by Jane Lee
(USAG Yongsan Public Affairs)
PANMUNJOM, Republic of Korea -- A desperate, treacherous dash to freedom or an unfortunate fall into raging floodwaters … no one will ever know how Pvt. Lee Chul-nam of the Korean People's Army died.
His decomposed body washed up along the Imjin River on the evening of Sept. 9 near Nakha-ri.
"The private was an interesting one because he had his gear strapped to some flotation devices," said Albert McFarland, mortuary officer for the United Nations Command. "I've never seen any having flotation devices."
As part of the Armistice Agreement and according to the Geneva Convention, the bodies of soldiers are returned in repatriation ceremonies. Over the past decade on the peninsula, it has been McFarland's job to prepare any remains of North Korean soldiers found south of the Military demarcation line, for their final journey home.
"Bottom line is we treat remains that we get with respect and dignity and honor," McFarland explained of the painstaking process. "So we clean the clothes, embalm and prep them just like as if we were going to ship them back to the states … they are soldiers. That's the way it is and we would expect them to do the same thing for our soldiers."
ROK investigators noted Lee was likely preparing to swim because his body was roped to two pieces of Styrofoam and his army handbooks were double-bagged in plastic.
Lee was one of two Korean People's Army soldiers whose bodies washed up in South Korea last month.
So on Oct. 7, under brilliant sunshine, sixty years of tense hostilities were set aside briefly along the most heavily militarized border in the world. Dignity and respect replaced posturing and bravado during a somber ceremony at the Truce Village of Panmunjom, as the United Nations Command returned home the bodies of the two fallen soldiers.
Upon the invitation of UNC Military Armistice Commission Secretary Col. Kurt Taylor, the North Korean delegation led by Senior Col. Pak Ki-yong crossed the demarcation line and walked about 20 yards south of the DMZ, to inspect the remains. McFarland opened the caskets one by one, at the request of the three North Korean officers.
"The North Korean Colonel took a good hard look at them," McFarland shared. "And he asked me a lot more questions about them, through the interpreter. He didn't ask me any questions before [in November 2010]. That was kind of unusual. He's probably getting more comfortable with us."
After the inspection, the UNC Honor Guard carried the caskets with the remains across the line to a waiting group of North Korean soldiers, who then marched off with their fallen comrades' coffins.
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