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Friday, May 26, 2000
Ex-GI never witnessed No Gun Ri
He acknowledges he was told story later
By Charles J. Hanley
Associated Press
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - One of the Korean War veterans who described the U.S. Army killing of refugees at No Gun Ri says he now recognizes he could not have been at the scene and instead learned of it second-hand from soldiers who were there.
Wartime documents found in government archives by The Associated Press show that the ex-soldier, Edward L. Daily, 69, of Clarksville, was in another unit elsewhere in Korea when 7th Cavalry Regiment companies fired on the South Korean civilians in July 1950.
His credibility had come under fire in recent news reports, seven months after an AP article cited Daily among a dozen ex-soldiers supporting the allegations of two dozen survivors that U.S. troops killed a large number of refugees at No Gun Ri, a hamlet in central South Korea.
"I have to agree with your records. I can't dispute them," Daily said in an AP interview after reviewing the documents. Asked whether he agreed the records showed he could not have been at there, he replied simply, "Yes."
His accounts of what happened at No Gun Ri, given to the AP in 1998 and other news organizations later, may have stemmed from years of veterans' reunions and hearing from men who participated in or witnessed the killings, Daily said.
"I still feel as though I was at No Gun Ri," he said, his voice haggard and slow. The archival documents show that Daily did join a 7th Cavalry combat unit in March 1951, months after No Gun Ri. In recent years, Daily has been a Veterans Administration hospital outpatient under treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder - that is, psychological problems related to his wartime experiences.
Thus far, Defense Department investigators have interviewed more than 100 veterans and others, including Daily, and senior Pentagon officials told The New York Times on May 12 they had determined that U.S. troops killed a large number of civilians at No Gun Ri. A source close to the South Korean investigation said it had reached a similar conclusion.
Defense Secretary William Cohen later said no conclusions could be reached until a final report is made, which is not expected for several months.
The Korean survivors say about 300 villagers, mostly women and children, were killed by U.S. ground troops under and around the No Gun Ri railroad trestle, and about 100 in an earlier U.S. air attack. Veterans generally spoke of 100, 200 or "hundreds" killed.
His accounts became more prominent in other news organizations' reports following up on the AP story.
While investigating the No Gun Ri allegations in 1998, AP was referred to Daily by another veteran because of his detailed knowledge of the 1st Cavalry Division's operations in the Korean War. On the 7th Cavalry Association's roster of veterans, Daily had long been listed as a member of the regiment's H Company in July 1950.
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