Deserter to go to Japan

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Linda_H

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Well todays news story about Charles Jenkins has about made me sick to my stomach, I can’t believe he only had to spend one month in the stockade! I just cannot understand how someone can desert our army, and give aide to North Korea for some 20 odd years, spend 30 days in the stockade and now he gets to go live in “peace” in Japan. Where is the peace for all the men and women who died there, how about the peace for the vets that are living with P.T.S.D. from that war, and finaly where is the peace for the brave young men and women who are patroling the D.M.Z. this very day? This war is still there, there has been no peace agreement, the only agreement they reached is a cease fire, and it has been a shakey one at that. My father spent two years over there right after the cease fire was signed, and the stories he told me of how they were attacked on a daily bases still haunt me today. I do not believe that justice has been served here at all.
Linda H.
 
:eek: For a minute there, I thought you were posting about Peacemonger.

But, I agree. That is not justice, unless he gets to be a neighbor, living right next door to Peacemonger. PC will straighten him out right quick! 🙂
 
Marie, Marie, Marie, thanks, I needed that chuckle.

Linda H.
 
Linda H.:
Marie, Marie, Marie, thanks, I needed that chuckle.

Linda H.
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I fell off the chair and am still laughing - and laughing and laughing Oh the thought of it - be still my beating heart.
 
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HagiaSophia:
I fell off the chair and am still laughing - and laughing and laughing Oh the thought of it - be still my beating heart.
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We can always count on Marie to crack us up… :rotfl:
 
Marie said:
:eek: For a minute there, I thought you were posting about Peacemonger.

But, I agree. That is not justice, unless he gets to be a neighbor, living right next door to Peacemonger. PC will straighten him out right quick! 🙂
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:rotfl:
 
Marie said:
:eek: For a minute there, I thought you were posting about Peacemonger.

But, I agree. That is not justice, unless he gets to be a neighbor, living right next door to Peacemonger. PC will straighten him out right quick! 🙂
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You think Peacemonger will straighten out Jenkins? I don’t know. I think they would be buds. Picture them sitting around sipping sake and discussing how they could straighten out the U.S.! In any case, what I would give to be a fly on the wall for that scene! 😃
 
Why are you guys making fun of someone like that? Come one, shape up! Peacemonger seems like a decent fellow, why are you guys mocking him? Really, it actually sounds kind of childish… :rolleyes:
 
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WhiteDove:
Why are you guys making fun of someone like that? Come one, shape up! Peacemonger seems like a decent fellow, why are you guys mocking him? Really, it actually sounds kind of childish… :rolleyes:
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White Dove—Perhaps you don’t know Peacemonger the way that we know Peacemonger! 😉
 
Linda H.:
Well todays news story about Charles Jenkins has about made me sick to my stomach, I can’t believe he only had to spend one month in the stockade! I just cannot understand how someone can desert our army, and give aide to North Korea for some 20 odd years, spend 30 days in the stockade and now he gets to go live in “peace” in Japan. Where is the peace for all the men and women who died there, how about the peace for the vets that are living with P.T.S.D. from that war, and finaly where is the peace for the brave young men and women who are patroling the D.M.Z. this very day? This war is still there, there has been no peace agreement, the only agreement they reached is a cease fire, and it has been a shakey one at that. My father spent two years over there right after the cease fire was signed, and the stories he told me of how they were attacked on a daily bases still haunt me today. I do not believe that justice has been served here at all.
Linda H.
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Yes the winters in Korea can get to you (and frost bite fingers & toes). I spent two winters there (23 months all together) from 1950 to 1952. Linda mentions P.T.S.D. . Well I never saw a shrink but I’ve been told about a dozen times that I was as crazy as a bed bug. Thats nothing.

Of about 160 men , none (zero) saw a shrink! There were absolutly no narcotics! Remember, the Korean War started just five years after WW II. We had the same mentality.

I left three really good men there and another one had his left foor shot off. That first one to go was a Sgt. Dusty Rhodes. I had seen his two little kids & wife before we left. Boy, that put hate in me for months. And all I got was frost bit. Ladies and gentlemen, the Korean War was …brutal.
 
Exporter said:
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Yes the winters in Korea can get to you (and frost bite fingers & toes). I spent two winters there (23 months all together) from 1950 to 1952. Linda mentions P.T.S.D. . Well I never saw a shrink but I’ve been told about a dozen times that I was as crazy as a bed bug. Thats nothing.

Of about 160 men , none (zero) saw a shrink! There were absolutly no narcotics! Remember, the Korean War started just five years after WW II. We had the same mentality.

I left three really good men there and another one had his left foor shot off. That first one to go was a Sgt. Dusty Rhodes. I had seen his two little kids & wife before we left. Boy, that put hate in me for months. And all I got was frost bit. Ladies and gentlemen, the Korean War was …brutal.
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My dad was there as a new lieutenant when you were there. He too is 73. And I remember asking him as a kid about his experience in Korea and he wouldn’t talk about it. Just indicated that it was too horrible to talk about. He did mention the bitter cold and breaking the ice in the morning to shave. I know he lost soldiers. I think his experience in Korea is why he never went camping with us when we were Scouts.
 
Exporter, thank you for your first hand memories of Korea, I hope they will bring home the truth of this war to todays youth. My dad served in the Air Force over there in 58 thru 60. He has told me stories of watching the N.K.'s air force attacking their guys on a daily basis, and this was after the “cease fire” had been signed. My own DH has shared stories of being shot at while on patrol of the DMZ, of course they were not allowed to return fire, that was in 60-62, and also the same stuff was still going on when he was there a few years later. My DH has also told me stories of finding tunnels that went right under the DMZ on a regular basis. Yes for all of you doing the math, my DH is only 8 years younger than my father.

