Death on Pongam

Four months after the bloody prisoner of war riots on Koje Island last February, many of the worst North Korean rioters, diehard Communists all, were moved by General "Bull" Boatner to the prisoner compounds on neighboring Pongam Island. There was an ominous hint of trouble to come on Pongam recently when the P.W. command uncovered Communist plans for a mass escape attempt. Last week trouble materialized with a roar in six compounds of Pongam's enclosure No. 2, where 3,600 of the camp's 9,000 prisoners are confined.

It began when prisoners in each of the six compounds massed into a close-knit and obviously carefully planned military drill in defiance of camp rules. The prisoners formed ranks on top of a high terrace. Guards at the foot of the steep incline all around ordered them to break it up, but their only answer was a shower of stones. A brisk wind made tear gas useless. A warning volley of shots had no effect. Three waves of taunting and jeering prisoners, with arms locked, bore down steadily on the guards. Lieut. Colonel George Miller, island commander, ordered his guards to lower the muzzles of their guns and fire. In the brief battle that followed, 82 prisoners were killed, 120 were wounded: the highest casualty list recorded in any Korean P.W. clash to date.

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