My Grandfather survived three years in a Japanese internment camp in Indonesia. He was a private in the British Army who was captured while on active service in Indonesia in 1942.
You always see pictures of survivors shirtless. The camps were open air, so there was no way to escape the sun beating down on you. The POWs' clothes basically baked off of their bodies. Granddad's skin showed visibly darker patches of sun damage for the rest of his life.
The trousers were probably given to these chaps by the liberating forces (or perhaps the photographer) for the sake of modesty.
(After his camp was liberated, Granddad returned to England and enjoyed a rich, full life. He lived to see his 95th birthday in 2016. I still think about him every day.)
EDIT: Granddad was captured in early 1942, not 1941—date amended.
Also, as this is now the top comment, I feel it's important to address the commenters on this post who are seeking to use it to justify the use of WMDs on civilian populations in Japan.
I am acutely aware that had Japan not surrendered when they did, my Granddad may never have returned home to tell his stories. Perhaps the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima directly led to his return. We will never know what might have happened otherwise.
Anyone with a knowledge of the history of the nuclear programmes worldwide in the 30s and 40s will be aware that military leaders were itching to test nuclear weapons on populated areas. If Japan had not been bombed, then maybe those who are justifying the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima would instead be justifying the killing of hundreds of thousands of people in a different country.
Cruelty does not justify further cruelty. Be careful of excusing the horrors of the past, lest you permit further atrocities in our collective present. Sorry for hijacking my own comment.
My Great-Grandmothers brother ended up in a Japanese POW Camp. He was captured during the opening few days of Kokoda.
He survived to liberation but passed not long after returning to Australian soil.
Before he was captured he was described as being a large burly man with a strongman build, afterwards he looked like a skeleton that still had skin attached, all of his hair had fallen out, his teeth had been knocked out bar a few at the back, apparently his nipples had been cut off.
Apparently he only joined the AIF because his best friends joined up as well. Only he returned to mainland Australian soil.
0masterdebater0 on October 14th, 2024 at 12:00 UTC »
Anyone looking for a good read I suggest King Rat by James Claville (author of Shogun)
It is based on his personal experiences as a POW in the Pacific.
InsertObscureQuote on October 14th, 2024 at 12:55 UTC »
My Grandfather survived three years in a Japanese internment camp in Indonesia. He was a private in the British Army who was captured while on active service in Indonesia in 1942.
You always see pictures of survivors shirtless. The camps were open air, so there was no way to escape the sun beating down on you. The POWs' clothes basically baked off of their bodies. Granddad's skin showed visibly darker patches of sun damage for the rest of his life.
The trousers were probably given to these chaps by the liberating forces (or perhaps the photographer) for the sake of modesty.
(After his camp was liberated, Granddad returned to England and enjoyed a rich, full life. He lived to see his 95th birthday in 2016. I still think about him every day.)
EDIT: Granddad was captured in early 1942, not 1941—date amended.
Also, as this is now the top comment, I feel it's important to address the commenters on this post who are seeking to use it to justify the use of WMDs on civilian populations in Japan.
I am acutely aware that had Japan not surrendered when they did, my Granddad may never have returned home to tell his stories. Perhaps the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima directly led to his return. We will never know what might have happened otherwise.
Anyone with a knowledge of the history of the nuclear programmes worldwide in the 30s and 40s will be aware that military leaders were itching to test nuclear weapons on populated areas. If Japan had not been bombed, then maybe those who are justifying the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima would instead be justifying the killing of hundreds of thousands of people in a different country.
Cruelty does not justify further cruelty. Be careful of excusing the horrors of the past, lest you permit further atrocities in our collective present. Sorry for hijacking my own comment.
Anon_be_thy_name on October 14th, 2024 at 13:02 UTC »
My Great-Grandmothers brother ended up in a Japanese POW Camp. He was captured during the opening few days of Kokoda.
He survived to liberation but passed not long after returning to Australian soil.
Before he was captured he was described as being a large burly man with a strongman build, afterwards he looked like a skeleton that still had skin attached, all of his hair had fallen out, his teeth had been knocked out bar a few at the back, apparently his nipples had been cut off.
Apparently he only joined the AIF because his best friends joined up as well. Only he returned to mainland Australian soil.