| In September of 1999, an Associated Press story about an alleged mass murder of South
Korean civilians that purportedly took place in late July of 1950 at Nogun-ri, Korea, made headlines across
the nation and around the world. The authors of the story were Sang-hun Choe
(age 36), Charles J. Hanley (age 52), and Martha Mendoza (age 33).
The authors received a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for this story. They also published a book
entitled, The Bridge at Nogun-ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War. Following the release of the
Associated Press story, the United States and South Korean governments began investigations of their own
into the allegations. The story caught the attention of the general public, and letters from outraged
American citizens condemning the incident appeared in Letters to the Editor columns in newspapers around the
nation. The AP story was released just as the United States and South Korean governments were planning and
staging commemorative events to honor Korean War veterans and mark the 50th anniversary of the start of
hostilities in Korea. Many Korean War veterans, who had already long felt that their contributions to world
peace were never fully or even partially recognized or appreciated by the public in general, were angry and
dismayed over the negative publicity generated by the AP story.
Some of the "facts" in the Pulitzer Prize-winning story were based on an interview with a veteran named
Edward Lee Daily of Clarksville, Tennessee. Not long after the AP story was released, it was discovered that
Daily had lied about his presence at Nogun-ri. Hearsay testimony by other sources for the story could not be
confirmed because the officers in question had long since died-either in combat in Korea, or in subsequent
years. In addition, some of the eyewitnesses who alleged that the mass murder took place were young children
in 1950, relying now as adults on their childhood memories. A number of these witnesses are seeking
financial compensation from the United States government.
This page of The Korean War Educator is devoted to sharing written materials about the Nogun-ri incident
(and related issues) with the visitors to this website. The Nogun-ri Controversy page includes one editorial
that was written by Lynnita Sommer (Brown) shortly after the story went to press. Other than Lynnita's
editorial, none of the materials found on this page are the product or original works of anyone associated
with The Korean War Educator Foundation. Whenever possible, credit is given to the author of the written
material, or the publication in which it was found.
Other materials associated with the Nogun-ri controversy that are not shown here to date may be submitted
to The Korean War Educator by sending them to Lynnita Brown, 111 E. Houghton Street, Tuscola, IL 61953.
E-mail lynnita@koreanwar-educator.org. Materials stating
opinions on both sides of the controversy will be accepted, but nothing that is inordinately disrespectful
to America's Korean War veterans will appear on The Korean War Educator website.
Another source for information about the Nogun-ri controversy is The Korean War Educator's Best on the
Net Nogun-ri Websites page. |
