Camp Bonifas is a United Nations Command military post situated 400 meters (1,300 feet) south of the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) south of the Military Demarcation Line, which marks the border between South Korea (the Republic of Korea) and North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea). It was returned to the Republic of Korea in 2006.
The camp hosts the United Nations Command Security Battalion-Joint Security Area (JSA), which has the primary mission of monitoring and enforcing the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 between North and South Korea. Soldiers from the Republic of Korea and United States Forces Korea, known as 'security escorts,' conduct the United Nations Command DMZ Orientation Program tours of the JSA and surrounding areas. Additionally, the camp features a gift shop that sells DMZ- and JSA-related souvenirs.
Originally named Camp Kitty Hawk, the camp was renamed on August 18, 1986, in honor of U.S. Army Captain Arthur G. Bonifas (posthumously promoted to major) and First Lieutenant Mark T. Barrett (posthumously promoted to captain), who were killed by North Korean soldiers in the 'Korean axe murder incident.'
Access to the Neutral Nations Monitors from Sweden and Switzerland, based at Camp Swiss-Swede, was through Camp Bonifas.
The camp also features a unique par-3, one-hole golf course with an AstroTurf green, surrounded on three sides by minefields. Sports Illustrated has called it 'the most dangerous hole in golf,' and there are reports of at least one shot detonating a land mine.
In 1998, Kevin Sullivan of The Washington Post described Camp Bonifas as a 'small collection of buildings surrounded by triple coils of razor wire just 440 yards south of the DMZ,' which, if not for the minefields and soldiers, would 'look like a big Boy Scout camp.'.

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Inserted: 02-08-2024 22:08:03