2LT James B. Haynes

PSYOP HISTORY

1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet (1st RB&L) Group Products for Korea

The J. B. Haynes Leaflet Collection

By Charles H. Briscoe, PhD
and Jared M. Tracy, PhD

From Veritas, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2011

NOTE

The leaflets depicted in this article are the products of the 1st Radio Broadcast and Leaflet Group. For each leaflet, a “cut sheet” was produced that described the title, target audience, and thematic message. The 4-digit numbers that appear on the leaflets are the cataloging numbers from the original cut sheets.

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2LT James B. Haynes
2LT James B. Haynes

2LT James B. Haynes was born on 22 April 1928 in Enid, Oklahoma, the middle son of an oil businessman and his wife. A private education at Culver Military Academy was deemed best because the public schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, were lacking and Culver graduates had a high acceptance rate by Ivy League colleges. As a Princeton University history major Haynes attended ROTC Camp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the summer of 1949. Upon graduating in June 1950, he became Field Artillery Second Lieutenant (2LT) Haynes, U.S. Army Reserves. A fellow Culver and Princeton friend suggested volunteering for active service with one of the Psywar units then forming. Six weeks after writing to the Department of Army, 2LT Haynes got a telegram telling him to report in April 1951. After waiving a physical impairment, 2LT Haynes got orders to the 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group at Fort Riley, Kansas.1

Being a Princeton man helped with Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Homer E. Shields, Commanding Officer of the 1st RB&L, who assigned him to the group Intelligence & Education (I&E) Office. His first task was to find copies of Izvestia, the Soviet state newspaper. Sergeant (SGT) Sarkov, a Russian Army defector who joined the U.S. Army via the Lodge Act, took him to the Aggressor Force headquarters at Fort Riley. SGT Sarkov, hungry for news from home, read it there daily. Success earned Haynes another challenge. “Get our enlisted college graduates and technicians qualified with the M-1 Carbine. They have to be Marksmen in order to go overseas. And, I want them to go to the field as well,” said LTC Shields. Culver Rifle Team experience, help from other officers, an “M-1 pencil,” and luck enabled him to succeed without casualties.2

Overseas in Tokyo, 2LT Haynes joined First Lieutenant (1LT) Robert D. B. Carlisle and Captain (CPT) Edward C. Janicek in the Group S-3 (Operations) Section, responsible for leaflet operations. Working with the S-2 (Intelligence) Section, target lists were developed. 2LT Haynes as the ad hoc 1st RB&L Liaison Officer to Far East Air Force in Tokyo enabled him to “show the Army flag” on B-29 Superfortress leaflet drop missions from Japan as well as C-47 drops in Korea.

Leaflets Addressing War Situation

Title: Mass Casualties (Jun 51)

Title: Mass Casualties (Jun 51).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message on Front: (over picture) A Mountain of North Korean Dead, (main text) To Your Communist Leaders Your Lives Have No More Value Than Sandbags.

Message on Reverse: Total Communist Troop Casualties to date = 1,060,526. Don’t let your name become a number on this casualty list tomorrow. The reverse side of the leaflet contains Communist Killed-in-Action (KIA) figures for one week in May 1951. During that seven-day period Communist soldiers were killed at an average of 10,172 per day for a cumulative total of 1,060,526 dead since the war’s beginning in June 1950.

Title: UN Day (Oct 51)

Title: UN Day (Oct 51).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message on Reverse: Over the world, United Nations day is being celebrated with great rejoicing, for its noble principles were born out of the hearts and minds of freedom loving men.

October 1951 marked the six-year anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, an international body designed to maintain peace. This leaflet shows that the international system of support for South Korea extends beyond a sole U.S. effort. However, aside from the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) itself, the U.S. did in fact provide more soldiers to the UN effort than all of the other nations combined.

Title: Battle Line Casualties “Needless Death” (Dec 51)

Title: Battle Line Casualties “Needless Death” (Dec 51).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message: Over the last four months of delay (while the Communist officials recklessly stalled), 72,275 Korean soldiers were needlessly killed or wounded. This is equal to more than 250 of your full strength infantry companies.

