Claude Batchelor
Claude Batchelor (born December 14, 1929) is a former United States Army soldier convicted by court martial of collaborating with China during the Korean War.
Claude J. Batchelor | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 14, 1929 Kermit, Texas, United States |
| Allegiance | United States (1948–50) China (1950–53) |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1948–1953 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Service number | RA-18254657 |
| Unit | 1st Cavalry Division Band 8th Cavalry Regiment |
Originally from Kermit, Texas, Batchelor enlisted in the Army at age 16 and was deployed to the Korean Peninsula at the outbreak of the Korean War. He was made a prisoner of war (POW) in late 1950 after his company was overrun by Chinese forces. While interned at the Pyok-Dong POW camp, he evangelized a communist worldview to fellow prisoners and penned a letter calling for the United States to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula. According to Batchelor, his actions were the result of brainwashing. Repatriated to the United States at the end of the war, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, though he ultimately served less than five.