By Robert Neff from the Marmot’s Hole has posted an interesting article in the Asia Times about the 1982 defection of PFC Joseph White to North Korea. PFC White would remain in North Korea for only three more years until he supposedly died while drowning in a river. The reason for PFC White’s defection has been a matter of controversy for years.
Here is the theory from the article that I would put money on:
There is another theory. One American soldier claims that White fell in love with a North Korean agent in a club in the village of Bongilchon and that she disappeared on the same day White did. Allegedly she either guided him to the North Korean positions or she met him in the North.
PFC White was an introvert and when he enlisted in the military and was posted in Korea; he became a big fan of the ville culture. PFC White probably never had such attention showered on from women before and enjoyed the attention from the Korean women in the ville so much that he even wrote letters home to his mom about it. I don’t think it is too far fetched of an idea that a woman is the reason he defected.
I have seen soldiers do many stupid and criminal things due to juicy girls in the ville, so the possibility that PFC White defected due to juicy girl is definitely plausible to me. Anyway interesting read and I encourage everyone to check it out.
11:01 pm on February 22nd, 2007 1
I already posted this at Marmot's hole:
"I was in the ROK in 1982 and in the Army. As I recall it was classic case of the a soldier told he couldn’t see his ‘yobo’ (not used in the Korean sense, with the GIs it was a kept woman).
He was shacked up with a girl from one of the clubs. Had trouble with his 1st SGT and had his pass pulled.
I have seen many a fellow do really stupid things when facing separation from their girl friend.
The dating a north korean agent sounds like urban myth stuff."
I'm sure you, GI Korea, have seen lots of this too. A common, while sad, tale of a young soldier who messes his life up because of the ville.
5:32 pm on February 23rd, 2007 2
Hear pretty much the same story about White, I had also heard a rumor that his body had been found floating down the Imjin with his throat slit, perhaps this is untrue..
12:12 am on February 24th, 2007 3
Rich,
Some people that I know that served in Korea in the early 80's told me the same thing but I have never read anything that proves that. I think it is just an urban legend that was passed around to discourage soldiers from defecting.
8:09 am on February 24th, 2007 4
I remembered when White defected to North, his mother was in denial. Her exact words were "My son is Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich all American boy."
11:44 am on February 24th, 2007 5
He may have been but I have seen plenty of American boys lives go down the drain quickly because of drinky girls, so I'm sure the yobos back 82 altered peoples behavior just as much then as the juicy girls do now.
5:10 am on March 18th, 2007 6
I was at Casey when that shithead went North and I heard the same old thing. It was a YOBO and top was on his ass.
11:50 pm on April 9th, 2008 7
I was Division CQ the evening PFC White was captured. I was ordered to hand deliver the news of his capture to three Battalion HQs, my own, the 122nd Signal Bn at Camp casey Korea. The message that went out to our division commanders that morning was "US soldier captured by North Korean infiltrators on DML" It is my understanding that IR photography confirms White being lead away from Oulette at gunpoint, and the lock was shot off his gaurdpost from outside, not inside as otherwise claimed.
PFC is a POW and should be treated as such. The fact he had a pass pulled (who didn't) and he didn't get along famously with his sergeabt (who did) and that he had scores of propganda leaflets (who didn't) in his footlocker – are all red herrings by a government who is perfectly happy leaving a man behind. They didn't want to start a war, period. Now I say we bring White home. If he died, it was while in North korean custody…but his death, like his capture has most likely been greatly exagerated.
SOUND OFF 2nd D !! Leave No man behind !!
12:47 am on April 10th, 2008 8
According to Robert Neff's article the lock was shot from the inside which I'm sure ballistic analysis would be able to confirm if it was an M16 or not that shot it. Also sensitive items were left in the outpost that I would presume a North Korean raiding team would have taken instead of leaving behind. Finally there was witnesses that saw him walk across the DMZ by himself before being grabbed by North Koreans on the North's side of the MDL.
According to the information available the kid defected and it appears even his family accepts this now.
12:30 am on August 8th, 2008 9
Pfc White defected plain and simple. I was stationed their in 82. From the land of the morning calm. To fishheads and rice 24/7. Have a nice life.
