A United States Marine with a fixed bayonet stands over two kneeling Chinese prisoners who raise their hands on a low winter ridge near Hoengsong, Korea.

2 March 1951 · Black-and-white photographic print

Men of the 1st Marine Division capture Chinese Communists at Hoengsong

Pfc. C. T. Wehner, United States Marine Corps

Why it matters

The photograph marks how quickly the wartime category of Chinese friend gave way to the Cold War category of Communist enemy. Its official caption makes political identity the prisoners’ defining feature, while the composition turns capture and surrender into the first American view in this chapter.

Publication
United States Marine Corps photograph
Holding institution
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the United States Marine Corps
Shelfmark
127-N-A6759; NARA ID 532414; DVIC HD-SN-99-03152
Rights
Public domain; United States federal government photograph

Wehner, C. T. Men of the 1st Marine Division Capture Chinese Communists during Fighting on the Central Korean Front, Hoengsong, 2 March 1951. United States Marine Corps photograph. National Archives, 127-N-A6759.