The reverse of this leaflet explains that in a meeting between UN and Communist forces in July 1951, the UN delegation proposed a cease-fire line. The Communist delegation refused to commit, arguing that it needed approval from Moscow (which it did not receive until November 1951 with tens of thousands more NKPA soldiers being killed in the meantime). This leaflet was intended to shake NKPA soldiers’ confidence in their leadership, make them realize that their fate is being determined by Moscow, and to make them believe in the futility of continuing the conflict.

The “Cut Sheet”

Cut sheets provided psychological warfare illustrators with the necessary information to produce an individual leaflet. At the top is the originating authority for the message. This cut sheet originated at the Psychological Warfare Branch, Military Intelligence Section (G-2), General Headquarters, Far East Command (FECOM). Often cut sheets were dated, but surprisingly many were not, as was the case with this one. The top half of the sheet contained the leaflet’s name, language, serial number designation, the target audience, background remarks, and description of artwork.

Sample of a 'Cut Sheet'
This cut sheet was called “Mass Casualties” and was aimed at North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) soldiers.

This cut sheet was called “Mass Casualties” (serial number 1078), was in Korean, was aimed at North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) soldiers, and would show a heap of them dead at the hands of UN forces. Below this section of background information was in-depth description of text to be placed on the leaflet. It was imperative that this information was researched, accurate, based on real circumstances, and credible. The more detailed the information (such as exact casualty numbers, unit designations and locations, and precise descriptions of planned operations), the more likely it would have the desired impact. It was equally imperative that the text was translated into the designated language exactly.

In a style reminiscent of American commercial advertising, many Psywar leaflets contained an impactful image on the front along with a powerful catchphrase, as well as more detailed information (including instructions) on the reverse. This particular cut sheet depicts a pile of dead NKPA soldiers, and says on the front: “A mountain of North Korean dead! To your communist leaders your lives have no more value than sandbags!” On the reverse it goes into greater detail about specific casualty numbers between 22 and 28 May 1951. Then, finally, it gives specific instructions: “Join the many thousands of your wise comrades who have come over to the safety of the UN lines!” The cut sheet was meant to take all guesswork out of illustrating an individual leaflet.

Leaflets Addressing Aggression

Title: Suicidal Attack (1951)

Title: Suicidal Attack (1951).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message on Front: Now! The Choice is Yours! Life or Death?

Message on Reverse: North Korean Officers and Men. You have been committed to a suicidal attack by your Communist leaders. You have the opportunity to come over to the UN side. The choice is yours, Life or Death?

The Psychological Warfare Branch, Military Intelligence Section, Far East Command, developed this leaflet based on intelligence of an imminent Communist offensive. It aimed to strike fear in enemy soldiers who, realizing that UN forces are prepared for their attack, now knew that they had little chance of survival. (The lead tank shows the Korean spelling of “UN” to clarify the situation). The leaflet offered NKPA soldiers their one last shot at “life.”

Title: Communist Aggression (Apr 52)

Title: Communist Aggression (Apr 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message on Front: Communist Aggression Writes the Korean Tragedy.

Message on Reverse: Communism – Divide by Hate, Conquer by Force. Oppose Communism, Resist Russia!

This leaflet shows the inherently violent and destructive nature of Communism. The leaflet exposes the deceptive nature of Communism as it juxtaposes a hammer and sickle in the background (a symbol of unity between industrial and agricultural workers) with a trail of death in the aftermath of Communist aggression. The soldier depicted is identified as Chinese Communist.

Title: Chinese Invasion of Korea (Sep 52)

Title: Chinese Invasion of Korea (Sep 52).

Target: NKPA Soldiers

Message on Reverse: The China Army is enslaving Korea with a good name of Korean aid. Red China is driving you to death with so-called “The Aid.”

The front of this leaflet shows Mao Tse-Tung, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, invading Korea with Chinese troops while calling it “aid.” It is intended to undermine Communist alliances by playing on Koreans’ historic fears of foreign imperialism.

