Jerry Wayne Parrish (March 10, 1944August 25, 1998), also known by his Korean name Kim Yu-il, was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

who was one of six American soldiers to defect to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, four of them during the 1960s, in the years after the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Parrish was born in

Morganfield Morganfield is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,285 as of the year 2010 U.S. census. Name The city was named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morg ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and was shipped to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

as a

in the

U.S Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. American soldiers

Larry Allen Abshier Larry Allen Abshier (1943 – July 11, 1983) was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War. He was born in Urbana, Illinois. Defecting Private Abshier, a member of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Cavalry, ...

and Joe Dresnok had separately defected, during 1962, when they crossed the

Demilitarized Zone A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

(DMZ). Parrish crossed in 1963. Sergeant

Charles Robert Jenkins Charles Robert Jenkins () was a United States Army deserter, North Korean prisoner, and voice for Japanese abductees in North Korea. It was a fear of combat and possible service in the Vietnam War that led then-Sergeant Jenkins to abandon his ...

, who in 1965 became the fourth to cross the border, wrote in his autobiography that Parrish's reasons for defecting were "personal, and arrishdidn't elaborate about them much except to say that if he ever went home, his father-in-law would kill him."''The Reluctant Communist''.

(University of California Press) p. 34 Dresnok stated in his documentary that Parrish had received death threats from his stepfather who had accused him of having sexual relations with his stepsister. Along with the three other defectors, Parrish was eventually granted citizenship. He married a Lebanese woman, Siham Shraiteh, and together they had three sons (two of them named Michael and Ricky), all of whom remain in North Korea. Jenkins, in his autobiography, claims that Siham and three other Lebanese young women were lured to North Korea under false pretenses, then married to the Americans. However, one of the women had well-connected parents and got all four returned. Siham was already pregnant, so her family sent her back to North Korea. Siham appears in the film ''

Crossing the Line Crossing the Line may refer to: Films * ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate US title for the film ''The Big Man'', by David Leland * ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate UK title for the film ''Little Woods'', by Nia DaCosta * ''Crossing the Li ...

'', and vehemently denies the allegations that she was kidnapped or forced to go to North Korea, affirming that she is there by choice. Also according to the film, Parrish died after 20 years of kidney trouble. Siham and their children remain in North Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Jerry 1944 births 1998 deaths American defectors American expatriates in North Korea People from Morganfield, Kentucky Prisoners and detainees of North Korea Military personnel from Kentucky United States Army soldiers Korean people of American descent

See also

References