Exporter, and all other Korean War vets on this forum, I would like to know how you feel about Jenkins short sentence in the stockaide. Do you feel like justice was served?
Linda H.
 
Just to correct the misimpression given by the title, Jenkins was already in Japan, before, during, and after his trial and imprisonment.
 
Thank you, I was under the impression that he had been brought back here to stand his court marshall. This fact could be the key to it’s outcome, did the Japanese goverment influence this? One of the things I don’t understand about this is how they are welcoming him with open arms, I thought that personal honor was very important in Japan? There is no honor in what he did, he is a traitor as well as a deserter!

Linda H.
 
Linda H.:
Thank you, I was under the impression that he had been brought back here to stand his court marshall. This fact could be the key to it’s outcome, did the Japanese goverment influence this? One of the things I don’t understand about this is how they are welcoming him with open arms, I thought that personal honor was very important in Japan? There is no honor in what he did, he is a traitor as well as a deserter!

Linda H.
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I think it has to do with the fact that his Japanese wife, was kidnapped by North Korea from Japan. She was held captive there to teach Japanese to the NK spies. That is where he met her. He himself could not leave NK either after his bad decision.

His wife was finally returned to Japan in 2002. He and the girls stayed in NK. Finally Japan got them out of Korea and he turned himself in to the US as a deserter.

deserter will settle into new life in Japan
 
Linda H,
You wrote,“Exporter, and all other Korean War vets on this forum, I would like to know how you feel about Jenkins short sentence in the stockaide. Do you feel like justice was served?”
Linda, How do I feel about Jenkins? Here is what I first thought when I learned of him and his story.

First, I cannot imagine what kind of man/soldier would voluntarily walk across the 38th and surrender to the No. Korean Communists. I don’t know anyone like that. When I was there, the only reponse we had for the No.K. Commies was to (pardon me) avoid being shot and to kill as many of them as possible.

I will say this for the No.K, unlike Alkieda today, the Commies wore uniforms and were in a real Army…Geneva Rules here.

This man Jenkins must have been mentally ill to have given up back then. I am not prepared to say why he did that. He was in the extremely small minority…maybe one out of 200,000. Then maybe he was so scared, he panicked(sp) . I know he was not worth much to the US Army.

My gut feeling is that I feel sorry for him. He taught Commies to speak English. Maybe if I talked to him face to face out on the river bank, alone, I may want to slap him around some. But sitting here with him in Japan, I really feel neutral toward him. I hope he lives long enough to realise what he did. I will bet you he did not play high school football! He had no sence of loyalty- he was an “Odd-Ball”. He chose his bed, now let him sleep in it.
JMJ
 
Linda H.:
Thank you, I was under the impression that he had been brought back here to stand his court marshall. This fact could be the key to it’s outcome, did the Japanese goverment influence this? One of the things I don’t understand about this is how they are welcoming him with open arms, I thought that personal honor was very important in Japan? There is no honor in what he did, he is a traitor as well as a deserter!

Linda H.
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The Japanese government had EVERYTHING to do with this decision. The Japanese people were very sympathetic towards Jenkins’s wife and wanted her to start living a normal life with her husband and children ASAP considering all that she’s been through. FYI Jenkins said that he deserted because he was about to be shipped out to Vietnam and he wanted no part of that so he went across the border. As a veteran myself, I feel desertion is wrong and the offenders should be punished. But considering his age, poor health, and the political situation, I believe the US government did the right thing. Finally, he was charged with desertion and not treason, so to call him a traitor is wrong.
 
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Peacemonger:
Finally, he was charged with desertion and not treason, so to call him a traitor is wrong.
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True…he is and was a Coward protecting his own backside. He is now, old and sick…"Let the Cur Dogs lie in their own vomit! No sense in beating a dead horse!
 
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Peacemonger:
The Japanese government had EVERYTHING to do with this decision. The Japanese people were very sympathetic towards Jenkins’s wife and wanted her to start living a normal life with her husband and children ASAP considering all that she’s been through. FYI Jenkins said that he deserted because he was about to be shipped out to Vietnam and he wanted no part of that so he went across the border. As a veteran myself, I feel desertion is wrong and the offenders should be punished. But considering his age, poor health, and the political situation, I believe the US government did the right thing. Finally, he was charged with desertion and not treason, so to call him a traitor is wrong.
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Personally, I think the decision was just.

By the way I read today that he said the North Koreans were grooming his children to be spies. Looks like they need some TLC.
 
Peacemonger,

He’ll get no sympathy from me over why he chose to be a coward, many men whom fought in Vietnam didn’t want to go there! My DH was a ground pounder over there for almost 2 full tours(68-69) before he was finaly transfered back to the states in one piece, more or less. When I lay in bed at night and listen to him relive those battles in his sleep it makes my blood boil to know that Jenkins jumped the same border that my DH also patroled before and after his tour in Nam. To know that he helped the N.K. commies makes me sick, and helping them does make him a traitor, reguardless of the fact that he wasn’t charged with it by the army. If he had been there’s no way he would have gotten out of the stockaide in 30 days. My husband is now 62 and he is getting all the care we can squeeze out of the VA system, he had a major stroke before he was out of his 40’s, his recovery from it was truely a miracle, since then it has been one illness after another, like so many of his brothers in arms from that war. I’m not look for anyones pity, I wanted you to know where I am coming from with this.
Linda H.
 
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