Title: Communism Exploits the Farmer (Nov 52)

Title: Communism Exploits the Farmer (Nov 52).

Target: Farmers of Hwang Hae-Do.

Message: Farmers, Don’t work for the Communists. Hide your grain!

Hwanghae was the southwestern province in North Korea, an area controlled briefly by UN forces prior to the intervention and southward sweep of Chinese Communist Forces beginning in late-1950. The leaflet played on the exploitation of farmers by Communists and North Korean tax collectors.

Leaflets Addressing Anti-morale

Title: Communism Drives the Weary (Nov 52)

Title: Communism Drives the Weary (Nov 52).

Target: Farmers of Hwang Hae-Do.

Message on Front: When you work on labor details you help the Communists prolong the war.

On the reverse it advises farmers: Be crafty – pretend sickness – avoid political meetings.

This leaflet encouraged farmers in southwestern North Korea to avoid excessive labor, which would hinder the Communists’ ability to continue the war.

Title: No Care (Jul 53)

Title: No Care (Jul 53).

Target: NK Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Your children are being taken away to Soviet Russia, Red China and many other foreign lands. Korean families are being broken up and Korean culture is being destroyed.

This leaflet depicts a common psychological warfare theme of enemy soldiers missing their homes and families. It also warned NKPA soldiers and civilians that their culture was being destroyed by Communist leaders in China and the Soviet Union.

Title: Death for Communism (Jan 53)

Title: Death for Communism (Jan 53).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message: Comrades! I died needlessly for the Communist boss, Kim Il Sung, Will that be your fate too?

Aimed at North Korean soldiers, this leaflet underscores the needless deaths of so many on behalf of Kim Il Sung and the futility of continued aggression against UN forces.

Title: You are Being Deceived (Oct 52)

Title: You are Being Deceived (Oct 52).

Target: North Korean Civilians.

Message on Front: You are being deceived.

On the reverse it explains: Why must your leaders bow to Russian masters? North Koreans, you are being deceived. Resist Communist Slavery!

This leaflet depicts Kim Il-Sung, President of North Korea, kneeling before a Buddha-like idol of Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The two sacrifices before the statue are “People” and “North Korea.” The leaflet called on North Korean civilians to decry their leaders’ subservience to the Soviet Union and to blame them for their hardships.

Leaflets Addressing False Promises

Title: Corruption in North Korea (Apr 52)

Title: Corruption in North Korea (Apr 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Communist officials feast while the people live in poverty.

This leaflet shows the “credibility gap” between Communist promises and reality—leaders enjoy lavish lifestyles while common people starve and live in poverty.

Title: Russo-Chinese Plans for Korea (Dec 52)

Title: Russo-Chinese Plans for Korea (Dec 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: The dumb ox Kim Il Sung plows up your land for Master Stalin while good servant Mao Tse Tung plies the whip.

This leaflet derides the “dumb ox,” Kim Il Sung, who voluntarily and unquestioningly takes orders from Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung. It suggests that Soviet and Chinese Communist leaders only confide in one another while orchestrating the continued fighting (and death) of Koreans. Here the hammer and sickle, a Communist symbol of unity, is presented as a painful, oppressive burden.

Title: Communists; Masters of Deceit (Apr 52)

Title: Communists; Masters of Deceit (Apr 52).

Target: North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) soldiers.

Message: The Communists have ruined your families and sold your country to Soviet Russia.

North Korean soldiers march into the mouth of the serpent (Joseph Stalin) which has slithered from the Kremlin (background). The Korean word for “snake” (sa) is similar to the word for “death” and also the number four, considered in Korean culture to be bad luck (like the number thirteen in American superstition). This leaflet thus combines negative political and cultural implications.

Title: New Year’s Debt Settlement (Dec 51)

Title: New Year’s Debt Settlement (Dec 51).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Based on the Korean custom of collecting debts before New Year’s Day, the Korean dead petition for the return of their lives.

This leaflet is based on the idea that Koreans regard trust as crucial to all professional and personal relationships. Repayment of debts is essential to building that trust. The Communists’ inability to pay thousands of Koreans back for the lives lost represents a breakdown in the sacred bond of trust.

