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Voice of the United Nations Command - JapanThought you might be interested in knowing that there was a second Psywar unit in the Far East Command during the Korean War. I belonged to the Far East PsyWar Detachment in Tokyo from Oct., 1953 to July 1955. (Does 8239th AU at APO 500 mean anything to you? It was part of my Tokyo mailing address.) The First L&L Company was part of our operation -- but only technically. We were attached to the United Nations Command in Tokyo. Our assignment was broadcasting each night news and information, as well as entertainment programs to North Korea and Red China (as we called it) in both Korean and Mandarin Chinese over the Station VUNC: Voice of United Nations Command. On special occasions we also did programs in Cantonese. The broadcasts went out on 28 transmitters located from Northern Japan to South Korea, beamed into North Korea and Communist China. I was a scriptwriter in the newsroom, under the command of 1st Lt. John Holloway. I wrote straight news daily, and a dramatized News of the Week program that was initially broadcast each Friday night. All of our shows went out live, and were rebroadcast on tape through the night. We had two translation staffs -- Korean and Chinese -- and native Korean and Chinese newscasters and actors.. who were employees of Synghman Rhee's (President of South Korea) and China's Chiang Kai Shek's (Taiwan)governments. I would like to know if you have heard from any others of the Tokyo crew with whom I served. Cordially, Jules J. Shapiro December 2002 |