Yang Kyoungjong: Difference between revisions
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In 1938, at the age of 18, Yang was in [[Manchuria]] when he was [[conscription|conscripted]] into the [[Kwantung Army]] of the Imperial Japanese Army to fight against the [[Soviet Union]]. At the time [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea was ruled by Japan]]. During the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]], he was captured by the Soviet [[Red Army]] and sent to a [[Gulag|labour camp]]. Because of the manpower shortages faced by the Soviets in its fight against [[Nazi Germany]], in 1942 he was pressed into fighting in the Red Army along with thousands of other prisoners, and was sent to the European [[Eastern Front of World War II|eastern front]].<ref name=dailymail/><ref name=ambrose/> |
In 1938, at the age of 18, Yang was in [[Manchuria]] when he was [[conscription|conscripted]] into the [[Kwantung Army]] of the Imperial Japanese Army to fight against the [[Soviet Union]]. At the time [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea was ruled by Japan]]. During the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]], he was captured by the Soviet [[Red Army]] and sent to a [[Gulag|labour camp]]. Because of the manpower shortages faced by the Soviets in its fight against [[Nazi Germany]], in 1942 he was pressed into fighting in the Red Army along with thousands of other prisoners, and was sent to the European [[Eastern Front of World War II|eastern front]].<ref name=dailymail/><ref name=ambrose/> |
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In 1943, he was captured by Wehrmacht soldiers in [[Ukraine]] during the [[Third Battle of Kharkov|Battle of Kharkov]], and was then pressed into fighting for Germany. Yang was sent to [[Occupied France]] to fight in a battalion of Soviet [[prisoners of war]] known as the "[[Ostlegionen|Eastern Battalion]]", serving in a battalion located on the [[Cotentin peninsula]] in [[Normandy]], located close to [[Utah Beach]]. After the [[D-Day]] landings in northern France by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]], Yang was captured by [[paratrooper]]s of the [[United States Army]] in June 1944. The Americans initially believed him to be Japanese in German uniform, and he was placed in a prisoner-of-war camp in the [[United Kingdom]]. At the time, Lieutenant Robert Brewer of the [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]], [[101st Airborne Division]], reported that his regiment captured four Asians in German uniform after the Utah Beach landings, and that initially no one was able to communicate with them. Yang later emigrated to the [[United States]], where he lived until he died in [[Illinois]] in 1992.<ref name=dailymail/><ref name=huff/><ref name=ambrose/><!-- |
In 1943, he was captured by Wehrmacht soldiers in [[Ukraine]] during the [[Third Battle of Kharkov|Battle of Kharkov]], and was then pressed into fighting for Germany. Yang was sent to [[Occupied France]] to fight in a battalion of Soviet [[prisoners of war]] known as the "[[Ostlegionen|Eastern Battalion]]", serving in a battalion located on the [[Cotentin peninsula]] in [[Normandy]], located close to [[Utah Beach]]. After the [[D-Day]] landings in northern France by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]], Yang was captured by [[paratrooper]]s of the [[United States Army]] in June 1944. The Americans initially believed him to be Japanese in German uniform, and he was placed in a prisoner-of-war camp in the [[United Kingdom]]. At the time, Lieutenant Robert Brewer of the [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]], [[101st Airborne Division]], reported that his regiment captured four Asians in German uniform after the Utah Beach landings, and that initially no one was able to communicate with them. Yang later emigrated from [[Russia]] to the [[United States]], where he lived until he died in [[Illinois]] in 1992.<ref name=dailymail/><ref name=huff/><ref name=ambrose/><!-- |
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Revision as of 16:05, 17 July 2013
Yang Kyoungjong | |
|---|---|
 Yang Kyongjong (left) in Wehrmacht attire following capture by American paratroopers in June 1944 after D-Day | |
| Born | c. 1920 |
| Died | April 7, 1992 Illinois, United States |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan Soviet Union Nazi Germany |
| Years of service | Imperial Japanese Army: 1938–1939 Soviet Red Army: 1942–1943 Wehrmacht: 1943–1944 |
| Battles / wars | Battles of Khalkhin Gol Battle of Kharkov D-Day |
| Yang Kyoungjong | |
| Hangul | 양경종 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Yang Gyeong-jong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yang Kyŏng-chong |
Yang Kyoungjong (c. 1920 – April 7, 1992) was a Korean soldier who fought during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Army, the Soviet Red Army, and later the German Wehrmacht.[1][2][3][4]
In 1938, at the age of 18, Yang was in Manchuria when he was conscripted into the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army to fight against the Soviet Union. At the time Korea was ruled by Japan. During the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, he was captured by the Soviet Red Army and sent to a labour camp. Because of the manpower shortages faced by the Soviets in its fight against Nazi Germany, in 1942 he was pressed into fighting in the Red Army along with thousands of other prisoners, and was sent to the European eastern front.[1][3]
In 1943, he was captured by Wehrmacht soldiers in Ukraine during the Battle of Kharkov, and was then pressed into fighting for Germany. Yang was sent to Occupied France to fight in a battalion of Soviet prisoners of war known as the "Eastern Battalion", serving in a battalion located on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, located close to Utah Beach. After the D-Day landings in northern France by the Allied forces, Yang was captured by paratroopers of the United States Army in June 1944. The Americans initially believed him to be Japanese in German uniform, and he was placed in a prisoner-of-war camp in the United Kingdom. At the time, Lieutenant Robert Brewer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, reported that his regiment captured four Asians in German uniform after the Utah Beach landings, and that initially no one was able to communicate with them. Yang later emigrated from Russia to the United States, where he lived until he died in Illinois in 1992.[1][2][3]
References
- ^ a b c Antony Beevor, 2 June 2012, The soldier forced to fight for three sides in WW2... the ultimate tale of a man who became a reluctant veteran of the Japanese, German and Soviet armies, Daily Mail
- ^ a b 26 June 2012, What's New About WW2, Huffington Post
- ^ a b c Ambrose, Stephen (1994). D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WWII. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671673345
- ^ Antony Beevor, (2012). The Second World War. Weidenfeld and Nicholson. ISBN 0297860704
See also
- Lauri Törni – Finnish army captain who served in the Finnish Army, Waffen SS and United States Army
- Joseph Beyrle – American soldier who fought in both the US Army and Soviet Red Army during World War II
- Aleksandr Pavlovich Min – ethnic Korean military officer in the Soviet Red Army during World War II, posthumous recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union
- Ivor Thord-Gray – Participated in 13 different wars covering several continents
- My Way (2011 film) – 2011 South Korean movie inspired by a story similar to that of Yang's