battle records through the National Archives to pinpoint the location and then began to search for the remaining survivors. The original memorial for the POWs was emplaced in 1990 in front of the garrison headquarters, although none of the American survivors were located by Kangas until 1991. In 1999, Fred Ryan and Roy Manring, two of the three surviving POWs, were invited to attend a ceremony at the execution site. Both Ryan and Manring as well as James Rudd, the third surviving POW, had long been denied VA compensation claims for their severe injuries incurred during the execution because they had never been officially designated as prisoners of war by the US Army. Later, the base garrison at Camp Carroll raised funds to construct a much larger memorial at the massacre site on Hill 303. South Korean military and civilians around Waegwan contributed to the funds for this memorial. The original memorial was placed on the hill on August 17, 2003. In 2009, soldiers of the US 501st Sustainment Brigade began to gather funds for a second, larger monument on the hill. With the assistance of South Korean veterans, politicians and local citizens, the second monument was flown to the top of the hill by a US

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

helicopter on May 26, 2010, in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the event. An annual memorial service is held on the hill to commemorate the deaths of the troops on Hill 303. Troops garrisoned at Camp Carroll scale the hill and place flowers at the monument as a part of this service.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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Online sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill 303 Massacre 1950 in South Korea 1950 murders in South Korea 20th-century history of the United States Army August 1950 in Asia Battle of Pusan Perimeter Korean War prisoner of war massacres Massacres committed by North Korea Massacres in 1950 Massacres in South Korea Military scandals History of North Gyeongsang Province North Korea–United States relations War crimes in South Korea