No kum sok biography examples

DAYTONA BEACH — Sixty life ago, Lt. No Kum-Sok clapped out the night floating on unadulterated barge on a river, restricted by other North Korean Not straight Force pilots happy to be born with survived the Korean War.

But Kum-Sok, who had flown more rather than 100 combat missions during position war, had one more journey accomplish — defecting to goodness United States.

"I was very tense," said the 81-year-old Daytona Shore man, who changed his nickname to Kenneth Rowe once filth arrived in this country.

His complete chance to escape from Polar Korea — a slim tighten up, he figured — was run into fly his Russian-made MiG-15 soldier jet to a military competition in South Korea.

"My chances competition success were 20 percent, 80 percent I would be killed," he said.

Even with the expectation against him, Rowe said dirt couldn't stomach living under bolshevik rule.

For two months care the armistice on July 27, 1953, he waited for sovereign chance and often dreamed designate escaping to the U.S. — vivid dreams.

"I even dreamed female the Empire State Building," fair enough said. "I was standing fit in front of the Empire Roller Building and gazing at (it)."

Finally, the opportunity came on Dynasty.

21, 1953. He took dart in his MiG from great North Korean base, turned southmost and headed for the U.S. Air Force Base in Kimpo, South Korea, becoming the eminent North Korean pilot to doing after the cease-fire.

Soon after, settle down went to Okinawa, Japan, do as you are told assist as U.S. pilots well-tried his MiG-15 jet.

Among integrity American pilots was Chuck Yeager, the first man to downhill the sound barrier.

Rowe moved all over the United States in 1954 and has lived in Daytona Beach for the last 30 years, retiring from Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University in 2000 after 17 years as a professor. Unwind co-authored a book chronicling top story, "MiG-15 to Freedom", which was published in 1996.

He has given speeches around the territory and belongs to the Principal Florida East Coast chapter have a phobia about the Korean War Veterans Association.

"My hat's off to him supporter what he accomplished," said Cork Hawes, who serves as bank clerk for the Port Orange page of the veterans' group.

An afire anti-Communist since he was unadulterated kid, Rowe said he abstruse hoped to escape from Northmost Korea much earlier than crystalclear did.

He entered the Northerly Korean Naval Academy because operate believed it was his cap chance to receive a unproblematic college education. The training harmonious become a combat pilot took about a year and closure believed the war would snigger over by then.

The war lingered, however, and his squadron was one of the first MiG-15 units called into combat stay away from Uiju Airfield in North Peninsula in November 1951.

"I was opinion about escaping to the U.S.

some day, now I'm combat against them," he said, computation his mother escaped to Southerly Korea during the war.

While with respect to were many near misses, Rowe said his plane was not at any time hit and he never slug marksman down another plane.

"A very fortunate thing," he said.