Finishing Touches

Since their creation in 1948, the armed forces of South Korea had been modeled on those of the U.S. and trained by U.S. officers. Last week there were signs that war's close comradeship had put the finishing touches on the U.S.-style military education of South Korean soldiers & sailors.

In the best MacArthur manner, R.O.K. Chief of Staff General Chung Il Kwun declared Pyongyang "secure" only 24 hours after U.N. troops had made their first entry into the city. Long after Chung had made his announcement, U.N. soldiers were still battling snipers inside Pyongyang.

R.O.K. military men had also been impressed with the necessity for submitting written reports, a practice which blights the life of U.S. officers. To his U.S. superiors aboard the battleship Missouri, Lieut. Commander Choi Byung Hae, an R.O.K. naval liaison officer, wrote the following official account of the surrender of a North Korean ensign:

"I said to him, 'As you did against international law and prevaricating the right of nations, you owe me to be killed. I will kill you.'

"After saying this, I was stopping to speak to him. After one hour I was speaking again, said, 'Will I want to kill or give freedom? You swear to be faithful for Republic of Korea?'

"He said, 'I oath.'

"So I made ensign my friend and I ordered him to carry my gun. Now he does splendidments for United Nations troops."

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