With only the will to live: accounts of Americans in Japanese prison camps, 1941-1945

637 Pages·1994·1.56 MB·English

by  Robert Sherman La Forte, Ronald E. Marcello, Richard L. Himmel

With Only the Will to Live : Accounts of
title: Americans in Japanese Prison Camps, 1941-
1945
author: La Forte, Robert S.
publisher: Scholarly Resources, Inc.
isbn10 | asin: 0842024646
print isbn13: 9780842024648
ebook isbn13: 9780585120324
language: English
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and
prisons, Japanese, World War, 1939-1945--
subject Concentration camps--Asia, Southeastern,
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives,
American, Oral history.
publication date: 1994
lcc: D805.A785W57 1994eb
ddc: 940.54/7252
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and
prisons, Japanese, World War, 1939-1945--
subject: Concentration camps--Asia, Southeastern,
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives,
American, Oral history.
Page III
With Only the Will to Live
Accounts of Americans in Japanese Prison Camps
19411945
Edited by
Robert S. La Forte
Ronald E. Marcello
Richard L. Himmel
A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint
Wilmington, Delaware
Page IV
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for permanence of paper for
printed library materials, Z39.48, 1984.
© 1994 by Scholarly Resources Inc.
All rights reserved
First published 1994
Printed and bound in the United States of America
Scholarly Resources Inc.
104 Greenhill Avenue
Wilmington, DE 198051897
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
With only the will to live : accounts of Americans in Japanese
prison camps, 19411945 / edited by Robert S. La Forte,
Ronald E. Marcello, and Richard L. Himmel.
p. cm.
Topically arranged excerpts from interviews conducted from
1970 to 1989 by the University of North Texas Oral History
Program in Denton.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8420-2464-6 (cloth)
1. World War, 19391945Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
2. World War, 19391945Concentration campsAsia, South-
eastern. 3. World War, 19391945Personal narratives, American.
4. Oral history. I. La Forte, Robert S. (Robert Sherman), 1933 .
II. Marcello, Ronald E. III. Himmel, Richard L., 1950 .
D805.A785W57 1994
940.54'7252dc20 93-42419
CIP
Page V
Contents
Prisoners of War Interviewed VII
Prison Camps, Work Sites, and Other Places Where XVII
POWs Were Held
Maps XXVI
Introduction: Prisoners of the Sun XXIX
I. Capture 1
American Attitudes toward Surrender 2
Frontline Troops of Japan 11
II. Adjustment to POW Status 21
Japanese Rules 23
Japanese Punishment 29
Escape 39
Guards and Camp Administrators 50
American Discipline 60
Interrogation and Collaboration 67
Resistance and Sabotage 74
III. Atrocities 79
Death Marches 80
Death Ships 91
Other Atrocities 105
IV. General TreatmentThe Physical 113
Transportation 116
Housing and Camp Layout 121
Work 131
Food 150
Clothing 167
Personal Hygiene 171
Page VI
Health and Medical Treatment 177
Death and Burial 189
V. General TreatmentThe Psychological 197
Boredom, Holidays, and Rest 199
Recreation and Entertainment 201
Morale 208
Friends and Friendships 214
Faith in God and Country 220
Communicating with the Outside 223
Attitudes toward Non-Americans 231
American Air Attacks 236
VI. The Ordeal Ends 243
Liberation 245
Survival 263
Readjustment 269
Bibliography 275
Index 279
Page VII
Prisoners of War Interviewed
Captain William G. Adair, Alabama, commander of the First
Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, was captured
when Bataan fell on April 9, 1942. He followed the route of the
infamous Death March but rode in an Army ambulance most of the
way to Camp O'Donnell. During captivity, Adair was at O'Donnell,
Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Zentsuji.
Corporal Billy W. Allen, Texas, was with the 4th Marines in Shanghai,
China, and shifted with them to Manila and then into the Bataan
Peninsula. He was captured on Corregidor when the fortress fell on
May 6, 1942. Allen was held at Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Tsuruga.
Private First Class Roy Allen, Jr., Texas, was a member of the
Seventh Materiel, 19th Heavy Bombardment Group, on detached duty
at a new air base on Del Monte Plantation, Mindanao, Philippine
Islands. He was captured there and spent most of his prison time at
Camp Casisang and Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao. Allen was
also at several locations in Japan, particularly at Yokkaichi.
Private Roy G. Armstrong, Texas, a member of F Battery, Second
Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, was captured on Java
and held at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia. He later
worked on the Burma-Thailand Railway and finally was transferred to
Da Lat in French Indochina.
Captain Leland D. Bartlett, Massachusetts, commissioned as a reserve
officer in 1924, was called to active duty in April 1941 and was
assigned to the Fourth Separate Chemical Company, Philippine
Division, at Fort McKinley. He served on Bataan but was taken
prisoner on Corregidor. Bartlett was held at Cabanatuan, Tanagawa,
Zentsuji, and Roku Rushi.