What happened during the Tejon Massacre?

The Tejon Massacre, recounted on the Jocko Podcast, involved a grim episode during the Korean War where American prisoners and many Korean civilians were brutally executed by North Korean troops. On September 20, 1950, around 60 American prisoners were taken to the prison yard, tied up, and shot at point-blank range in groups of 14. This was followed by a larger mass killing between September 23 and September 27, 1950, which claimed the lives of an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people, including soldiers of the Republic of Korea.

A harrowing survivor's account from Sergeant Kerry H. Winnell, the sole survivor, provides chilling details. After being shot, he feigned death while being buried alive, leveraging the slim hope of survival to eventually escape. Sergeant Winnell later testified about these horrifying experiences at a congressional hearing 1.