Secretary of State William S. Cohen announced Monday that he has asked Ernest R. May, Warren professor of American history, to join a group that will investigate American conduct in the tiny village of Nokuen-Ri during the Korean War.

The group, composed of seven experts from outside the Department of Defense, will investigate allegations by South Korean villagers and American veterans that U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of innocent Korean civilians in Nokuen-Ri in the early 1950's.

The panel also includes retired Marine Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Timor, an associate at the Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government.

May said he will gladly accept the position.

"It's a duty that was irresistible," he said. "It is important to get at the facts."

May, a history professor at Harvard since 1963, is an expert in the history of international relations and foreign policy. He has taught courses such as Historical Study A-80, "The Cold War."

As the only academic on the panel, May said his research abilities will be his biggest contribution.

"I've done lots of research on the period [and I] know the archives well," he said.

May said that in the course of the investigation, the panel will try to contact witnesses of the event, who should now mostly be in their sixties or older.

After the events are investigated, the panel may examine the initial Army report on the incident to determine if any wrongdoing occurred when Nokuen-Ri was first reviewed.

Cohen has requested a report on the investigation in June. Until then, May said he plans to continue teaching, though he said he will need to find time to travel to Korea to see the village first hand.

May said that Cohen is interested in determining the truth, and is not afraid of uncovering information that will reflect poorly on the military.

"They are really opening up boxes [from the Korean War]," he said. "I'm satisfied that pretty soon we will at least know what can be reconstructed."

Kaewoo Lee, an employee of the Korean consulate in New York, said the investigation will help determine the truth, which he said is "most important."

"I welcome a thorough investigation by the U.S. government," he said.

May said he was impressed by expertise of others on the panel at a recent briefing in Washington.

Other panelists are retired Army Gen. Robert W. Riscassi, former Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command; Pete McCloskey, a former U.S. Representative from California; Donald P. Gregg, former U.S. Ambassador to Korea; retired Army Col. Young O. Kim and Don Oberdorfer, an accomplished journalist. Most of the panelists served in the military in Korea at some point in their careers.