VJ Day

Today is the 65th Anniversary of the Victory over Japan. The fighting had stopped (largely), but for many Allied Servicemen their torment was to continue. For those who had been in captivity, the struggle was just beginning. Many lives shortened by beatings, torture, malnutrition and disease. Many others who would carry the physical and mental manifestations of the above examples of cruelty into old age.

I have read of men who were little more than skeletons and unable to stand to work, being forced to sit or lie down to break stones until they could no longer wield a hammer. The lucky ones were then transferred to other camps where the diet of rice and weevils (but no work) allowed them to regain enough strength to be considered weak, before being moved on to carry out further forced labour.

Some of those men (and women) have even had the fortitude to forgive, but they cannot forget.

And even now Japan still cannot offer a sincere expression of apology and remorse. Max Hastings wrote in Nemesis, the battle for Japan, 1944 – 45…..

It seems to me that dismay, indeed repugnance, should instead concentrate upon the refusal of the Japanese people, including their political, educational and corporate leaders, honestly to acknowledge their history. They still seek to excuse, and even to ennoble, the actions of their parents and grandparents, so many of whom forsook humanity, in favour of a perversion of honour and an aggressive nationalism which should properly be recalled with shame. As long as such denial persists, it will be impossible for the world to believe that Japan has come to terms with the horrors which it inflicted upon Asia almost two-thirds of a century ago.

Some of you may have seen the little piece on BBC News 24 earlier in which a former prisoner of the Japanese, Arthur Lane, was interviewed. In the piece he recalled a botched execution after which he was called to sound the Last Post, something he did countless times. He looks to the camera and with immense sadness says “and what good did it do?” I wanted to scream at the television that it was the last decent thing he could have done for them.

I’ll leave you with a few words from Arthur Lane. In his book ‘When you go home’, Mr. Lane produced a list of what he called the Burma/Siam Railway Criminals. Before the list, he wrote the following….

There is insufficient space to list all the criminals, so if the names of the ones who helped to make your life Hell do not appear, don’t be disappointed. They probably swung in the breeze just as easily as the others.

To the men and and women of all Nations who served, fought, died, endured or survived the excesses of the Japanese, you have my respect and my gratitude.

Regards,

kev35