From the eerie silence on the MDL, we headed back into the Home of Freedom, to visit the museum on the second floor, and the souvenir shop on the first floor.
This exhibit described the Axe Murder Incident of August 18, 1976...
On that day, officers of the United States Army led a Korean party to cut down a poplar tree within the JSA that was blocking the view of United Nations observers. As the work began, 15 North Korean soldiers led by a confrontationist Senior Lieutenant Pak Chul (who was nicknamed "Lieutenant Bulldog") appeared on the site told the Americans to cease work "because Kim Il Sung personally planted it and nourished it and it's growing under his supervision". The American Captain Bonifas ignored the North Koreans and turned his back on Pak Chul.
Pak Chul sought reinforcements and after a North Korean truck with 20 soldiers arrived, he again warned the Americans to cease work. Bonifas again turned his back on Pak, who then removed his watch, carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief, placed it in his pocket and instructed his men "Kill the bastards".
The North Koreans used axes dropped by the workmen and attacked Bonifas and his colleague Lieutenant Barrett. Bonifas was hacked to death by five North Koreans, while Barrett, who had sustained injuries escaped, only to die a day later.
The next day, with a show of force, the Americans, led by Paul Bunyon, cut down the poplar...
A depiction of the incident...
The entry point into the JSA is now named after the martyr - it's called Camp Bonifas...
A certificate to honour Paul Bunyon who got the poplar cut the next day...
Press clippings on the incident...
A display on the repatriation of POWs of the Korean War - this was an effort that was spearheaded by the Indian Army...
Provocations on this frontier are constant, that wouldn't surprise Indians...
A display on another provocation by the North Koreans - the Major Henderson Incident...
An old rusty helmet found on the DMZ...
A signpost from the MDL...
The hats of Bonifas and Barrett...
North Korean caps which were retrieved after an incident in 1984. On November 23, 1984, during a tour led by the North Koreans, a Soviet journalist Vasily Matusak suddenly dashed across the MDL into South Korea. The Soviet national was chased by North Korean forces, to be repulsed by the United Nations Command...
The Soviet national was resettled in the United States...
A Korean soldier, Corporal Jang, was martyred during the incident that followed the defection of Vasily Matusak...
North Korean People's Army Senior Captain Byun surrendered here on February 3, 1998...
Incidents on the JSA...
A plan of the MDL...
National symbols...
Honouring the nations who assisted South Korea during the war...
The Indian flag on display, as we head back!
No comments:
Post a Comment