Korean War Vet Served in Secret Unit With Korean Partisans

Unit 8240 AU ended up being one of those Korean partisan units that were headed by junior
American officers that served in leadership and advisory roles.
On Tuesday the associated Press interviewed South Korean members with the 8240 AU unit which
had served using Newman. They Will described their unit as one of probably your most hated along
with feared simply by North Korea as well as speculated in which that was the purpose for his
detention.

According for the military records, Newman began his Army service within September 1950 and also
quickly rose towards the rank involving sergeant annually later. Following various stateside
assignments, Newman received an officer's commission like a 2nd lieutenant on April 27, 1952,
following korean shoes store attending officer candidate school.
Newman stated inside the apology which in the actual program of his trip to North Korea he had
wanted to meet with former members involving the system he had worked with. In the actual period
of the particular video's release, U.S. officials couldn't confirm his wartime role.

The military records of Merrill Newman confirm that the 85-year-old Korean War veteran served in
the particular forces unit that advised Korean partisans that fought in North Korea at your rear of
enemy lines.
The former fighters interviewed by simply Your Related Press describe Newman "as a new
handsome, thin American lieutenant that got all of them rice, clothes as well as weapons throughout
the later on stages with the 1950-53 war but mostly left your fighting for you to them."
According for the records, Newman found its way to Korea about Feb. 7, 1953, and also began the
initial associated with 2 tours being an "infantry unit commander."
In the last several weeks with the war, Newman stayed mainly on the front-line island, living in a
small wooden house, mentioned Park Young, an 81-year-old former guerrilla.
"He ate on the own and slept on your own as well as lived alone," said Park, certainly one of 200
guerrillas stationed on the Island.
Histories of the operation indicate in which for the the majority of part the particular units were
trained on islands off the actual western coast associated with North Korea, and the American
advisers failed to fight behind enemy lines with the partisans.
Newman has been held by simply North Korean authorities since Oct. 26 when he was taken off an
airliner that was to take him in order to South Korea. He had just ended any two-week visit to North
Korea.
Newman's service using the unit ended in Sept. 14, 1953, 2 months following your July armistice
that ended three numerous many years of war about the Korean peninsula.
Shortly after the war began in June 1950, Way East Command began any secret guerrilla campaign
behind enemy lines in North Korea making use of 1000s of Korean fighters opposed towards the
communist regime throughout North Korea.
The unit he had been assigned to will be described as "FEC/LD(K) 8240 AU FECOM." Individuals
acronyms stand pertaining to far East Command Liaison Detachment (Korea) 8240 Army Unit far
East Command. Your U.S. Way East Command has been your U.S. military command for your AsiaPacific region that at the beginning with the Korean War had been headed through Gen. Douglas
MacArthur.
The existence of those units wasn't declassified until your 1990s.
This past weekend, Newman was seen inside a videotape studying through an apology where he
cited his role inside the Korean War as an adviser to a Korean partisan unit.
Referring for the "Kuwol" moniker through which in turn the particular group is still known
throughout North and also South Korea, Park Boo Seo advised The Particular Connected Press "the
North Koreans even now gnash their teeth in the Kuwol unit."
Some of these elderly former guerrillas say these were looking forward to Newman at the Incheon
international Airport expecting his arrival following his visit to North Korea.
Newman's records had been provided for you to ABC news as part of your request filed last week

with just about all the National Personnel Records Center, which usually can become a a component
of your National Archives which houses the actual military records regarding America's veterans.