Korean & Chinese Prisoners

Operation Little & Big Switch

Page 1

See our Commendation and Newspaper Clipping

for this Operation

Kojedo, Korea

1090 Beached at Koje-do

Prison is in the Background

The 1090 and 1096 

Koje-do, Korea

That's what I call "On The Beach"

The 5th Army crapped out on deck during a 4 hr.

ride between Pusan and Koje-do

POWs soon after the war started in the summer of 1951. I do not
remember how I came about them because I didn't come aboard
until late October of that year. It shows POWs on the main deck
and I remember being told that they constructed troughs along the
port and starboard sides for them to take a leak. I suspect that
they are North Korean but they could be Chinese and were being
taken from the mainland to the islands of Cheju-Do and Koje-Do.
The only POWs that I remember were put in stalls that were
constructed on the tank deck and we were hauling them from
Cheju-Do and Koje-Do to the mainland during
"Little Switch" and "Big Switch"


I was told that these were 4 war criminals that were segregated
from the rest of the POWs and under special guard. I do not
know if they were North Korean or Chinese but they were being
transported to the POW camps on the two islands from the mainland.
This must have been taken in 1951


This was taken from the bow of the 1090.
It was the publicity shoot for "Operation Little Switch".
It is difficult to see in the photos but the guards had on chrome helmets.


This was taken at the same time

Taken from the bow gun tub. I think this was taken in Inchon harbor during Big Switch.

This is the LST 1096. They started in "Operation Little Switch" with us.
We did 90% of the work and they received all the Glory.
Their Skipper must have known someone as we were the Flag Ship
and they were just a ship in division 34.