Yang Kyoungjong: Fought for 3 Countries and Made Prisoner 3 Times
Meet Yang Kyoungjong: A nice Korean guy, just minding his own business and flip-flopping around, living his life. But one does not merely flip-flop around during WWII. Korea at the time was ruled by the Japanese, and Japan needed manpower. So, Yang Kyoungjong ended up conscripted against his own will into the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army. Oh F*ck!
Conscription and Captivity by the Soviets
Sometime in 1941, during the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, Yang Kyoungjong was made prisoner by the Soviets. He was sent to a labor camp. He thought, “War is over” and got ready for some Netflix & Chill in a gulag. But the Soviets also needed manpower… So in 1942, they pressed him into the Soviet army. Oh F*ck (part II)!
In 1943, he was sent to the Eastern Front (although he probably called it the Western Front). Yang Kyoungjong found himself involved in the Third Battle of Kharkov. If you don’t know how it ended up for the Soviets, let me sum it up for you: Erich von Manstein went all Blitzkrieg on them and recaptured the city. Anyway, Yang Kyoungjong was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was like “Can I go home and mind my own business, now?”. But the Germans were like “Nein”. So he was pressed into the Wehrmacht! Oh F*ck (part III)!
Battle of Normandy and Captivity by the Americans
So anyway, flash forward to June 1944, and Yang Kyoungjong finds himself in Normandy. In June 1944. In Normandy. He was like “Are you f*cking kidding me?”. But there was no kidding. He was really there, near Utah Beach… And obviously, ended up being made prisoner by the Americans!
The Americans were convinced he was Japanese, though. But he was not Japanese; he was Korean. He did not speak Japanese, German, or English, and they did not speak Korean… The situation was kinda awkward and pretty tense. Anyway, Yang Kyoungjong ended up in a prisoner of war camp in Great Britain and then in another one in America. He was freed at the end of the war and decided he liked it there. He lived in Illinois up until 1992.
A Remarkable Journey
He was either a very lucky unlucky person, or a very unlucky lucky one!
-RBM
