David Bancroft, USA Patriotism! founder, proudly stands with Korean War veterans and survivors of the Sunchon Tunnel Massacre (L-R) Ed Slater, Walt Whitcomb, and Sherman Jones at the Korean War Veterans reunion during Branson's Veterans Week. (Photo by USA Patriotism!)

These three heroes harrowing POW stories are included in the Pat Avery and Joyce Faulkner's book, Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors (They Came Home Series) . . .

A total of 178 American soldiers died in the massacre on October 20, 1950 . . . which started in the summer with a march from Taejon, South Korea, to Seoul, then on to Pyongyang, North Korea . . . where after boarding a train . . . it was stopped in a tunnel.  The North Korean guards then unloaded the prisoners in small groups to a ditch where they were shot.

Afterwards the North Korean soldiers walked around bayoneting the bodies to make sure everyone was dead, but did not get to everyone. A few survivors were underneath other bodies, avoiding the bayonet.