Operation Broken Reed: Truman's Secret North Korean Spy Mission That A

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My involvement in one of our nation's most historically important and secretive missions kicked off on Aug. 25, 1951. I had a plush assignment serving as a lieutenant with an Army signal battalion in Bavaria. During my leisure, I was happy eating German food and drinking 16 percent beer in a comfortable guesthouse. The last place I wanted to visit was half-way around the world where a deadly war had erupted.

When I reported to Headquarters European Command, I was met by Col. George Brown. He was searching for an individual trained and experienced in radio communications and cryptography to fill a key slot within a 10-man military intelligence team. The first thing Brown told me was, "In the interest of national security each team member has been given a mission name." No one within the team would know the true identity of other team members.

In addition, team members weren't permitted to share anything concerning their personal lives other than their true military rank and occupation specialty. My name had been changed from Lt. Arthur L. Boyd, U.S. Army Signal Corps, to Sgt. Michael L. Baker, U.S. Air Force.

During our first meeting, Brown covered what had taken place during the Korean War from June 20, 1950, to Aug. 25, 1951. I became aware of the desperate combat situation that faced Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway as the supreme allied commander.

From June 1950 until July 1953 the United States waged war in Korea, suffering 33,686 battle deaths and over 100,000 wounded; 8,100 U.S. servicemen are still unaccounted for. China and the Soviet Union had backed North Korea, which by August 1950 had overwhelmed U.S. and South Korean forces, pushing them to the southern coast near Pusan.

In September, Gen. Douglas MacArthur's Inchon landing relieved the pressure and by October rolled the communist forces north to the Yalu River. But here, believing China could not muster more than 60,000 troops and that there was little risk of their involvement, MacArthur pushed forward. Beginning on Oct. 27, 1950, the Chinese counterattacked with a quarter of a million men and, after a year of fighting, a military stalemate was reached near the 38th Parallel.

MacArthur and his allies in the government pressed President Harry S Truman to launch a massive offensive, to include the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Any decision Truman made risked global consequences; a stalemate might feed communist aggression, yet expansion of the war risked nuclear disaster.

A decision had to be made that would determine the outcome of the war. Heightening his dilemma was his conviction that he did not possess sufficient intelligence on enemy intentions and capabilities. He therefore authorized Operation Broken Reed, a "black" operation outside normal channels and the chain of command.

This is where a gung-ho Signal Corps lieutenant learned that he would occupy a key slot on an intelligence team. As one of 10 American intelligence team members, I would be sent behind enemy lines during January 1952 to encipher and transmit military intelligence.

I departed Rhine-Main Air Force Base in Germany on Jan. 3, 1952, and joined the remainder of the intelligence team at Camp Drake, Japan, on Jan. 7. The team departed Japan by submarine on Jan. 10, 1952, landing the following evening upon the shore of North Korea just north of the battle line. We joined 66 Nationalist Chinese soldiers who manned an armored convoy disguised as a Communist Chinese unit.

The communist forces were led to believe that the 10 American airmen were crew members of a B-29 bomber that had been shot down over North Korea. A Nationalist Chinese lieutenant by the name of "Lee" was in command of the convoy. He carried authentic looking communist high-command orders directing him to transport the captured American airmen across the peninsula to a port located on the Korean Bay, where they would be placed aboard a Chinese gun boat and transported to mainland China.

Six months prior to our arrival in North Korea, 22 Chinese or Korean operatives had been inserted into North Korea. Their mission had been to infiltrate both North Korean and Communist Chinese commands. During the six-month period, they were able to obtain vital intelligence concerning the enemy.

The convoy snaked across the peninsula, traveling east-to-west only by night and bivouacking by day under expert camouflage. We made five daytime stops; at Wonsan, Munam-ni, Kumchon, Haeju and Ongjin.

Throughout each nighttime travel, the operatives were able to deliver intelligence reports to two Central Intelligence Agents who were American members of the convoy. Following translation from Chinese or Korean to English the reports were released to me for encryption and transmission. After placing the reports into code, I transmitted them by high frequency radio to an airborne receiver mounted within a tactical aircraft over the Sea of Japan or South Korea. The recorded reports were flown to Japan and retransmitted to the Pentagon.

I learned that two of the 22 in-country operatives had failed to show at their designated rendezvous point along the convoy route. One had been killed during an allied air strike on a bridge, while the other had simply disappeared.

As we prepared to make our fifth and final daytime bivouac, a Communist Chinese intelligence officer approached the convoy and challenged Lt. Lee's orders, ordering Lee to accompany him to his headquarters. Lee refused. Within hours a communist armored unit led by three Soviet T-34 tanks approached the convoy.

I lucked out. As the Chinese armored unit approached, I had successfully completed the final transmission of 20 intelligence reports. Faced with disaster, Lee had no choice. He decided to make a run for it. The two T-34 tanks that we had within our convoy were unable to mount a defense. Every vehicle, with the exception of a lead recon truck, was destroyed.

Seven of my comrades were killed during the attack, along with possibly every Nationalist Chinese soldier. I was able to escape while leading two other injured team members.

We hiked 30 miles through a rugged mountain pass to the Yellow Sea. There could have been nothing more difficult than navigating a rock-infested and often snow-crusted trail. We were forced to take cover several times to avoid frequent military patrols. During the second day we came face to face with a five-man patrol. I was carrying a Browning Automatic Rifle that I had taken from our intelligence convoy vehicle. The young soldiers were acting up, jawing and laughing as they made their way toward us.

Their weapons were being carried at a sling position. I'm certain they were shocked when they rounded a bend in the trail and there, in front of them, were three Americans in flight uniforms. I took aim and raked the five with full automatic fire from the BAR - moving from left to right, and back to left.

All went down immediately, but the young soldier to my right attempted to get up. I walked over to him, knelt down and held his head in my arms. He kept repeating the same words over and over. Those words, "Yen lean nee," would haunt me for the balance of my lifetime, for after our rescue I found out that he was saying, "I forgive you."

At the Yellow Sea, we were spotted by a British warship that called in an Air Force helicopter for rescue. By the time of our rescue my two comrades were near death from their injuries. Although the helicopter had been hit by three rounds, we completed a successful flight to Kimpo Airfield and were transported to a field hospital near Seoul, South Korea.

The operation's success was monumental, for Broken Reed discovered that China's and the Soviet Union's resolve and military forces were infinitely greater than suspected. Operation Broken Reed provided the proof that pressing the war would have incited massive retaliation and resulted in disaster.

Because the mission was a "black" operation, my comrades have never been honored. There has been no public recognition for their heroic act.

Their only reward was the knowledge that they served the country they loved and died an honorable death. The remains of six team members likely could be recovered. I have been able to pinpoint the exact geographical location where they had died. My goal is to have their remains recovered and returned to the United States for burial.

Their ultimate reward will be burial on American soil.