Korean War vet attends reconciliation meeting
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Harley Coon was shot at, captured, tortured and imprisoned by Chinese forces fighting on the side of North Korea in the fall of 1950, during the opening stages of the Korean War.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Yesterday, Coon worked to put the past behind him when he met and exchanged gifts with the daughter of Chinese Air Force Division Cmdr. Zhi Zhang, in a rare meeting between a U.S. Korean War veteran and the relative of a Chinese communist who fought in the war.
Korean War veteran Harley Coon gave Jia-Kun Zhang, daughter of a Chinese communist, a 50th Anniversary Korean War coin as a peace gift in Wahiawa yesterday.
The pair embraced at The National Korean War Museum in Wahiawa yesterday and exchanged gifts. Cmdr. Zhang, who was a communications officer during the war, was unable to attend because he was not allowed to leave China, according to Kyle Kopitke, the museum's president.
"It's a nice thing to do," said the daughter, Jia-Kun Zhang, through her husband, Myles Shinsato, who translated. The daughter recently married and immigrated to Hawai'i.
Coon, who was taken prisoner Nov. 27, 1950, after his division was overrun at Ipsok, said the meeting was a necessary one. Coon, a Dayton, Ohio, resident, came here for yesterday's ceremony.
"It keeps the awareness of the Korean War so it will not be continually forgotten," said Coon, president of the Korean War Veterans Association.
Coon, 73, said he was one of 17 soldiers from a unit of 203 who survived the 24-hour battle at Ipsok. Once Chinese soldiers took their position, Coon and the remaining soldiers were force-marched for 45 days through temperatures that consistently dipped below zero.
For 33 months, Coon said he was forced to attend indoctrination classes that highlighted what communist forces characterized as the hopeless goals of "warmongers." During that time, Coon and his men were repeatedly beaten and forced to build offices and dormitories for Chinese forces.
"One of the reasons we did this is to continue to open doors," Kopitke said about the ceremony. "We're hoping as we show bonds of friendship and peace that North Korea will open up inch by inch."
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
