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them to reach any neutral nation of their choice. Rhee never did agree to this compromise.
The detention camp for the captives was located in a 2.5-mile buffer zone that separated the communist and U. N. forces. The South Korean forces were adjacent to this area on the U. N. side. President Rhee refused to permit any Indian troops to set foot on Korean soil and threatened to kill any that did. Hence, all the Indian forces, 5,000 troops, would be airlifted to this detention site. The Point Cruz would have all available lift helicopters in the area to ferry the Indians to their camp in the buffer zone. They would be brought to the carrier by small boats from the Indian transports that brought them to Korea. At the time, it was the largest airlift of troops by helicopters in history. The operation proceeded very well. The troops, some who never had seen a chopper before in their lives, came aboard with everything from goats to guns. My supply of-
This astonishing effigy of the Statue of Liberty, conceived and built by communist Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war, confirms that there were many taken prisoner by us during the Korean War who, when the truce was signed in 1953, did not want to return to their native land.
ficer quickly learned the religious differences between Hinduism and Sikhism. The Chairman of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, General Thimaya, was on board the Point Cruz during the operation. The dinner discussion in my cabin before the first meeting with North Korean leader Kim-II- Sung was filled with questions as to why the United States took so long to obtain a truce. Everything appeared to be so simple to the Indians.
All went well at the first meeting, and the Indians even had vodka with the Chinese and North Koreans. On their return to the carrier, the Indians reiterated just how easy it would have been to reach a truce agreement months ago. Didn't they agree in just one meeting!
The next meeting, however, brought the Indians up short, for they casually referred to the agreement they had reached on the previous meeting only to be met with a cold stare and a bald question, “What agreement?” That night on the carrier, there was little said about negotiations with the communists.
But the argument had just begun, for the first prisoners the communists elected to interview refused to talk. The Reds were furious and demanded the prisoners be forced to talk. President Rhee said if this happened, he would invade and destroy the detention camp. This caused considerable furor in the U. N. Command, which quickly rushed the 1st U. S. Marine Division between the South Korean forces and the camp. The Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission would vote on the matter. The Swedish and Swiss representatives voted not to do anything forcibly, and the Polish and Czech representatives voted to use force. The swing vote would be the Indian one. General Thimaya sent a message to Nehru, and he soon received instructions to vote with the communist side. The vote stood three to two. Events that followed, however, made the vote meaningless. Weeks went by, and nothing was done. The prisoners remained in the detention camp.
Prior to the Point Cruz sailing home in November and early December, the question of what was to happen to the Indian Army marooned between two forces, and neither one too friendly, arose. If worst came to worst, there still was a British carrier in the Far East.
The question was finally solved in January 1954 when all the prisoners were set free with no restrictions. to President Rhee’s great satisfaction.
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Proceedings / July 1982