In August 1945, this man was one of over 100,000 prisoners of war being held by the Japanese.
Conditions were abominable. A third of his contingent had died in captivity, in the past two years alone.
In the video clip below, he speaks about the dropping of the atomic bombs that finally ended the war.
Conditions were abominable. A third of his contingent had died in captivity, in the past two years alone.
In the video clip below, he speaks about the dropping of the atomic bombs that finally ended the war.
These views are unfashionable today.
Yet they were almost universally held among the prisoners – more than 100,000 of them – at all levels.
Here's the video clip that I mentioned:
(20 seconds in, he says "Fepows". FEPOW stands for Far East Prisoner of War.)
The man in this clip is my father.
You can find more video clips of him talking about his experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese – at the fall of Singapore, on the Saigon docks, and on the infamous Burma Railway – here.