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Why an American Soldier Chose China

By VVAW

In 1950 during the height of the Korean War, PFC James Veneris was captured by the Chinese who had come to the aid of the people of North Korea. Three years later, while prisoners of war were being exchanged, Veneris was one of a group of American GIs who refused "repatriation" and decided to stay in China. Now, over 20 years later, Veneris is returning to the US to visit his family here, after which he will fly back to China.

In the early 1950's there was questioning in the media concerning why any American soldier would chose not to return to the US, and much speculation that he could only have been "brainwashed." However, in the letter partially reprinted below and which was written to one of his boyhood friends in 1955, Veneris explains his reasons. Many of the lessons he talks about in this letter are similar to what Vietnam veterans learned about the nature of the enemy--that the enemy was not the Vietnamese, but the class of people who sent us off to fight their rich man's war.

Veneris's letter begins by describing his state of mind before he re-enlisted in the Army in 1950:

"After hearing and reading so much about how bad the Communists were, how cruel they were to people, I finally re-enlisted so I could do my part...to free the North Korean people from slavery...to stop communism from spreading.

"All I wanted to do was to get over there, clean the mess up and then come home as soon as possible. After I was in Korea for a while, a lot of questions started to pop in my mind. I saw how well the North Korean people fought, even the old people, women and children all fought, real good; why should people that we are supposed to free fight so hard...why did the (United Nations) troops behave so badly, why did they call these people gooks?

"When I was captured on November 28, 1950, all sorts of ideas came to mind--I will die very soon, torture, starvation, etc. But what happened instead, they (the Chinese) shook hands with me, gave me cigarettes and acted very friendly...We were provided with warm food...warm rooms to sleep in.

"I could not understand why the Chinese did not just take the food...Believe me it was very cold on those days. I did not have a coat--some six-foot Chinese soldier with an overcoat...loaned it to me.

"In camp, I still mistrusted these people, but... after testing the sincerity of the Chinese people, I was convinced that they were our friends and wanted to help all of us.

"I finally learned to distinguish between the American people and the wealthy wheels. I never once in speech or in writing material ever hear the Chinese people say anything bad about the American people. In fact, I see where they sympathize with them.

"In the POW camp, the Chinese had what they called a lenient treatment policy toward POWs. Who wants wars? You? Me? Our folks, the common people that work everyday? Do the workers want war? Because the people don't profit off them; they are the ones to suffer from them. That is why we had such good treatment from the Chinese. We were not responsible for wars or starting them..."