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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1953)
TWO MTDFORD (0RZGO10 MAIL TRIBUWE Wednesday. August 12. 1S53 Released POW Tells of Filming Communist Atrocities at Camp 5 Freedom Village, Korea U.E An American soldier made movies of Communist atrocities in camp No. 5 but American and British "rats' betrayed him, re turning prisoners said today. Pfc. John J. Megyesi, 22, Tar re!, Pa., secretly recorded on film the mass burials of Ameri cans who died of starvation dys entery and malnutrition in the Yalu river camp. Megyesi gave newsmen an ac count of the double-cross and two other soldiers supported his statements. Used Movie Camera "During that first winter of 1950-51, an average of 30 to 35 G.I.'s were being carried across Notification of , Families of Dead Started by Army Washington U.R) The Armed Services today began the sad task of notifying 1,022 Am erican families that their sons or husbands died in Korean pris on camps. But even as the first tele grams were dispatched to next of kin, military officials ex pressed serious doubt the Com munists supplied list of Ameri can POWs who died in captivity was accurate. Atrocity Deaths Feared Combined with previous offic ial fears that the Communists may secretly be holding back up to 3,000 American prisoners was the new fear that hundreds of American soldiers may have died as a result of Red atroc ities. The unreliability of the Red accounting was emphasized in the telegrams to next of kin. They were told only that the Communists had reported the death and that it could not be "verified." In Installments The telegrams will go out in installments as rapidly as the military can check the Commun ist list against their own infor mation. Publication of the names will be withheld until 24 hours after the families have been notified. In addition to the 1,022 sol diers reported by the Reds who have died in prison camps, tele grams also went to the families of 147 men said by the Reds to have "escaped." The Defense department said the Army is questioning every repatriated American. "Efforts will continue indefinitely in an attempt officially to establish the fate of those said by the Communists have died while in their hands, or to have escaped." t the ice every day," Megyesi said. "I had a movie camera a buddy had given me before he died. I'd sneak out of burial details and take pictures of the graves and stretchers coming across the ice. "When I ran out of film, I gave the camera to an English soldier and he gave it to an American officer who had some film. "A British and an American rat, two of the guys who stayed behind with the Communists, squealed on me. "The Communists called me up to headquarters one day for ques tioning. I destroyed my film by exposing it to the sun before they could find it on me. Put in Jail "They put me in jail with this English soldier, the one I gave the camera to. They told me I'd better sign a confession or I'd be shot as a spy. I was in jail two months and eight days." Many of the returning soldiers told of the privileges granted to the "progressives" and the shab by treatment given to the so called "reactionaries-" who re fused to embrace Communism. Given Wine, Candy Cpl. Hjalmer E. Thompson, Se attle, was particularly bitter. "They were running around with tailor made cigarettes when we vWere rolling our own," Thompson said. "They also got shoju (Chinese wine), candy and cigarettes and then they would come around and tell us about it." When questioned about pre vious reports that seven men had refused to be repatriated, the cor poral said he thought "they were afraid to come home." Casualties in Korea Increased to 142,294 Washington (J.R) Ameri can battle casualties in Korea now total 142,294, an increase of 589 since last week's report, the Defense department an nounced today. The new figure is not a final toll for the Korean war. It is due to climb still higher in the weeks ahead, even though the war is ended, as casualty reports trickle into the Pentagon from the Far East. The new total includes 25,542 deaths, 103,513 wounded, 8,670 missing, 2,835 captured and 1,734 previously reported miss ing but since returned to mili tary control. The new weekly figure, cov ering casualties whose next of kin were notified through last Friday, showed an increase of 108 deaths and 475 wounded over the prior week's report. All porcupine babies are born while still packaged in mem braneous sacs. t I' f It A " ,i fc 1 "BEWARE FOLLY" In Washing ton, Eugene M. Zurkert, atomic energy commissioner, said