Hell under the Rising Sun: Texan POWs and the Building of the Burma-Thailand Death Railway

213 Pages·2008·15.87 MB·English

by  Kelly E. Crager

Hell under the Rising Sun

Hell under the Rising Sun
Texan POWs and the Building of the Burma- Thailand Death Railway
KELLY E. CRAGER
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY PRESS | COLLEGE STATION
Copyright © 2008 Kelly E. Crager
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-992
(Permanence of Paper). Binding materials have been
chosen for durability.
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Crager, Kelly E., 1968–
Hell under the rising sun : Texan POWs and the building of the
Burma-Thailand death railway / Kelly E. Crager. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58544-635-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-58544-635-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
2. Burma-Siam Railroad. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Conscript
labor—Burma. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Conscript labor—
Thailand 5. Prisoners of war—Japan. 6. Prisoners of war—Texas.
7. Texas—History—20th century. 8. Oral history. I. Title.
D805.B9C73 2008
940.54'725209591—dc22
2007022276
Dedicated to the men of the 2nd Battalion,
131st Field Artillery Regiment,
and to the sailors and marines of the
USS Houston, as well as to their families

Contents
Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Chapter 1. Becoming Soldiers 1
Chapter 2. Across the Pacifi c 12
Chapter 3. Defense of Java and Capitulation 22
Chapter 4. Becoming Prisoners: The Learning Period 32
Chapter 5. “Hell Ships” and Changi 52
Chapter 6. Into the Jungle 66
Chapter 7. “Speedo!” 89
Chapter 8. Out of the Jungle and Liberation 110
Chapter 9. Becoming Whole 129
Appendix: Prisoners Held by the Japanese 141
Notes 149
Bibliography 185
Index 193

Illustrations
4.1 Heavy cruiser CA- 30 USS Houston, 1940 41
6.1 Bamboo and atap huts along the railway 70
6.2 Typical jungle camp in Thailand 71
6.3 Interior of hut at Wampo, Thailand 72
6.4 Railway boxcars used to transport prisoners of war 73
6.5 Dysentery ward in Kanchanaburi, Thailand 80
6.6 Typical “cutting” site along railway at Tam Chanee 82
6.7 Prisoners drilling holes in rock for blasting with dynamite 83
6.8 Bridge construction at Konkoita, Thailand 84
6.9 Prisoners hauling wooden timbers for bridge construction 85
6.10 Prisoners cutting teakwood logs 85
6.11 Mess parade 87
6.12 Advanced tropical ulcer on lower leg of prisoner 88
7.1 Malnourished Dutch prisoners of war 96
7.2 Burial detail, Hintok, Thailand 102
7.3 Burial site, Hintok, Thailand 103
8.1 Liberated American prisoners at OSS Mountain Camp, 1945 116
8.2 American former prisoners returning home 127
Maps
Battle for Java, March 1942 xvi
Burma- Thailand “Death Railway” 90