A veteran from Walworth County relives his experience as a Korean war P-O-W for a national television audience.
Grant McMillin was one of twenty vets who were interviewed for an American Experience documentary titled “The Battle of Chosin.”
The film airs Tuesday evening on P-B-S.
McMillin’s Army unit was surrounded following a surprise attack in brutally cold conditions with little hope of seeing quick reinforcements. McMillin and his comrades held out for several days, then tried to make a run for it. But their convoy got bogged down, in part by friendly fire, and he and nine others that he’d been with were taken captive by the North Koreans and Chinese.
By the time the war ended some 32 months later, McMillin was among hundreds of captured American and British soldiers.
McMillin spoke with WGTD’s Greg Berg last week for a Morning Show that’ll air Tuesday.
For a while, he says, things were looking bleak. "I think all of us got to a point where we knew we weren't going to go home, he said. "The war was lasting and lasting." But his Chinese captors kept them up to date on how peace talks were progressing. "The instant the armistice was signed they old us, "You're going home. We'll have trucks here for you tomorrow."
Unlike some vets who’ve seen combat, McMillin has always talked freely of his experiences.
All three of his sons went on to serve in the military.
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