that it would be "folly" for U. S. mili tary planners to assume Russia can't build an atomic weapons stockpile with "unlimited porer." Truman Considered For Maryland Post Baltimore U.R) Former President Truman appeared to day to be under consideration, along with others, for appoint ment as the neat president of the University of Maryland. The Baltimore News-Post said it had learned that Mr. Tru man is being considered as a possible successor to Dr. H. C. Byrd, who may run for gover nor of Maryland as a Demo crat next year. Judge William P. Cole Jr., chairman of the university's Board of Regents, declined ' to comment directly on the pub lished report "We have received some in teresting names," he said, but he would not comment directly on mention of Mr. - Truman's name. PT&T Authorized To Sell Common Stock Salem U.R) Pacific Tele phone and Telegraph company has been authorized to issue and sell by next March 31 $100,460, 300 worth of common capital stck, the state Public Utilities Commission said today. - Sold will be 1,004,603 shares of stock at $100 a share. The PUC also authorized issu ance and sale of $50,000,000 in 31 year debentures for a total of more than $150,000,000. The California Public Utilities commission already has granted similar authority. The company also must have approval of the Federal Securi ties Exchange commission. Germ Warfare Seen Deadlier Threat To Man Than H-Bomb Washington U.R) A lead ing atomic scientist said today germ warfare poses a deadlier threat to mankind than the hyd rogen bomb. Prof. George Gimov of George Washington university, a world famous nuclear physic ist, told reporter that the H bomb which Russia now claims to possess is not the weapon to be feared most in the modern arsenal of mass killers. "Biological warfare would be worse," he said. "In sheer de structiveness, a little bottle of germs could do more damage than an H-bomb." Longshoremen Air Action in Face of Union Suspension Chicago U.R) - Joseph P. Ryan and his International Longshoremen's association lieu tenants meet today to discuss what action to take on their union's suspension from the AFL. The AFL Executive council voted the suspension yesterday, but left the door open for re turn if the union purges itself of racketeering and corruption on East Coast waterfronts. Lone Road Suggested . Following the suspension an nouncement yesterday, Ryan and other ILA officials met for a brief, but stormy session. Newsmen outside the meeting room heard denunciations of the AFL action and proposals for the ILA to go it alone. Ryan had "no comment" when the meeting adjourned until to day. AFL President George Meany head of the council, said the sus pension vote was "the milder of two steps we could have taken. The other step was ; expulsion, unprecedented in AFL history." Meany said the council voted to give the 65,000 member ILA "a little more opportunity to do the things they say they are try ing to do." Oregon Veterans, Kin Receive $49,371,574 Salem ,U.R) Oregon vet erans of World War II and their next of kin have received $49, 371,574 in bonus payments since the program was authorized in June, 1952. Payments have been made to 126,558 of the 130,807 persons who have filed applications. Of the total, 1161 have applied since the 1953 legislature ex tended the deadline from Dec. 1 of last year to Dec. 31 of this year. Defense Department spokes men said they did not share Gamow's view, and asserted that this country has "excellent", defenses against germ warfare. "Nobody is worried about the possibility of a devastating bac teriological stuck," one. Penta gon official said.' Officials refused to say how much information, if any, U.S. intelligence agencies have been able to obtain about Russian progress in germ weapons. Nor would they discuss this coun try's own "GW" development program, which is conducted un der conditions of extreme sec recy at Camp De trick, Md. Secret Production It is U.S. policy to treat germ weapons like poison gas, that is, this country will not resort to them in war unless the enemy does so first But the Army evi dently feels that the power to retaliate strongly is the best in surance agains enemy use of such weapons. There is every indication that the United States could deliv er a quick and deadly counter blow. It was revealed more than a year ago that the Army had reached the stage of producing and stockpiling germ weapons. And it asked for an increased appropriation for the purpose this year. ffB"BissEl U J u CIIET'S -Jo Aro Com1 "". 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