Yang Kyoungjong: When life gives you lemons! Yang Kyoungjong was your run of the mill civilian Korean guy, just minding his own business and flip-flopping along through life. Life, however, had other plans for Yang Kyoungjong!
Korea at the time was ruled by the Japanese and Japan needed manpower. So Yang Kyoungjong ended up conscripted into the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army. Oh F*ck!
Sometimes in 1941, during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, Yang Kyoungjong was made prisoner by the Soviets. In typical Soviet fashion, e was promptly sent to a labour camp.
He thought “War is over” and got ready for some Gulag & Chill . But the Soviets also needed manpower… So in 1942, faster than Yang Kyoungjong could say “No, I’m not picking up your soap”, he was pressed into the Soviet army. Oh F*ck (part II).
In 1943, he 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 the Red Army and recaptured the city in a tactical move that is still taught in military academies the world over. So you can guess what happened to Yang Kyoungjong: That’s right. He 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”. They needed manpower (sounds familiar?). So he was pressed into the Wehrmacht. Oh F*ck (part III).
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 just like that, he 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 English, they did not speak Japanese or Korean, the situation was kinda awkward. 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 liked it so much, he remained in Illinois up until 1992!
Yang Kyoungjong. The man who somehow fought three battles for three different armies, and each time did so for the losing side! And he lived to tell the tale! Talk about an adventure!
