DEATH OF GENERAL DEAN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 262, 23 August 1950, Page 5

DEATH OF GENERAL DEAN

Shot and Then Stabbed (Rec. 10.25 a.m.) TOKIO. Aug. 22. The United Press says that reliable reports indicated , to-day that Major-General William Dean was killed by North Koreans after he was wounded and captured at Taejon. General Dean, former commander of the United States 24th Division, has been listed as missing in action since July 21. He was last seen directing a rearguard action before Taejon was abandoned, and personally firing a bazooka. A former interpreter in the United States Army who was captured by North Koreans and recaptured by the Americans, said he was summoned to identify General Dean’s body. North Koreans were mystified by General Dean’s two-star insignia, as they doubt-i ed that ah officer of that rank would be in action at such a perilous location. The former interpreter said the North Koreans took photographs of the body as he viewed it. He said _he_ was positive of identification. He insisted that General Dean’s killer had been captured by the Americans, and now was a prisoner. Reports by survivors Of the Taejon fighting and questioning of North Kor ean prisoners have been pieced together. in what army intelligence offi cers believe to be a true account of General Dean’s fate. -The latest information is that he was shot through the side by a North Korean, who then fatally stabbed the helpless general.