Leaflets Addressing Korean Unity

Title: Homesickness (Jul 53)

Title: Homesickness (Jul 53).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: If you were not forced to fight an aggressive war for your Communist Masters, you could be enjoying such a peaceful scene in a free and united Korea.

This leaflet simply appeals to nostalgic memories of home, describes the Communists’ imposition of war upon a peace-loving people, and alludes to the hopeful prospect of a free, unified Korea.

Title: Restoration of Peace in Korea (Jan 52)

Title: Restoration of Peace in Korea (Jan 52).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message: Will the Dragon Year Bring Peace?

This leaflet contrasts the peaceful, democratic motives of the United Nations with the “cruel dictates of Communism.” It portrays Communism as the only impediment to a peaceful, united Korea.

Title: Victory over Communism, (Jan 52)

Title: Victory over Communism, (Jan 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Unite to drive out the Communist aggressors.

The image is a historical reference to the Koreans’ successful resistance of a series of Japanese invasions in the sixteenth century, known among other names as the Imjin War. The repulsion of Japanese forces remains a continuing source of pride. The leaflet describes Communism as a form of modern-day imperialism and as something that Koreans should repel as they did the Japanese invaders in the 1590s.

Title: One Blood – One People – One Nation (1951)
Title: One Blood – One People – One Nation (1951)

(FRONT & BACK)

Title: One Blood – One People – One Nation (1951).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Tangun, Father of All Korea, One Father - One Blood – One Undivided Nation.

According to Korean folklore, Tangun is the historic and spiritual founder of Korea. Legend places him in the twenty-fourth century B.C. A powerfully unifying figure in Korean culture, he is depicted here to promote national pride and to encourage resistance to foreign influence (Communism).

Leaflets Addressing Surrender

Title: Methods of Surrender (1951)

Title: Methods of Surrender (1951).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message on Reverse: Follow the picture instructions on the reverse side to insure safe arrival behind UN lines. Food, medical care and good treatment await you.

On the front of the leaflet, the first frame (top right) depicts a NK soldier reading a safe conduct pass. The second frame (bottom right) instructs: “Destroy or Bury Your Weapons. Come Over the Open Roads Only.” The third frame (top left) instructs: “Hold Your Hands High Over Your Head. Bring Your Wounded Brothers With You.” And the final frame (bottom left) tells enemy soldiers about the good treatment they will receive in captivity.

Title: Cold? (Feb 53)

Title: Cold? (Feb 53).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message on Front: Do You Want to Die?

Message on Reverse: To save your life, escape to the UN or to the rear now! Tomorrow may be too late.

This surrender leaflet emphasizes the harsh winter climate to entice North Korean soldiers to desert. Winter weather is especially brutal in the mountainous areas, with wind chills reaching far below Zero degree Fahrenheit.

Title: Safe Conduct Pass (1951)

Title: Safe Conduct Pass (Dec 51).

Target: NKPA and Chinese Soldiers.

Message: Safe conduct pass in Korean, Chinese and English.

Designed to resemble Korean currency. Disguised as a one-hundred won note, this safe conduct pass lists (on the reverse side) instructions for surrender and guarantees humane treatment.

Title: Safe Conduct Pass (1951)

Title: Safe Conduct Pass (1951)

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message: Safe Conduct Pass. Officers and men of North Korea. Save your lives before it is too late.

This leaflet informs potential Prisoners of War of the humane treatment they will receive, guaranteed by the Geneva Convention of 1949. It promised that North Korean soldiers that surrender to UN forces would receive food, medical care, and a safe return home after the war.

Leaflets Addressing Science & Superstition

Title: Science and Superstition (1951)
Title: Science and Superstition (1951)

(FRONT & BACK)

Title: Science and Superstition (1951).

Target: NKPA and Chinese Soldiers.

