Operation Little Switch (first phase of Operation Big Switch) in which released U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force POW (Prisoners Of War) are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Tachikawa, Tokyo as part of repatriation effort late in the Korean War. Medical staff carry a number of sick or injured US military personnel (former prisoners) on stretcher. The first one seen is A/2C Robert L. Weinbrandt of El Cajon, California, a B-29 "Super Fortress tail gunner captured after his plane was shot down the night of January 28-29, 1953. He is seen being transported with his luggage out of annex ward. Several views of the released, former POW including several taken on stretchers out of the ward, and others that walk out on foot, smiling. Soldiers grab packs of Lucky Strike cigarettes from a basket. A car parked in the background. Officers and nurses in the hospital. General Shambora shakes hands with a released U.S. Army soldier.
Operation Little Switch ((first phase of Operation Big Switch) in which released United States prisoners of war from the Korean War are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Tachikawa, Tokyo. The wife of Captain Dean of the Air Force, a returnee, chats with U.S. Air Force General Otto P. Weyland. A U.S. aircraft in the background at Tachikawa Airbase. Captain Dean walks down the ramp of an aircraft with his wife. He kisses his wife. General and other officers stand in the background. Both of them sit in a car. The released POW walking at the air base. Women take pictures.
Operation Little Switch, the first part of the Operation Big Switch repatriation effort late in the Korean War, in which released POW are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Japan, and then on to the United States. A medic instructs the returnees how to wear Mae West jackets (life jackets) for emergencies. The returnees wear life jackets. An aircraft parked in the background. The released POW boards the aircraft which will take them to Z.I. via Hawaii.
Operation Little Switch repatriation effort (first phase of Operation Big Switch), in which released prisoners of war (POW) from the Korean War are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Japan, and then to the U.S. Cars carrying released sick and injured prisoners in litters drive towards U.S. Air Force Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter parked at Haneda Army Airbase at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Ambulance car backs up towards the aircraft. The U.S. soldiers in stretchers are taken aboard C-97 aircraft by U.S. military medical staff. Men stand in the background and under a wing of the aircraft. An Army General stands by.
Operation Little Switch for repatriation of former prisoners of war late in the Korean War (followed by Operation Big Switch in August). Released United States soldiers who were POW (Prisoners Of War) are in transport from Panmunjom, Korea to Tokyo annex in Japan. Medics load sick or injured U.S. Army soldiers aboard ambulances at the Tokyo annex. An African American soldier, former prisoner of war, smiles. Ambulatory former prisoners walk out. Several views of smiling African American patients. Mrs. Maruine Doran Clark, wife of General Mark Clark, shakes hand with repatriated U.S. Army soldiers at the airbase.
Operation Little Switch repatriation operation late in Korean War (followed by Operation Big Switch in August), in which released United States former POW (Prisoners Of War) are taken from Panmunjom, Korea to Tokyo, Japan. The liberated soldiers get dressed in clean uniforms. Red Cross workers make tags for the returnees. A Red Cross nurse smiles. A Greek patient reading in bed. The patient smiles.
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