When an American POW chose to remain in China, refusing repatriation in 1953
African-American soldier William White was taken prisoner during the Korean war and stayed in China for 11 years, studying law in Beijing and marrying a local. He eventually moved to the US with his family via Hong Kong in 1965
“Ex-U.S. Soldier Crosses Over: Quits China For Home With Wife, Children,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on August 18, 1965, referring to 34-year-old William White, who had been taken prisoner during the Korean war but refused repatriation to the United States when fighting ended, in 1953.
“[An African-American] former soldier arrived [in Hong Kong] yesterday en route to the United States after 11 years [in China],” the story continued. “Explaining his decision, [White] said, ‘I was homesick. I wanted to go home to join my family and see my mother.’”
Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, White had been captured by Chinese forces in December 1950. He spent three years in prisoner-of-war camps, during which he broadcast for a communist Korean radio station.
Speaking to the Post in 1957, about his choice to remain in China, White said, “I got to thinking about racial conditions in the States and I could not see much reason for going back.”
