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.
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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.
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