Korean War Blood Chits,Korean War Blood Chits

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Jan 7, 2005

Much needs to be said and remembered about the air war over the cold, mountainous Korean Peninsula during the period of 1950 through 1953. Fighters with oddly poetic names like Saberjet, Starfire, Panther, and Shooting Star shared the skies with older rotary engine fighters, bombers, and transports left over from the 2nd World War. They fought both the latest Soviet-built MiGs, as well as more venerable aircraft in a battle that oftentimes teetered on the edge of disaster. The B-29 Superfortress were shot down at an alarming rate, for instance. Other aircraft, such as the F4-U Corsair, and the B-26 Invader, did well in their given roles. Overall, however, the deeds performed so long ago and half a world away has been sadly ignored by both historians and the general public.

It was not just the older piston engine aircraft that were recruited from WWII. The blood chit, first issued to pilots and crewmen in the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters, made a comeback for this strange, shadowy new war. Sew onto the back of an airman’s jacket, or stuffed into a pocket or survival kit, the blood chit was a guarantee of a monetary reward for assisting a downed air crewman to safety.

The blood chit shown here was issued from about 1951 through 1958, although other designs were used in Korea. The languages on this one are Persian, Turkish, Italian, Finish, Serbo-Croatian, German, French, Swedish, Arabic, Greek, Polish, English, and Russian.

The text reads, “I am a citizen of the United States of America. I do not speak your language. Misfortune forces me to seek your assistance in obtaining food, shelter, and protection. Please take me to someone who will provide for my safety and see that I am returned to my people. My government will reward you.”

According to the excellent web site usmcpress.com, the largest monetary reward paid by the US government for rescuing our personnel happened during the Korean War, although many years after the tragic set of events happened. A B-29 Superfortress was shot down on 12 July 1950 over North Korea, just weeks into the conflict:

"Yu Ho Chun found the blood chit in the pocket of one flier. He gave the American [crew] medical aid. Then, at great personal risk, he put them on a junk and sailed them 100 miles down the coast to safety. Two weeks later the North Korean Army found Chun, tortured him, and then killed him. But, 43 years later in 1993 the United States paid $100,000.00 to his son, Yu Song Dan."

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