Yang Kyoungjon was a Korean whose known as the only man to have fought in 3 separate armies during WW2.
He was initially conscripted into the Japanese Army in 1938 and forced to serve in the Kwantung Army at just 18 years old. During the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, he was captured by the Soviet Red Army and sent to a labour camp.
Because of the manpower shortages faced by the Soviets in its fight against Nazi Germany, in 1942 he was pressed into fighting in the Red Army along with thousands of other prisoners.
Yang’s service with the Soviets lasted about a year, during which time he took place in numerous engagements along the Eastern Front, most notably the Third Battle of Kharkov. It was in this battle that he found himself once again a prisoner of war for yet another nation.
After being captured by the Germans, Yang was conscripted to fight in a German Ostbataillone (literally: East Battalion) in the 709 Infanterie-Division of the Wehrmacht.
He was sent to help defend the Cotentin peninsula in France shortly before D-Day. When D-Day arrived and Allied troops successfully stormed the beaches, Yang was among a handful of soldiers captured by the United States.
Yang was sent to yet another POW camp, this time in Britain, where he remained until the end of the war.
When WW2 ended, Yang chose not to return home, but instead immigrated to the United States and eventually ended up settling in Cook County, Illinois where he quietly passed away in 1992.
The photo above has been speculated for years on whether the man was him or someone else. The fact remains that the man went through some tough times. This story was also the basis of the 2011 Korean movie "My Way", which I would highly suggest watching #ww2 #fighter #stayzero