List of American and British defectors in the Korean War

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This list names the 22 United Nations soldiers and prisoners of war (one Briton and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States after the Korean War in favor of remaining in China, and their subsequent fates. Also listed are soldiers who defected to North Korea.

Prisoner repatriation was one of the greatest stumbling blocks in the long cease fire negotiations between the forces of the United Nations and those of China and North Korea. The warring factions finally agreed on an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners, Operation Little Switch, which was carried out in April and May 1953. That June, the two sides agreed that no prisoner who did not wish to be repatriated would be forced to do so (this had long been a sticking point in negotiations, with the Chinese and North Koreans wanting all prisoners returned to their home countries). Prisoners who did not wish to go back to their home countries would be given 90 days in a neutral compound near Panmunjom to reconsider before being allowed to stay in enemy territory. Similarly, one Briton and 23 American soldiers (along with 327 South Koreans) also refused to be returned to their homelands. Two, Corporal Claude Batchelor and Corporal Edward Dickenson, changed their minds before the 90 day window expired. Both were court martialed and sentenced to prison terms, with Batchelor serving 4½ years and Dickenson 3½. This left 22 United Nations soldiers who voluntarily stayed with the Communists after the final exchange of prisoners. The 21 Americans were given dishonorable discharges. This had the unintended consequence of rendering them immune to court martial when they finally returned to the United States (which the majority eventually did), because they were no longer active duty military. However, they were still criminally culpable for any acts of collaboration or offenses against fellow prisoners committed while they were POWs. At about 4:00 am on 24 February 1954, a train carrying the 21 American defectors crossed the Yalu River into China. The Chinese soon shipped some of the men off to study language and politics. Others went to mills, factories, and farms across Eastern China. He later started a Chinese restaurant business in Memphis. Clarence Adams died in 1999 and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis. Adams' autobiography An American Dream: The Life of an African American Soldier and POW Who Spent Twelve Years in Communist China was posthumously published in 2007 by his daughter Della Adams and Lewis H. Carlson. Adams, Howard Gayle (Sgt.). From Corsicana, Texas. He worked in a paper factory in Jinan. Belhomme, Albert Constant (Sgt.). A native of Belgium who emigrated to the United States as a teenager. He lived in China for ten years, working in a paper factory in Jinan, before returning to Antwerp. In China, Bell was sent to a collective farm with William Cowart and Lewis Griggs (see below). Bell described himself, Cowart and Griggs as "the dummy bunch", saying they were sent to the farm because they could not learn Chinese. They returned to the United States together in July 1955, were arrested, but were released when it was found that the military no longer had jurisdiction over the defectors after they were dishonorably discharged. Bell died in 2003. Douglas, Rufus (Sgt.). Died in China a few months after arrival in 1954. The manner of his death is not certain but is believed to have been from natural causes. Fortuna, Andrew (Sgt.). Originally from Greenup, Kentucky. He died in 1984. Hawkins, Samuel David (Pfc.). From Oklahoma City. He married a Russian woman in China and returned to the United States in February 1957, shortly before his wife was permitted to come to the United States. He successfully petitioned the government to change his discharge from dishonorable to other than honorable. He raised a family, and has given interviews to the press on the condition that his location not be disclosed. Sullivan, LaRance. Returned in 1958 and died in 2001. Webb, Harold (Sgt.). From Jacksonville, Florida. White, William (Cpl.). Married and obtained a bachelor's degree in international law while in China. He returned to the United States in 1965.

Andrew Condron, a Scotsman of 41 (Independent) Royal Marine Commando, was the only Briton to decline repatriation. Allegations of American biological warfare during the Korean War have been reported to have influenced Condron's decision to live in China; however, those who knew him have said he was motivated by admiration of Maoism and Marxist theory. Regarding his desertion Condron said "I made my gesture because I am against war. I have spent my years in China learning a lot." </blockquote>

Despite political and personal reasons for his defection, Condron's lifestyle in China challenged the core socialist values of the regime. The Foreign Office and British Embassy in Beijing reported Condron had been drinking "on a fairly hearty scale" and fraternising with Chinese girls, which was taboo at the time. In 1959 Condron was in a relationship with Jaquelin Hsiung Baudet, an illegitimate daughter of the French diplomat Philipe Baudet whom he met while working as an English teacher at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Condron returned to the United Kingdom in 1960 due to growing xenophobia in China, and received an honourable discharge from the Royal Marines. In 1962 Jaquelin moved to the UK to join her then husband. In 1963 Condron worked selling the Encyclopædia Britannica door to door, while Jaquelin worked at the BBC World Service. Condron and his wife had a son, Simon, who attended the University of Cambridge in the 1970s. Jaquelin divorced Condron due to alcoholism and later emigrated to the US. His son, Simon, worked at the BBC and Condron lived in his London flat until his death in March 1996 aged 68.

They Chose China (2005), a 52 minute documentary film, directed by Shui Bo Wang. Includes interviews with Samuel Hawkins and the families of Clarence Adams and James Veneris (both of whom were already deceased when the film was made), and archived interviews with Veneris and Adams. Crossing the Line (Korean: 푸른 눈의 평양시민, "A Blue Eyed Pyongyang Citizen in North Korea") is a 2006 documentary film by Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner.