Watch the film. Captured from the North Korean military and located on the National Archives website. Some of it may date from the summer of 1950. No man in it has been identified. If you recognize a face, tell us.
Status: an open identification appeal. The film is a captured enemy wartime record located on the National Archives website. The men in it have never been identified, and this project does not claim to know who any of them are.
What the film is
It is enemy wartime film of American and allied prisoners of war in North Korean hands, shot early in the Korean War.
It was found on the National Archives website by PIP — not by the Pentagon office whose job it is. From PIP’s research files: “We found the captured film last year. It was on the National Archives web site, but DPMO and its many highly-paid staffers had never located it.”
When word of its location was passed to the Pentagon, the response, relayed on 14 February 2013 by Rick Downes, president of the Coalition of Families of Korean and Cold War POW/MIAs, was:
“We had not seen this clip until a couple weeks ago. Our Korean War analysts will take stills from it to our POW reunions/24th Infantry Regiment Association to see if the former POWs other vets can recognize the men. It appears the film is Summer of 1950 and we have an idea that the POWs depicted funneled into a larger group of POWs after the Tiger Group who were shot at Sunchon and Kujang North Korea. Of course, we will inform any families of servicemen that we can identify from the film through the casualty offices.”
Two leading POW/MIA family organizations — the National Alliance of Families and the Coalition of Families — said they had never seen the film.
What remains unresolved
Nobody has been identified. As far as we can tell there has been only a limited effort to identify the men since the film’s location was passed to the Pentagon.
The questions that follow from that are the ones this project keeps asking: does the Pentagon POW office have facial-recognition capability? Why had it not located a film sitting on the National Archives website? And is that the urgency you would expect in cases where a man was last known alive in enemy hands?
The frames
These are stills from the film. If you recognize any man here, tell us. If you served with, or are related to, someone missing from the Korean War, look carefully.
A known face, for comparison
This is Sam Logan. His B-29 went down north of Pyongyang in September 1950 — the same summer and fall the film appears to come from. In November the Soviet news agency put this picture of him around the world. He never came home. The Pentagon did not confirm his capture until 2010, on the basis of Russian archival information.
We are not claiming Logan appears in this film. His photograph is here for two reasons. There are very few clear pictures available of an American in captivity who was not returned or accounted for, so his photograph shows what such a record looks like. And if anyone recognizes him — or anyone else — in these frames, that is exactly the kind of information this appeal exists to find.
Request for information
Please contact us if you can help with any of the following.
- A name for any face in these frames, and how you know (such as recognition by a returned prisoner, a relative or a comrade).
- Recollections from returned prisoners, or their families, held in the Sunchon, Kujang or Tiger Group areas in 1950.
- Other copies or longer versions of this film, and other captured enemy film or photographs of American prisoners (such as National Archives identifiers or private collections).
If you think you recognize someone but are not sure, tell us anyway and say how sure you are. We would rather check a wrong lead than miss a right one. We do not publish the names of sources without permission.
한국어
포로 영상 속 인물들은 누구입니까 — 신원 확인 요청
위 사진들은 한국전쟁 초기, 북한 측에 억류된 미군 및 연합군 포로들을 촬영한 노획 영상의 정지 화면입니다. 이 영상은 미국 국립문서기록관리청(National Archives) 웹사이트에서 발견되었습니다.
영상 속 인물은 아직 한 사람도 신원이 확인되지 않았습니다. 저희는 이들이 누구인지 알지 못하며, 추측하지도 않습니다.
2013년 미 국방부 전쟁포로·실종자 담당 부서(DPMO)는 한국전쟁 분석관들이 이 정지 화면을 포로 출신 참전 용사 모임에 가져가 알아보는 사람이 있는지 확인하겠다고 밝혔습니다. 이 부서는 영상이 1950년 여름에 촬영된 것으로 보이며, 화면 속 포로들이 이후 평안남도 순천·구장(북한) 지역에서 총격을 당한 이른바 ‘타이거 그룹’과 관련된 더 큰 포로 집단에 합류했을 수 있다고 추정했습니다. 확인된 사실은 아닙니다.
저희가 찾는 것: 화면 속 인물의 이름과 그 근거; 1950년 평안남도 순천·구장 지역에 억류되었던 귀환 포로 또는 그 가족의 증언; 이 영상의 국립문서기록관리청 식별번호와 다른 사본; 미군 포로를 촬영한 다른 노획 영상이나 사진.
확실하지 않아도 알려주십시오. 잘못된 단서를 확인하는 편이 옳은 단서를 놓치는 것보다 낫습니다. 동의 없이 제보자의 이름을 공개하지 않습니다.
연락처: contact@powinvestigativeproject.org
中文
影片中的战俘是谁 —— 征集辨认
以上是一段缴获的战时影片的静止画面，拍摄的是朝鲜战争初期被朝鲜方面关押的美军及盟军战俘。这段影片是在美国国家档案馆（National Archives）的网站上发现的。
影片中人物的身份至今无人确认。 我们不知道他们是谁，也不作推测。
2013年，美国国防部战俘/失踪人员事务部门表示，其朝鲜战争分析人员将把静帧带到战俘重聚活动中，看看退伍老兵能否辨认出这些人。影片似乎拍摄于1950年夏天。
我们寻求： 画面中任何一张面孔的姓名及您据以辨认的依据；1950年在顺川、球场一带被关押的归国战俘或其家属的回忆；这段影片在国家档案馆的档案编号，以及任何其他副本或更完整的版本；其他拍摄美军战俘的缴获影片或照片。
即使不能确定也请告诉我们。未经允许，我们不会公开消息来源的姓名。
请联系我们：contact@powinvestigativeproject.org
Українська
Хто ці полонені на плівці — прохання про впізнання
Вище — кадри з захопленої воєнної кінозйомки американських та союзних військовополонених, які перебували в руках північнокорейської сторони на початку Корейської війни. Плівку було знайдено на сайті Національного архіву США.
Жодного з цих людей досі не впізнано. Ми не знаємо, хто вони, і не робимо припущень.
Ми шукаємо: будь-яке ім’я, яке ви можете пов’язати з обличчям на цих кадрах, і те, звідки ви це знаєте; спогади колишніх полонених або їхніх родин; архівний номер цієї плівки в Національному архіві США та будь-які інші копії; інші захоплені кіно- чи фотоматеріали з американськими полоненими.
Якщо ви не впевнені — напишіть усе одно. Краще перевірити хибний слід, ніж пропустити правильний. Ми не публікуємо імена джерел без дозволу.
Напишіть нам: contact@powinvestigativeproject.org
Русский
Кто эти пленные на плёнке — просьба об опознании
Выше — кадры из захваченной военной киносъёмки американских и союзных военнопленных, находившихся в руках северокорейской стороны в начале Корейской войны. Плёнка была найдена на сайте Национального архива США.
Никто из этих людей до сих пор не опознан. Мы не знаем, кто они, и не строим предположений.
Мы ищем: любое имя, которое вы можете связать с лицом на этих кадрах, и то, откуда вы это знаете; воспоминания бывших пленных или их семей; архивный номер этой плёнки в Национальном архиве США и любые другие копии; другие захваченные кино- или фотоматериалы с американскими пленными.
Если вы не уверены — напишите всё равно. Лучше проверить ложный след, чем упустить верный. Мы не публикуем имена источников без разрешения.
Напишите нам: contact@powinvestigativeproject.org