The man who fought on three sides in WW2

[Penguin]

American paratroopers in Normandy in June 1944 thought they had captured a Japanese soldier in German uniform, but he turned out to be Korean. His name was Yang Kyoungjong.

In 1938, at the age of 18, Yang had been forcibly conscripted by the Japanese into their army in Manchuria. A year later, he was captured by the Red Army after the Battle of Khalkhin-Gol and sent to a labour camp. The Soviet military authorities, at a moment of crisis in 1942, drafted him, along with thousands of other prisoners, into their forces.

Then, early in 1943 he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Kharkov in Ukraine by the German army.

In 1944, now in German uniform, he was sent to France to serve with one of the Wehrmacht’s eastern battalions made up of Soviet prisoners to defend Normandy at the base of the Cotentin peninsula. After time in a prison camp in Britain, he went to the United States. Yang settled there and died in Illinois in 1992.
[...]

source

A quite interesting story. Yeah, it was published in the Daily Fail, but the author's name should ring some bells. It's pretty well written, as the author doesn't take the moral high ground and judges the guy, but tries to make the reader understand his situation. Later on, the article describes some other events in WW2 from the pov of the common people.

[fithah4]

I rented a dvd this past summer that played out this story. I fail to recall the name of film but thought it was good. Although subtitled it focused on the hatred between the Korean and Japaneese characters through the whole movie.

[fithah4]

My Way
http://www.redbox.com/movies/my-way

After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the fithSoviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where they are in turn separated and forced to fight for the Nazis. They meet again at Normandy Beach, both unlikely survivors, bonded together by history as they struggle to survive one more terrible battle as the Allies arrive on D-Day.

Rated a 4.0 still thought it was good for the rental rate also!
fith

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by fithah4

My Way
http://www.redbox.com/movies/my-way

After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the fithSoviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where they are in turn separated and forced to fight for the Nazis. They meet again at Normandy Beach, both unlikely survivors, bonded together by history as they struggle to survive one more terrible battle as the Allies arrive on D-Day.

Rated a 4.0 still thought it was good for the rental rate also!
fith

That movie sounds good. I might just hunt that down...

[swamprat69er]

I just ordered it from amazon.

[Stealhead]

I'd tip my hat to Yang Kyoungjong if he where still living most people if they where faced with going through all that would have taken their own lives and given up.

[Jimbuna]

Quite extraordinary set of circumstances...I wonder if he ever really knew where his loyalties lay.

[swamprat69er]

Ya wanna stay alive! Follow orders!

[BossMark]

Triple agent XXX then

[Catfish]

There's much more of those than you would think.

English and Germans fighting against the bolsheviks, immediately after WW1 in 1919 and 1920, Americans joining the SS and fight the Russians together with the Finns and staying there until 1945, stay-behind troops behind the WW2 russian steam roll and fighting as partisans (yes, also english and american ones), or germans who went, or were taken to, the USA, England and Russia after WW2.
Not so much black and white, and of course seldomly mentioned in those official history lessons.

[swamprat69er]

I just finished watching My Way on my 'puter. Good movie IF you like blood, guts and gore.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Catfish

There's much more of those than you would think.

English and Germans fighting against the bolsheviks, immediately after WW1 in 1919 and 1920, Americans joining the SS and fight the Russians together with the Finns and staying there until 1945, stay-behind troops behind the WW2 russian steam roll and fighting as partisans (yes, also english and american ones), or germans who went, or were taken to, the USA, England and Russia after WW2.
Not so much black and white, and of course seldomly mentioned in those official history lessons.

I know that it was very common for the Germans to force Soviet POWs to fight for them usually ones form outlying states like the Georgia and especially Mongolians that where in the Red Army.

This person is a bit different though because he was forced to fight for three different sides.Most other only where forced to fight for their captures and only once (Soviet POW forced to fight for Germany)

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

I know that it was very common for the Germans to force Soviet POWs to fight for them usually ones form outlying states like the Georgia and especially Mongolians that where in the Red Army.

This person is a bit different though because he was forced to fight for three different sides.Most other only where forced to fight for their captures and only once (Soviet POW forced to fight for Germany)

In the movie he had a choice....Fight or die. Some choice. I think I would fight.

[kiwi_2005]

They should make a movie about him.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

In the movie he had a choice....Fight or die. Some choice. I think I would fight.

I would fight as well and then surrender to the nearest allied unit as soon as possible if I was fighting in western Europe if I was near an SS unit I might just sneak in and off as many as possible before they kill me a worthy trade off.This is what most forced labor combatants did when they where under German control.If in the Soviet Union I'd try to escape and attach myself to a Soviet unit if I prove helpful they wont ask any questions and assume that I am new troop skip from one unit to another if need be.Soviet soldiers that had been captured and escaped would sometimes get back to Soviet lines and attach themselves to a unit they really kept fairly poor track of new troops so you could easily avoid suspicion which was placed on any person taken POW that escaped.

Either choice though you may die the true choice is do you die on your feet or on your knees I do not plan on dying on my knees at least on my feet I have a chance of survival.Of course if you are born into this world then you will also pass from it one way or another.