3:42 am on August 8th, 2008 10
"a North Korean agent in a club in the village of Bongilchon…"
We are talking book rights here…
3:47 pm on May 27th, 2009 11
I was stationed at Camp Howze (Bongilchon) from Feb '83- Feb '84, by that time PFC White's "defection" was talked about very little. In fact, the "tree trimming incident" of years prior was talked about 100 times more often than White. For about 8 months of my year there, I was the bases' C.C.I., working out of the base dispensery and had a close working relationship with all of the "working" girls, mamasans', and bar owners in the 'ville. At that time there was anywhere from 110 to 150 working girls in Bongilchon on any given week (including "yobo's"), and I did my best to keep track of them. As for the theory that white's yobo was a North Korean spy, I have to laugh. What a waste of time for an intel agency to have a spy posing as a working girl in a town where officers were prohibited from "partaking" in the women there. A very small number of NCO's on that base had access to sensitive intel, and even fewer numbers of privates. I can say that a lot of the girls did pump me rigorously, but not for information
.
2:11 pm on August 17th, 2009 12
Yes Joe defected. No more, no less. He shot the lock off the gate and left. The story posted is pretty good but leaves out a lot of the details of that night.
I don't know if Joe had a Yobo or not. One of the reasons Top was on his ass was about PT. The boy could not run at all. Always falling out of runs and if I remember right he failed a PT test. He was quiet, kinda strange but otherwise seemed allright. Rumour had that they found him floating in the Imjin river in '85 when I was back there a second time.
That will be one night that I will never forget. CQ82 you are so wrong. I was there, I talked to the guys in my unit that morning on the guard post. I heard the Company Commander tell the rest of the officers and others what happened. I drew his and the XO's sidearms from the armoury that night. Joe left on his own of his own will.
BTW, the Wild Bunch was Alpha Co. Not the whole battalion.
8:21 pm on December 16th, 2009 13
GI Korea
"passed around to discourage soldiers from defecting"
I was there the night it happened,to your quote,maybe urban ledgend,maybe not,young and dumb as he might have been,and there were many,you'd have to have your head up your ass before you got to the turtle farm to believe the propaganda,Me thinks it was the furry end of a tube that got him to chogie,I also heard he fell out and Top was on his ass to,but that furry end of a tube got him to cut a chogie more than Top
J. Moore's right,he did shoot the lock,he did yell out in Korean so they wouldn't wax his ass.
And yes,the Wild bunch was A-1/31st
Regiment was the Polar Bears
Just as is Cobra is C-1/9th
KEEP UP THE FIRE!
9:40 pm on December 16th, 2009 14
Found by whom…the North Koreans? Why in the world would they say that someone slit his throat and tossed him in the river? How would that benefit North Korea?
7:38 pm on February 19th, 2010 15
Does anyone remember see the video after his defection or the propaganda leaflets with his picture? Well anyway it appears that the morning that he defected the NK waited until sunrise or close to it to film him still inside of the dmz(foggy that morning) saying that he wanted to defect and that the US should get out of south korea. It seems like to me he was coached on what to say. Now on the propaganda leaflet, the picture taken of him and the two NK girls was shot from a high angle suggesting just as the leaflet, propaganda. I believe he wanted to return home but NK would not let him so they did away with him.
3:56 pm on March 24th, 2011 16
Like a lot of you who have already posted, I was there in 82. I was in the Division TOC that day, and like most of you, I agree that he defected. I don't know why, and for his family's sake, I wish we did. I think its possible the NKs got tired of dealing with him and killed him, but who knows? As for "an urban legend that was passed around to discourage soldiers from defecting", Most of us didn't need any discouraging. We were perfectly content to stay on our side of the "Z".
12:48 am on March 25th, 2011 17
I was at the DMZ (III Marine Div) and Panmunjom in March of '83. During a briefing by an Army officer there we were told that PFC White had been denied the opportunity to see his Korean girlfriend (nothing mentioned about all the spy stuff) and became embittered and angry and that this is the working theory about why he defected. I believe this is why he did this desperate but stupid thing. During isolation, longing can become powerful and surreal. Too bad he couldn't keep his head rational.
3:08 pm on September 10th, 2011 18
I was in Korea from Jan. 1973 until Feb. 1974 at Camp Howze and again at Camp Hovey Feb. 1975 until Apr. 1976. What ever his reason for desertion was not very smart and he needs to stay in North Korea. when I was stationed at Camp Hovey we had private go AWOL in the field. It was February and snow was on the ground. I was his squad leader. I was given a driver and a jeep at night told to go and try to find him. I had directed the to turn down a dirt road, and I saw it we went a ROK compound. I heard a rifle bolt slam forward and when I looked in the direction that the came from I was looking at the business. My rectum suck up the seat covers on the passenger seat. What ever happened PFC White he put on himself.
