Chaplain–Medic massacre — the full case file

No one has ever been charged in the Chaplain–Medic massacre. On July 16, 1950, during the Battle of the Kum River, Korean People's Army (KPA) troops killed an unarmed U.S. Army chaplain and thirty critically wounded, unarmed American soldiers left in his and a medic's care on a mountain near the village of Tuman, South Korea. On July 12, 1950, 24th Infantry Division commander Major General William F. Dean orders regiments to cross the Geum River and establish defensive positions around Daejon. On July 15, 1950, 19th Infantry's 2nd Battalion moves to fill gaps left by the 34th Infantry near the Kum River line. On July 16, 1950, KPA launches a river-crossing assault at 03:00; establishes a roadblock near Tuman, cutting off resupply and wounded evacuation. At 21:00, roughly 100 U.S. troops move wounded into the hills east of Tuman; exhausted carriers leave about 30 critically wounded soldiers atop a mountain with Chaplain Felhoelter and Captain Buttrey. On July 16, 1950, KPA patrol discovers the group; Buttrey escapes wounded, Felhoelter is shot while administering last rites, and all thirty wounded soldiers are killed. On July 27, 1950, U.S. commanders establish a commission to investigate war crimes following the Chaplain–Medic, Hill 303, and Bloody Gulch massacres. On July 28, 1950, KPA 3rd Division commander General Ri Yong-ho issues an order, intercepted by UN intelligence, prohibiting the killing of prisoners of war. In 1953, U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations, led by Joseph McCarthy, investigates the incident; Buttrey testifies as the sole survivor of the executions. In 1981, the United States erects monuments at Arlington National Cemetery listing killed chaplains, including Felhoelter's name. The case remains unsolved. This case file is kept in memory of Linton J. Buttrey and Herman G. Felhoelter. The full sourced case file, with every fact cited, is at casepin dot org.

Transcript from the video’s narration track. For every source, open the case file.