G.I.s Gone Wild

originally posted elsewhere.

I've been on a history bender recently. I mean, it's always a 24/7 interest but it seems that lately I've carved out more time to read and watch some truly compelling sources of history. I'll just mention my two favorites out of the four or five I've come across. these two sources are easy to swallow - less than 50 minutes each and both will freakin blow you away with their content.

The first one is as scandalous as it gets - it deals with 21 American POWs that, after given the chance to come back to America at the end of the Korean war, refuse repatriation and chose instead to live in China. Keep in mind that this took place during the height of McCarthyism. Watch They Chose China (2005) to see what exactly happened.

For an even more shocking documentary (which apparently is possible) watch this short on a few American soldiers who crossed the DMZ in the 1960s in order to live in North Korea. Most ended up starring in propaganda films portraying evil foreigners in the Unsung Heroes series. I really wish I had a copy of Crossing the Line (2006) to get an even closer look. In the meantime, here's a two part 60 Minutes episode from 2007 here and here. UPDATE: I think I found the documentary here.

That there's some good history.