4:44 pm on November 28th, 2011 19
I am not a Conspiracy Theorists but………..
I came to Korea for the 2nd time in 1982 and ended up in the 2nd Inf Division, 1/9th Infantry Alpha Company ..However, I was originally signed to Brigade HQ in Camp Howze(I believe it was the 3rd Brigade) but ended up being reassigned to Alpha Comapny 1/9th Infantry (Camp Liberty Bell) after an “Incident” in Yongi-Go involving too much alcohol and MP’s..(This incident assisted my decision in not re-enlisting….After losing a rank and leaving service in 1983 I ended up going to college and earning a Masters Degree. That night of drinking, in retrospect was the best decision I ever made, despite losing a stripe and and getting fined..No regrets…
Anyway, I concur with most of what folks have said reg the strange story of PFC White..However, I think there could be some merit to the NK spy theory.
First let me digress…When I got to Korea (2nd time) in the fall of 82, it was 3 weeks after White had crossed over. I ran into my squad Leader from Ft. Carson who had been assigned to a platoon in the same company as White….The rumor regarding a female NK spy, I realize sounds far fetched. However, I was told that this supposed NK Contact was not in the GI Ville of Bonglichon as many have suggested..Instead, it was in the “Not so GI” City of Moon-San, which I believe was 15 miles from Bonglichon/Camp Howze. Also, I understand that the woman he was seeing was not a gal of the Ville but was someone who was considered a College student and hung out at the Korean Cafe’s in Moonsan where he would find many eager students interested n learning conversational english…I also heard that White did not spend a great deal of time in the GI Ville (Except for the occasional “quickie”), but instead hung out in Korean establishments..
This might seem like heresay, but the folks who told me this had no reason to lie and were not trying to promote a NK Spy conspiracy at the time. I believe White received assistance crossing the Boarder..
I would love to hear any feedback..esp from Soldiers who served in DMZ
6:06 pm on November 28th, 2011 20
I remember my mom mentioning about a Lieutenant Colonel of ROK army defecting across the DMZ. Think this was early 80′s I think? No one knows why for sure but the guess is personal reason, getting passed over for promotion, etc.
And about the girl problem. I was told even though ROK army is as tough and unforgiving as it might be, they will give a soldier a pass for a few days if he is known to be having a girl problem. The idea behind it is that young kids can get into or cause accidents (shooting, suicide etc) when they are having severe personal problems and unable to do anything about. And girl issue simply tops the list for young ones I guess.
8:02 pm on March 25th, 2012 21
It’s interesting hearing all these comments. Sometimes I wonder about the truth. My mother and Joe’s mother have been friends since grade school and I had known him and his family since I was born. Joe’s brother David is schizophrenic. I wonder if Joe was also mentally ill. I do want to believe CQ82. It doesn’t seem right that someone who was angry about not seeing his girlfriend would cross a line that would prevent him from ever seeing her again. It doesn’t make sense. I was there when the family received a phone call from the president. They were told nothing further would be done to avoid an international incident. It has been so hard on his family.
5:43 pm on March 27th, 2012 22
Cindy: Not only did I serve where Joseph served but I also worked for 6 years in the mental health field…I know that the following thoughts will only make the PFC Joseph White’s Story seem more confusing, but here I go. I absolutely believe that mental illness (Or even emerging mental illness) can impair someone’s judgement and lead to outrageous decisions. What would qualify as a “bummer” and an emotional “bump in the road” for a Soldier without mental illness can be emotionally devastating for a soldier with mental illness and/or emerging mental illness ..if this is the case, White should not be judged by the same set of standards of reason and logic for a person without Mental illness but who is working in a similarly stressful environment . I share this thought as a person who has studied Mental Illness and who also has worked directly with folks who have Mental Illness and have seen first hand the devastation of Schizophrenia, Depression and other Mental Illnesses and the huge impact it has on a person’s thinking processes and their life in general. . In final, research has shown that the likelihood that Joe White would have Mental Illness because his brother has it, is dramatically increased. Other information I have heard also tells me that Joseph may have been dealing with emerging mental illness. . Also, serving on the DMZ (With all of it’s hardship) would also create stressors to bring out emerging mental Illness (If the individual has the genetic potential which Joseph could have) …We will never know for a fact, the truth behind this heartbreaking story. However, I believe that Mental Illness should be considered a real possibility.