Message: The United Nations Preventive Medicine Program means Death to Disease—and Life for You! This leaflet shows that the UN’s preventive medicine protects against the demonic afflictions of sickness, disease, and death. Disease prevention was a significant priority for Civil Affairs units. They administered over forty-seven million vaccinations for Smallpox, Typhoid, and Typhus thru 1951. (See Troy J. Sacquety, Same Organization, Four Different Names: U.S. Army Civil Affairs in Korea, 1950-1953).

Title: Reported Disease in Korea (Apr 52)

Title: Reported Disease in Korea (Apr 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message: Communist responsibility and apathy are reported to have caused widespread disease in Korea today. This leaflet counters Communist propaganda that the UN spreads disease.

Title: Surrender Appeal to ex-ROK troops now in Communist ranks.

Title: Surrender Appeal to ex-ROK troops now in Communist ranks.

Target: Former Republic of Korea (ROK) Soldiers with the NKPA.

Message: Tangun, the legendary Father of Korea stands before the ROK flag welcoming ex-ROK soldiers back to the Republic of Korea.

This leaflet is a surrender pass for ex-ROK soldiers who joined the Communists’ ranks. It contains an excerpt from a letter written by an ex-ROK soldier to his former brothers-in-arms: “In this civil war, which was started by the intrigues of the Communist Party, even those fellow countrymen who support the South Korean government have been forced to fire at you against their will. The thought of this unhappy situation makes us feel like committing suicide, but we have not done so yet because of our strong desire to live to see the happy day when our country will be unified on the foundation of the Republic of Korea … There are two of us to surrender. We have no weapons and we will come with our hands up.” Tangun, the “legendary Father of Korea” and a powerfully unifying figure, is used to symbolize the brotherhood of all Koreans. The message reads “One Father, One Blood, One People.”

Leaflets Addressing Treatment

Title: Genocide (Jan 52)

Title: Genocide (Jan 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message on Reverse: These Communists who call themselves liberators bring only destruction and ruin wherever they wage their wars.

This leaflet describes the Communists’ assaults on Korea’s “rich culture, fine literature, educational programs and other native riches,” as well as their harsh treatment of “anti-revolutionaries.” It contrasts conditions under the Communists with treatment under the UN and in the Republic of Korea.

Title: Food Theme (Oct 51)

Title: Food Theme (Oct 51).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message on Front: Why be hungry?

Message on Reverse: Why be hungry this fall when the UN offers you an abundance of good food?

As a leaflet theme, subsistence was a simple but effective lure for hungry enemy soldiers.

Title: Enforced Contributions (Feb 52)

Title: Enforced Contributions (Feb 52).

Target: North Korean Soldiers and Civilians.

Message on Reverse: Your crops, your money, your very life, are constantly demanded under Communist tyranny! Resist the Communists and Free Korea!

This leaflet symbolizes the “shaking down” of the people by the Communists. Farmers, for one, would never receive fair treatment under Communist rule.

Title: Good Treatment for North Korean Communist Party Members (1951)
VERSION 1
Title: Good Treatment for North Korean Communist Party Members (1951)
VERSION 2
Title: Good Treatment for North Korean Communist Party Members (1951).

Target: NKPA Soldiers.

Message: A good father does not discriminate between his sons. A troubled and defeated son is always welcome in the house of his father.

This leaflet draws a parallel between the love of a father and the compassion of the UN. It reads, “The United Nations forces do not discriminate between North Korean soldiers who come over to the UN lines … Communist Party leaders and non-Party members alike receive the good treatment guaranteed by United Nations forces.”

ENDNOTES

  1. James B. Haynes, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 20 September 2010, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name an date. SGT Sarkov died shortly afterwards, allegedly from a fall down the barracks steps. There were no witnesses, but Army Counter-Intelligence Corps agents investigating the “accidental death” of the Lodge Act soldier suspected foul play. Haynes interview, 29 September 2010. [return]
  2. Haynes interview, 20 September 2010. The other Princeton graduates in the 1st RB&L Group were 1LTs William H. Booth III, William F. Brown, WilliamT. Barry, Robert D. B. Carlisle, Robert A Horn, and John H. Fritz. Haynes interview, 29 September 2010. [return]