In last week’s part two story on the 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, I mentioned that at the signing of the truce with North Korea and the official exchange of prisoners, two Ashtabula County men were still being held prisoner.
Since the printing of that story, I have heard from many folks who would like to have their relative listed in our files or their pictures and/or effects included in our special exhibit on the Korean War.
One of those who contacted me was a relative of one of the men who were listed as still being a prisoner of war. The men were released under “Operation Switch” and taken to Freedom Village, then sent onto Japan and home.
Kathy Volpone, niece of Korean Prisoner of War captive, James J. Volpone (1929-2014) formerly of Ashtabula, contacted me to share her uncle’s story and have it included in the current exhibit at the Jefferson Historical Society. Volpone was a son of James and Josephine Volpone of Ashtabula.
At age 21, Volpone was with the 2nd Division of the U.S. Army, 38th Infantry as a rifleman when he was captured by the Chinese near Saemal, South Korea on Feb. 12, 1951. He was one of 700 soldiers trapped by 10,000 Chinese “volunteers” who surrounded them. Three hundred of the men were killed. Some escaped by going over the mountains, but many were captured.
Volpone was sent to the “Bean Camp” and then on to the forced death march in which so many died. Miraculously, he managed to escape with two other Americans but was later recaptured and turned over to the North Koreans who sent him to the “Mining Camp.”
Each camp had a name and are identified online as such if you desire to find out more about the camps or looking for information on a particular camp in which a relative was held. The captors did not have enough to eat or drink and gave the captives next to nothing causing them men to often eat rates or die from starvation.
On the death march in which Volpone was on, the men traveled by foot in 30 degrees below zero weather. When they finally reached the Yalu River, his buddies carried him across because his feet had frozen and he suffered from beriberi and dysentery.
He was sent to two more camps before being released after 18 months in prison, coming home with tuberculosis. He married his wife, Delores, and had four sons and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Volpone worked as an illustrator at Hughes Missile & Radar Systems in California and moved to Las Vegas. He was well known as a musician playing in night clubs around Orange County, California. He joined many veteran and POW groups and wrote about his experiences. He passed away on May 12, 2014, and is buried in the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boud City, Nevada.
Kenneth E. Vitez, son of Steve and Helen Vitez, graduated from Rock Creek High School in 1950 and then joined the Marines as a radio operator. While in battle he was shot in the left ankle, shattering it and making it impossible to walk. He lay motionless among the wounded and dying for three hours as the men were overrun by the enemy.
The weather was so frigid that his blood from his injury froze around it, creating a cast of sorts. When his company finally were able to come back and get him, they were all taken captive. He was held in Camp 1 and later Camp 3. Release finally came on Aug. 20, 1953, after 10 months in POW camps.
Vitez married Glenna Graham and eventually settled in Dorset. He passed away at age 86 on Jan. 12, 2019, in Dorset.
Robert E. Fogle (1931- 2011), son of John and Mable Williams Fogle, was born in Conneaut. He wascaptured and held prisoner in a Korean POW camp for 32 months. He survived and returned home to Ashtabula and married Delores Hanna. Together they had three daughters and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is buried in Greenlawn Memory Gardens, North Kingsville.
Kenneth L. Woodring, Ashtabula, was a Corporal with the 32nd Regiment of the 7th Division. He spent 3 years in the Korean POW camps. He weighed 260 pounds when he went in and upon release, he weighed only 98 pounds. He recalled eating rats on a stick to survive. On the official POW list, he is recorded as being released on Aug. 21, 1953.
One Korean War soldier I had not heard of but found online was Paul Kenneth Kellstrom of Ashtabula. He was an Air Force Sergeant on board a B-29 Superfortress on the night of June 10, 1952, as the tail gunner. Thirteen men made up the crew headed to Kwaksan, Korea to bomb the railroad bridges. Twelve B-29s were in their formation. Kellstrom’s plane was suddenly attacked by MiG-15 fighter planes. The attack caused the plane to explode in flight and fall to the ground in flames.
Searches failed to find the plane or any of the crew until finally during Operation Big Switch, when prisoners were released in exchange for enemy prisoners, the mystery was solved. One of the prisoners had been a part of Kellstrom’s crew. He identified those on board and the place and cause of the crash.
His body was never found and today he remains unaccounted for. He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
You can read more about these men and many others at the exhibit being held for a month at the Jefferson Historical Society.
To include your relative’s story or name, please contact me at onesouthernwriter@gmail.com or call the Jefferson Historical Society, 440-576-5333.
