LAHORE: Nearly 25 years ago, an American pilot, Bobby Hall, was brought down by North Korea and held captive for two weeks on charges of deliberately violating the country's airspace for spying purposes, research shows.After the North Koreans had hit the American military helicopter flying into their airspace with a missile, the flying machine shook violently with a thundering explosion, and the windshield resultantly caved into the cockpit, fatally injuring Bobby Hall's co-pilot, David Hilemon.Losing power, the helicopter began a treacherous downward spiral. Seconds later, the US military helicopter collided with the ground, catching fire and throwing co-pilot, David Hilemon, from the cockpit.The "NK News," a Seoul-based American website that provides news and analysis about North Korea, had written: "Bobby Hall, uninjured in the crash, looked in vain for a fire extinguisher before moving frantically to drag his copilot away from the flaming wreckage. The North Korean troops quickly surrounded the two men. Hall pointed emphatically at his unmoving copilot as the flames engulfed the downed helicopter. A North Korean soldier ran over and helped pull Hilemon away from the fiery crash. At that moment, two stark realizations surged through the mind of Chief Warrant Officer Hall: his copilot was dead; he was in North Korea. The soldiers quickly bound and blindfolded the U.S. helic opter pilot, taking him away from his lifeless comrade."After his arrest, Hall said he was never harmed or mistreated. In fact, he was kept in a room with a bed, toilet, and bathtub. According to the "NK News," which has reporters in Washington, DC and London, Bobby Hall was served rice, meats, pickles and bread in food.Bobby Hall, an American Army Chief Warrant Officer, was released on December 29, 1994 by North Korean authorities and allowed to cross the border into South Korea, but not before he was made to sign a confession.The United States had to express sincere regret for the incident. The North Koreans had earlier refused to release Hall, alleging he was engaged in espionage, though the Americans asserted the helicopter flown by Hall and his co-pilot Hilemon had unintentionally crossed into North Korean territory because of a navigational error during a routine training mission.But then successful negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington DC had led to the detained pilot's release. Ever since, the-then US President Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher had sought the pilot's release with a diplomatic approach.India should thus deem itself privileged that its captured pilot is being set free by Pakistan as a humanitarian gesture, and that Islamabad, unlike the North Korean authorities in Pyongyang, have neither made the captured Indian pilot sign any confession, nor has it brought New Delhi to its knees to get its Air Force personnel released within hours of his captivity.This is what the "Washington Post" had stated in its December 30, 1994 edition: "The State Department said North Korea agreed to return Hall after the United States signed a document expressing "sincere regret" for the incident in which Hall's helicopter strayed into North Korean airspace."The American newspaper had written: "Hall wore the same green flight uniform he had on when his helicopter went down in North Korean territory on Dec. 17, killing Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon and resulting in Hall's capture. He carried a small green and red package and looked to be uninjured as he crossed the border in the truce village separating North and South Korea."Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Thomas Hubbard, who accompanied Hall across the border, was quoted as saying: "In the final analysis, the North Korean government took our humanitarian concerns into account and agreed to return Chief Warrant Officer Hall to us."Pilot Hall had then received a phone call from President Bill Clinton shortly after regaining his freedom and returned home to his wife and children amid a chorus of warm cheers in Florida. It was after this particular incident that the American military had ordered new GPS systems installed in all US military helicopters in South Korea.The December 31, 1994 edition of the "New York Times" had stated: "The pilot who was released by North Korea today has told American investigators that he pulled his co-pilot away from the burning wreckage of their helicopter but that the co-pilot was already fatally injured, Administration officials said. The information given by the freed pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall, dispels any notion that the North Koreans captured and then killed the other pilot, Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon, after their helicopter went down."
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2Xw6CJk
0 comments:
Post a Comment