Nov. 4, 1950 was the worst day of his life, says Korean War hero William Funchess.

It was the day when Funchess would begin to discover his inner strength to survive three years of circumstances that were beyond horrific, circumstances that many next to him did not survive. It was the day he was captured and become a prisoner of war by the Chinese and North Korea governments.

Funchess' story is the story of the American veteran: a willingness to put God and county above all else, even themselves.Funchess was the keynote speaker at the Veterans Day ceremony held at Centennial Park on Friday.

"I think so much of Orangeburg County and its people," the Rowesville native told the crowd. The thunderous applause he received after telling his epic story of heroism revealed that the people of Orangeburg County feel the same way about him.

That faithful November day found Funchess as a platoon leader in the Korean War. His headquarters had assured him that no members of the Chinese army were present in North Korea. That was an assurance that proved to be very false only a mere two hours later.

Funchess' platoon came under attack from a barrage of machine gun fire. One of the bullets from those machine guns managed to make its way through one of Funchess' feet. As he was on the ground, one-third of his platoon was either captured or killed. Funchess was one of the fortunate ones to live, but he was captured, unknowingly embarking down a treacherous road that would easily break down most mortals.

His foot swelling from the wound, Funchess was stripped of his jacket and the Chinese mocked him by stomping all over it.

"The only thing that they didn't take was a pocket Bible I had hidden," he said.

From there, Funchess and his fellow soldiers began an arduous trek to POW Camp No. Five. On the walk to the camp one afternoon, U.S. aircraft bombed the Chinese army walking Funchess and other POWs to the camp. This event caused the group to only walk at night.

Funchess received absolutely no medical attention during the ordeal.

Funchess repeatedly asked for any kind of bandage to stop the incessant bleeding when he finally got a Chinese doctor to respond. The doctor shouted at him in Chinese, which Funchess did not understand, pointing at a bloody bandage on the ground.

With no other recourse, Funchess picked up the already used bandage and applied it to his injured foot.

As the walk become too strenuous for Funchess to endure and snow fell, his fellow countrymen carried him on their backs for days. He used a stick as a crutch to continue the march to the even more horrendous conditions, because he knew if he showed signs of slowing the group down he would soon be a dead man.

"I stumbled hundreds of times on those frozen roads, but I kept going," he said.

Finally reaching POW Camp No. Five, the Chinese forced the POWs into a valley for months. Funchess recalled sleeping in mud shacks. His shack was about nine square feet and Funchess' captors placed twelve men to a shack.

Sleep was impossible, with temperatures outside reaching as low as twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Without jackets or blankets, the soldiers were forced to use body heat from each other to stay alive.

The valiant Funchess went a solid four months without a drop of water, eating snow to fulfill his hydration needs. Each of the soldiers in the filthy atmosphere was infested with hundreds of lice that had to be popped with their fingernails.

"Some of them become despondent and quit popping them. They eventually died," he said about some of his fellow soldiers.

Funchess also become infected with scabies, hepatitis and night blindness. In addition he lost four teeth.

"It was a bad place to have a toothache," he said.

The unimaginably adverse situation eventually led to Funchess' weight dwindling to 105 pounds.

During the winter months during his second and third years in captivity, the POWs in Funchess' camp received a padded uniform for warmth. The small amount of warmth would not provide much solace.

"We stayed hungry and cold most of the time," he said.

While Funchess managed to live, he had to stack his fallen compatriots on top of each other without a proper burial. He recalled that sometimes the bodies would stack up to twenty feet high.

Rules were strict at POW Camp No. Five. They were not allowed to sing or to read the Bible. Dog tags were taken away in hopes of preventing U.S. forces from identifying the dead.

The Chinese and North Koreans also attempted to brainwash the soldiers into accepting communism.

"We resisted the best we could," he said.

One time Funchess destroyed a room filled with communist propaganda at the camp. His punishment was to spend 13 days in a hole in the ground, as well as solitary confinement with his own personal guard.

Then came Sept. 5, 1953, the final day of the Korean War, when agreements were made between the North Korean and United States governments to exchange POWs.

Funchess and his fellow soldiers were moved on box cars. Day after day went by and Funchess' name was never called to go back home. As he watched his comrades turned back over, Funchess wondered if he would see his wife, Sybil, or America ever again.

Finally, after the last American soldiers were released, Funchess stood alone. An English-speaking Chinese officer yelled at him, "That's right, it's over. You are not a POW; you are a war criminal."

After a sleepless night, Funchess was thrown into the back of a military truck. The truck rode into the wilderness for about an hour, and an officer approached him and told him to get out and walk down a path. The officer warned that if Funchess stepped off the mine-lined path he would be killed.

As the truck faded away into the distance, Funchess wondered he was free or still a POW. He did as the officer instructed, walking down the path to an unknown destination until he saw a U.S. ambulance.

An American soldier approached and asked him if he was William Funchess. He said yes.

"You're lucky to be here. We'll take you to freedom," the soldier told Funchess.

That freedom brought him back to Orangeburg yesterday to tell fellow veterans, Junior ROTC cadets, public officials and students his remarkable story of the human spirit and will to overcome the most gloomy of circumstances.

Funchess acknowledged other Orangeburg veterans who served in the Korean War: Albert Dixon, who was in attendance and also endured Camp Number Five; the late Tommy Grant; Roy Grambling and Sgt. Aiken Summers.

Funchess was born in Rowes-ville and went to Orangeburg High School. He attended Clemson College and graduated in 1948. After returning home from duty, he taught at Bowman High School and also spent 30 years working at the Clemson Extension Service. He has three children and lives in Clemson.

Orangeburg County Council members Clyde Livingston and Janie Cooper recognized Funchess and his wife by presenting them with Orangeburg County shirts.

"Our heroes paid a great price for our freedom," Livingston said.

During Friday's ceremony, Elaine Johnson was acknowledged as a Gold Star mother. Her son, Darius Jennings, died while serving in Iraq.

Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller said he is diligently working to build a veterans memorial in Orangeburg.

"It's a great day to recognize past and current veterans," Miller said.

Participants of Friday's event included Edisto High Air Force Jr. ROTC; Lake Marion High School Army Jr. ROTC; Mellichamp, Sheridan and Rivelon choruses; North High School Air Force Jr. ROTC; Orangeburg Veteran's Council; Orangeburg County Veterans Affairs Council; American Legion Post No. 4 Ladies Auxiliary; Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 33; Greater Orangeburg Leather-necks Marine Corps. League Detachment 1259; Purple Heart Veterans Chapter 932; and Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts 2779, 8166 and 10980 Ladies Auxiliary.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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