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At Korean summit in DMZ, "deranged" ax murders still cast a shadow
Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
Forty-two years ago, in the place where Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un will meet today, North Korean soldiers killed two Americans with an ax in a murderous frenzy. Coincidentally, Moon was serving in the special forces there at the time
https://buff.ly/2I4JURa
Link to tweet
Retropolis
At Korean summit in DMZ, ‘deranged’ ax murders still cast a shadow
By Michael E. Miller April 27 at 6:45 AM
In 1976, American soldiers guarding the border between North and South Korea were given what seemed like a simple task: trim a poplar tree blocking the view of a United Nations command post within the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, that had separated the two countries since the end of the Korean War.
Relations between the United States and North Korea were tense. On Aug. 5, North Korea had accused the United States and South Korea of seeking to rekindle war on the peninsula. A day later, a U.S.-led work party had tried to cut down the poplar only to be told by North Koreans to leave the tree alone. The Americans decided to trim back the branches instead, but fears remained. ... “We were worried about {the pruning operation},” Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Morton Abramowitz would later acknowledge.
On the morning of Aug. 18, two American officers led a 15-man U.N. team to the tree. As they began pruning the branches, 11 North Korean soldiers arrived. Told that the tree was only being trimmed, a North Korean officer responded: “Good.”
But after 10 or 15 minutes, a North Korean officer ordered the tree-trimming to stop. When the Americans refused, the North Koreans sent for reinforcements. ... “When they arrived … the North Koreans suddenly attacked, killing the two U.S. officers and injuring four Americans and four South Koreans,” Don Oberdorfer reported for The Washington Post. “Witnesses said the North Koreans used the axes intended for tree-trimming as their weapons.”
The poplar incident nearly started a second war between North Korea and the United States, which launched a massive military operation that involved hundreds of troops, B-52 bombers, fighter jets and an aircraft carrier. It was dubbed Operation Paul Bunyan, after the giant lumberjack of American folklore.
....
Michael E. Miller is a reporter on the local enterprise team. He joined The Washington Post in 2015 and has also reported from Afghanistan. Follow @MikeMillerDC
At Korean summit in DMZ, ‘deranged’ ax murders still cast a shadow
By Michael E. Miller April 27 at 6:45 AM
In 1976, American soldiers guarding the border between North and South Korea were given what seemed like a simple task: trim a poplar tree blocking the view of a United Nations command post within the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, that had separated the two countries since the end of the Korean War.
Relations between the United States and North Korea were tense. On Aug. 5, North Korea had accused the United States and South Korea of seeking to rekindle war on the peninsula. A day later, a U.S.-led work party had tried to cut down the poplar only to be told by North Koreans to leave the tree alone. The Americans decided to trim back the branches instead, but fears remained. ... “We were worried about {the pruning operation},” Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Morton Abramowitz would later acknowledge.
On the morning of Aug. 18, two American officers led a 15-man U.N. team to the tree. As they began pruning the branches, 11 North Korean soldiers arrived. Told that the tree was only being trimmed, a North Korean officer responded: “Good.”
But after 10 or 15 minutes, a North Korean officer ordered the tree-trimming to stop. When the Americans refused, the North Koreans sent for reinforcements. ... “When they arrived … the North Koreans suddenly attacked, killing the two U.S. officers and injuring four Americans and four South Koreans,” Don Oberdorfer reported for The Washington Post. “Witnesses said the North Koreans used the axes intended for tree-trimming as their weapons.”
The poplar incident nearly started a second war between North Korea and the United States, which launched a massive military operation that involved hundreds of troops, B-52 bombers, fighter jets and an aircraft carrier. It was dubbed Operation Paul Bunyan, after the giant lumberjack of American folklore.
....
Michael E. Miller is a reporter on the local enterprise team. He joined The Washington Post in 2015 and has also reported from Afghanistan. Follow @MikeMillerDC
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