On August 18, the 50th anniversary of the Panmunjeom Axe Murder Incident, The Korea Times published my review of Jeffrey Miller’s newest novel, "The Tree at Panmunjom," which is an excellent novel that vividly recreates that time period. As I put it, “It is at once an in-depth portrait of service on the DMZ, an examination of one young man’s growth and a Cold War geopolitical thriller.”
Miller first became interested in the DMZ in the mid-1990s and wrote an excellent article for the Korea Times based on interviews with many witnesses to the event. He reflected on the 50th anniversary of the incident in this article.
As he wrote on his Facebook page,
I wanted the novel to be more than historical fiction. I wanted it to feel authentic. That meant spending months researching the military procedures, daily routines, and the atmosphere that surrounded the JSA during the Cold War. One of the greatest privileges I had while writing the book was interviewing Bill Ferguson, one of the American soldiers who had been there on that August morning in 1976. Bill generously shared his memories of the incident, the tension that filled the Joint Security Area, and what it was like to stand face-to-face with North Korean soldiers in a place where even the smallest misunderstanding could have deadly consequences. His recollections brought a human dimension to the history that no official report could ever capture, and they helped shape the authenticity of the novel. Although the characters were fictional, the events surrounding them were firmly rooted in history. My goal was never simply to recount a famous incident, but to honor the young men who served in one of the most volatile places in the world. They stood watch every day between two armies, carrying out their duties with quiet professionalism while never knowing whether an ordinary day might suddenly become extraordinary.
I also asked a few questions of him while writing my review. One was about his sources:
I read Wayne Kirkbride’s book [1984’s “Dmz: A Story of the Panmunjom Axe Murder”] years ago and that was one of the main sources; but most of what I learned about the JSA was from Bill Ferguson and back in 2001, Mark Lutrull (he passed away several years ago) [he was Captain Arthur Bonifas’s driver and guard who was absent that day]. Most of what I learned was what I used in my first article in 2001.
I also surmised from the vivid scenes of planes taking off that Miller brought more than a little of his Air Force experience to the descriptions.
You’re right. In 1978 I was stationed at George AFB in the Mojave Desert and we had F-4’s, F105’s and F111’s. I worked in Maintenance Control (I worked as a liason between supply and maintenance to expedite parts from supply to maintenance so the aircraft could be fixed to meet the daily sorties). Every morning I’d watch one aircraft after another take off. They would take off in twos and threes. To this day, when I hear fighters screaming overhead, I’m like Pavlov’s dog, my ears perking up at the sound. So, yes, the scenes you were referring to were easy to write.
As I said, I think it's an excellent novel, one that - much like his previous Korea-based novel, No Way Out - starts by focusing on one character before branching out into a much wider cast of characters and points of view, all the better to portray a particular moment in time.
