“Concur. Robbed and shot,” Rhee answered. “Gather any identity documents you can find.”
“The soldiers didn’t bother taking those,” Guk commented, handing several to Rhee. His disgust was plain.
The colonel didn’t expect the papers would be of much intelligence value, but the sheer fact that refugees were being murdered by soldiers, probably deserters, was important. He also carefully marked their location. These poor souls had family, here in the North and perhaps even in the South. They might have lost their lives, but Rhee would make sure they were not lost forever.
Rhee was reluctant to leave them where they lay, but there was no time for anything else. He ordered Guk on point again, and they resumed their trip through a land in upheaval.
Two kilometers from their destination, Guk halted them again. “Gun emplacement ahead.”
That surprised Rhee. That hadn’t been on the satellite photos. Of course, they were American satellite photos taken over a week ago. Rhee had been told during the briefings that newer ones weren’t available. They might not exist, or ROK intelligence might not have asked for them. A request might have started a discussion about why they were needed, and the Americans might not have been too happy about Rhee’s mission.
After Guk confirmed it was quiet, Rhee joined him and the two studied the scene ahead.
It was indeed a gun emplacement. Inside an earthen berm, Rhee could see the mass of an artillery piece. The long barrel made him think it was an antiaircraft weapon. There was no sign of its crew, presumably still asleep. The pair low-crawled forward slowly, watching for any movement, and angled a little to one side.
As the angle changed, the gun came into clearer profile, and Rhee identified it as a KS-30, a heavy 130mm antiaircraft gun. They were usually operated in batteries of four or six, and about fifty meters past the first he saw another emplacement. But still no movement.
Rhee didn’t like the idea of a gun emplacement so close to where they were going to set up for the day, but the hill he’d chosen on the map was an ideal spot, and he was reluctant to give it up.
But where were the sentries? An AA battery had almost a hundred personnel, and in the field, even in friendly territory, they’d post at least one or two sentries per gun. They couldn’t all be slacking off somewhere, could they?
They were falling farther behind schedule. They couldn’t waste any more time on this, or the morning twilight would catch them still setting up. Maybe if they’re that sloppy, they could still use the preselected location.
Rhee and Guk hurried back to the other two as quickly as stealth allowed, and with Guk keeping a dedicated watch on the battery, Rhee led them east toward the hill, a kilometer away. He relaxed a little once they were on its wooded slopes, and they quickly reached the crest. Rhee told the lieutenant to pick a spot and set up a hide, and while the other three did that, the colonel took out a night vision telescope and tripod and found a spot to study the gun emplacement.
With the elevation, he could look down and see the ring of six guns, with the fire control van in the center. Tents and ammunition storage were laid out, with the gun’s prime movers and other transport parked off to the side. There were no lights, or signs of movement. The lack of any illumination could be due to proper light discipline. But no movement at all?
Guk reported the camouflaged hide was completed, and Rhee inspected their handiwork, making a few suggestions as if this was just another training exercise. The telescope was brought back to the hide and trained on the nearest cantonment, which held one of the three regiments that made up the 425th. It was farther away, but it was getting lighter, and almost to their relief, Guk reported seeing vehicles and personnel moving about.
While Guk studied the garrison, Rhee had Ma transmit another signal that they’d reached their first night’s objective. He told the master sergeant to find a good spot and keep a close watch on the nearby emplacement. He was sure they’d only been lucky so far.
Ma reported “Message received,” and Rhee told him to take a nap while he kept watch. It had been a long night, and he’d learned to pace himself. It was another skill to teach these men, and…
Master Sergeant Oh’s voice came over the headset. “Sir, you need to see this.”
That didn’t sound good. After telling Ma to delay his nap until he returned, Rhee carefully made his way to Oh’s position. It was fully light now, and any movement, even among the trees, could be seen at some distance.
As he approached, Oh handed him a pair of binoculars and simply pointed down the slope, a strange expression on his face.
There was nobody in the emplacement. Not only no movement, but no soldiers. At this hour, the battery should be lining up for breakfast, and crews should be servicing their weapons. But it appeared to be completely deserted.
There was certainly no risk of being spotted, but what was going on? Rhee didn’t like surprises, especially in the middle of the DPRK, and he felt a chill. He told Oh, “Come with me.”
Trying to balance speed with caution, they hurried down the slope and approached the nearest gun emplacement. At this point, Rhee had to abandon concealment, and hope that any North Korean solder he met would be below the rank of major. After that he’d find out what he could and talk his way out. But he had to know more.
The nearest of the six AA emplacements was empty. The gun appeared functional, with ready ammunition stacked nearby, but no crew. Standing on the berm surrounding the gun, Rhee scanned the emplacements to either side. They were deserted as well. Oh, his shotgun at the ready, seemed ready to shoot anything that moved, but nothing provided a target.
The fire control radar van was empty, its generator off. A few papers were scattered about, and the two collected them for any intelligence they might provide. There was still no movement. The bivouac area was about a hundred meters from the guns, centered on the mess tent. Rhee headed for the headquarters tent, set a little off from the others. Alert as they were, they didn’t notice the smell until they were only a few meters away. Rhee looked over at Oh, who had the same expression on his face.
They knew what was inside, but still took care approaching the door, weapons level, then glancing inside before entering. On one side of the tent, maybe five meters on a side, was a pile of bodies, all in uniform. Bloodstains marked bullet wounds. Powder burns showed that many had been shot at close range.
Rhee ordered, “Watch the door.” While Oh kept a lookout, Rhee searched the bodies. Their sidearms were gone, but he collected some documents. He counted five bodies: a captain, a staff sergeant, two sergeants, and a corporal. By rights, a captain would command this battery, with a senior lieutenant as his deputy.
The tent’s contents, two cots, a camp desk, and other items, were scattered and broken. Two personal lockers lay open, their contents tumbled out. Rhee found a few more documents, then said, “Mess tent next.”
They covered the distance in seconds, as if under fire, and paused for only the briefest check before going inside. It was larger than the officer’s tent, designed to feed the battery in shifts. The inside showed some signs of disorder, but Rhee ignored that, instead heading back to the cooking area while Oh watched the door again. A truck was parked alongside the tent, and it confirmed Rhee’s hypothesis.
He walked back toward Oh, the master sergeant’s gaze firmly outside. “Most of the food is gone. Only the heaviest items are left. They shot those that didn’t want to join them, and deserted.”
Oh muttered an expletive, shaking his head in disbelief, then said, “Those crazy bastards. An entire unit mutiny?” Such a thing was inconceivable in the ROK Army, much less a police state like the DPRK. “Where will they go?”