The hell of it is, Evers wasn't even supposed to be in Korea. His job was to inspect cameras carried by aircraft. He was stationed in Japan, far from the fighting on the Korean peninsula.
But one day, complaints about a balky camera led him to join the crew of a B-29 bomber on a reconnaissance mission over Korea. He knew the names of two members of the crew, who regarded him as a ride-along guest. On the way, he said, the cameras were working as they were supposed to.
On the long way down, "I said some pretty loud prayers," he said. He aimed for a river, but missed, landing face-first in a rice paddy. It was around midnight, July 3, 1952.
He smeared iodine on his wounds and struggled to stay hidden and to walk. He covered about two miles, but Chinese troops found him on July 5 and took him prisoner.
The Chinese apparently didn't know what to make of him. Other captured members of the B-29 crew didn't know his name. His story about being a camera inspector never convinced the interrogator he wasn't a spy -- an idea that Evers found ludicrous. He towered over most Chinese, has a northern European appearance and, after a while, a stout red beard. He couldn't possibly be inconspicuous in Korea.
No comments:
Post a Comment