Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors

Authors Pat Avery and Joyce Faulkner have written a powerful story of a barbaric and savage treatment of American Army POW's during the opening months of the Korean War. Flush from their opening week's victories over unprepared, poorly trained, and poorly-led American Soldiers, the North Koreans herded some 250 POW's onto a train north the North Korean-Chinese border in October 1950. Starved and beaten, the soldiers ran a gamut of emotions from giving up and dying, to attempting to escape. In the North Korean town of Sunchon, 100 soldiers were executed, and another 33 were executed later when the train came under fire from American fighter jets. With the train disabled, another 91 were marched north, with only a few finally being rescued by American forces. Their book "Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors" is a thoroughly-researched story which includes multiple interviews with the eight survivors still alive today. The authors concentrate on the stories of the individual survivors, as opposed to American or N. Korean strategy and tactics. The result is a human interest story that will appeal to a far wider audience than that of a normal "military book," which can only serve to get this story of bravery and courage into the wider audience it deserves.

I enjoyed the book but as a Marine Korean War Veteran I did find quite a few inaccuries in the descriptions of infantry tactics which I seriously doubt the U.S.Army would employ in 1950.

Ever since reading In the Shadow of Surabachi, I have been a big Joyce Faulkner fan. This book (in collaboration with Pat Avery) did not disappoint. Although very difficult to read at times due to the mistreatment and heartbreaking experiences of our soldiers, the book is a well-written tribute to the men who served our country during the Korean War conflict. Thank you Pat Avery and Joyce Faulkner for recording the stories of these brave men...so that we may never forget.

Pat McGrath Avery and Joyce Faulkner eloquently remind us that every war has events that should not be forgotten, remind us that war is hell no matter where, no matter when. Further, they tackle the subject in a way that keeps the voices of the Sunchon Tunnel Massacre survivors whole but still carries us through a event that many of us didn't learn about in school. Having said that, it is most certainly an not an event that we once knew about and forgot. That would be an impossibility. ----- ~Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is the PlaceThis Is The Place, HarkeningHarkening and TracingsTracings, books with themes of tolerance that complement this one. She also blogs on the subjects of warpeacetolerance at blogspot.

The term "HERO" is often debated and misused. Those who fit the term are reluctant to accept it. In fact, they are the first to tell you they don't qualify. Readers of They Came Home: Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors by Joyce Faulkner and Pat McGrath Avery will find the story of the survivors of the Sunchon Tunnel Massacre a profoundly moving account of seven men who fit every portion of the definition of hero. I've been fortunate to meet five of them and found it a deeply moving experience. Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors is a true story of events during the Korean War. Avery and Faulkner conducted painstaking research. Both women interviewed survivors, survivor's families and worked with the United States Department of Defense to assure accuracy in its telling. Faulkner creatively weaves together the soldiers' stories in a modern-day form of Greek tragedy using the men's individual stories as a chorus. The impact is tremendous. These two writers have uncovered vital information. This book should be in every school and college library. It should be mandatory reading material in every history classroom in the nation. Pat McGrath Avery and Joyce Faulkner have done this country a great service by telling this mostly forgotten story of incredible heroism, comradeship and survival during the Korean War.