| Original caption: “Dismay and loneliness is written on the face of this young Japanese man, wearing a Nazi uniform, in a roundup of German prisoners on the beaches of France. The Japanese man is giving his name and number to an American Army captain.” This photo is often attributed to be a view of Korean conscript Yang Kyoungjong (March 3, 1920 – April 7, 1992) being interviewed by a United States Army Engineer (noet crescent on helmet). Purportedly born in Heijō (today Pyongyang, North Korea), during the Japanese occupation, Kyoungjong was impressed into the Imperial Japanese Army. During the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in May – September 1939, Kyoungjong was captured by the Soviet Union Red Army. Sent to a gulag, he was impressed into the Red Army and sent to Ukraine by February – March 1943, when he was captured by Army Group South during the 3rd Battle of Kharkov (today Kharkiv). Impressed into the Nazi German Heer (“Army”), Kyoungjong was sent to Normandy as part of the Ostlegionen (“Eastern Legions”) to build the Atlantic Wall. Kyoungjong was assigned to a unit assigned to defend the stretch of land designated Utah Beach by the Allies. On June 6, 1944, Kyoungjong was captured by American forces. Circumstances of his capture are unclear. 2nd Lieutenant Robert B. “Bob” Brewer (January 31, 1924 – December 5, 1996), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, claimed that his regiment captured 4 Asian men that defied efforts to communicate with them. However, in this view, this man is being interviewed by an Engineer of the 5th or 6th Brigade and the view appears to be on Utah Beach itself. The original caption on worldwar2database.com went viral in South Korea in 2005 and a furious debate erupted over whether this man was Korean or not. Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) came to my home and interviewed me. I had repeated claims made by Stephen Ambrose about Korean soldiers captured on Utah Beach. It seemed incredibly improbable that any Japanese were actually present at Normandy. Historians Stephen Zaloga and Anthony Beevor believe Yang Kyoungjong existed; Martin Morgan does not. Morgan believes he was a member of the 795th Georgian Battalion, a supporting unit of the German 709th Infantry Division on Utah Beach. If he existed, Kyoungjong chose not to return to Korea, and died in Illinois in 1992, where he was cremated. However, evidence of his life there is sparse. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0438.jpg |
| Image Size | 870.54 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2360 x 2886 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Coast Guard |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 6, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Utah Beach |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-26-G-2391 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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