Starving Children

Transcript

Anchor: Often left orphaned by war to survive on their own devices, the suffering of the children is a sad and painful sight, stirring the morale of our aiding soldiers.

Antoine Côté: Whenever we'd make a stop at some little town you would see some of these children come out of nowhere.
(Photo of a kneeling soldier smiling at four Korean children)

Charles Trudeau: We'd toss over a sandwich and the kids would throw themselves on it and eat it.
(Photo of a group of Korean children behind a high wire fence. In front of the fence, a soldier is giving away something through the holes in the fence)

Paul-Émile Pomerleau: They came when we threw out our garbage. Children, three or four years old, eating our leftovers. It was hell. Pure hell.
(Photo of a group of Korean children in a semi circle)

William Chrysler: The civilian population, they're starving... Excuse me for a minute. You see little kids, little kids, their right there and they got their hands out. They're starving.
(Photo of a Korean child hiding his face in his arms, seated on a soldier in the middle of a field)

Luther Ferguson: They were in varying stages of starvation and freezing to death and dying.

Stuart Reitsma: They followed you everywhere because they knew they were going to get a pair of socks or something to put over their hands, anything to wear, something to eat.
(Photo of a soldier with Korean children at the foot of a hill)
(Photo of two young Koreans)

Antoine Côté: Children that were... probably had no parents, poorly dressed, hungry, begging for food and what not so we would throw our 'C' rations to them. Whatever we thought we could spare we threw that to them.
(Photo of a Korean child with a ragged piece of fabric over his shoulders, holding a metal can while looking at a soldier)
(Photo of a Korean woman pouring liquid in a bowl. Two children are seated behind a table, with two soldiers beside them)

William Chrysler: I got my rations I don't know how many times. Nearly everybody would go over and give it to the kids. You couldn't eat there and see those little wee kids there, big bellies, were just starving. Skinny little arms on them. They just had nothing.
(Photo of eight Korean children seated eating at a small wooden table)

Luther Ferguson: I remember throwing a candy bar to this one child and he was looking directly at me and you could see hope in that kid's eyes that maybe, you know, these guys can help me, and so I threw him a chocolate bar. He grabbed that chocolate bar, but before he could do anything with it, stronger members of his people around him, other youngsters, took the bar from him and this kid, he didn't struggle. He just laid down and he died. He had enough strength left in him to take that chocolate bar, but I could see that... I can still see him, I... Sorry.