By the fall of 1944 the Allies had retaken most of the south Pacific and were moving towards the Philippines. Prior to their landings at Leyte on October 20th, from the 12th to the 16th, naval aircraft from the carriers of US Task Force 38 launched attacks on airfields and harbours all over the island of Taiwan, inflicting great damage and destruction. Then later, once the Army Air Force had established bases in the Philippines in early 1945, they continued these attacks with increased bombing and strafing missions carried out until the summer of 1945.
During the raids in October and the subsequent ones during the spring of 1945, a number of aircraft were shot down or hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. Many of the aircrews died in the crashes, and those who survived were taken prisoner by the Japanese. The more senior members of the aircrews were immediately sent on to Japan, most to the terrible Ofuna Naval Interrogation Centre near Tokyo for questioning. The rest of the Navy fighter pilots and Army Air Force fighter and bomber aircrews were sent to the Taihoku City Prison. They were not sent to the regular prisoner of war camps as they were not considered by the Japanese to be prisoners of war, but were classified as 'war criminals'. Once in the prison they were interrogated by the Kempeitai, held in solitary confinement and often tortured. A total of 25 American airmen were held in the prison from October 1944 until the end of the war.
On May 29, 1945 - fourteen of the Navy and Army Air Force fliers were taken from the prison to the local military court and given a mock trial, and with no defense were found guilty of 'indiscriminate bombing' and sentenced to death. Then, on June 19th in the early morning, they were marched out into the prison courtyard and murdered there by a Japanese firing squad. They were cremated and their ashes placed in a local Japanese Shinto temple. At the end of the war the remains were turned over to the Allies for burial.
The eleven other airmen remained in the prison until the end of the war and then they were released in early September to go back to their home country again.
On June 19th 2005 - 60 years to the day after the murders, the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society held a memorial service by the site of the old Taipei Prison Wall, portions of which still remain today. A brother of one of the slain airmen and his two sons came to Taiwan from the USA for the ceremony. It was a very moving event, and as a result it was decided to put a plaque on the old prison wall in memory of the men who had suffered and those who had died there.
In 2009 the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society, working with the Taipei City government, erected a plaque on the wall of the old Taipei prison to honour and remember the former Allied airmen who had been interned in the prison and those who had needlessly been murdered there just 58 days before the end of the war.
In the fall of 2014 the Society director - with assistance from the staff at Chunghwa Telecom, found the location inside the former prison walls where the murders were carried out. Now there is a small garden along the wall where they took place.
In June 2015 - on the 70th anniversary of the murders, another memorial service was held and this time, prior to the ceremony, a visit was paid to the actual site inside the Chunghwa Telecom compound where the murders took place. After that a memorial service was held alongside the memorial plaque on the old prison wall.
In June 2020 - 75 years after the imprisonment of the airmen, a memorial service took place by the old prison wall and once again, prior to the ceremony, a visit was paid to the actual murder site inside the Chunghwa Telecom compound. Following this over 60 people gathered to remember and honour the brave American airmen.
Now every year on the Sunday closest to June 19th a memorial service is held by the old prison wall in remembrance and honour of the airmen. Those men who were imprisoned and those who died there will not be forgotten. May they rest in peace!
More stories concerning the airmen and the remembrance services at the prison wall can be found in the Articles and Stories section of the website.
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THE LIST OF AMERICAN AIRMEN HELD IN THE TAIHOKU PRISON
ALDRO HARRY H. ARM2C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
BECK CALVIN C. CPL. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
BUCHANAN J.C. AMM3C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
BUETTNER VICTOR T. LT./JG USN RELEASED 9/01/45
CARTER DELBERT H. AOM3C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
CHASTAIN CLIFFORD L. S/SGT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
EHLERS KARL L. 2/LT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
GATEWOOD HENRY 2/LT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
HART TED U. 2/LT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
HARTLEY RALPH LIEUT. USAAF MURDERED 6/19/45
HATHAWAY DONALD C. AMM3C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
LANGIOTTI JAMES R. ARM1C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
LAWRENCE BOBBY L. S/SGT. USAAF MURDERED 6/19/45
MCCREARY FREDERICK E. ARM1C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
MCVAY CHARLES M. AOM2C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
MONCRIEF BERNARD H. F/O USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
MURPHY HOWARD H. 2/LT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
PARKER JOHN R. AMM2C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
RIGGS MERLIN S/SGT. USAAF MURDERED 6/19/45
SEE FRANCIS V. LIEUT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
SHARP HARWOOD S. LIEUT. USN MURDERED 6/19/45
SHOTT JOHN CPL. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
SPIVEY HARRY J. S/SGT. USAAF MURDERED 6/19/45
THURMOND ROY C. LIEUT. USAAF RELEASED 9/01/45
WILSON WAYNE W. ARM3C USN MURDERED 6/19/45
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NOTE: For those living in Taiwan or visiting from overseas who may want to visit the Old Prison Wall and Memorial, the address is: Lane 44, Jinshan South Road Sec. 2, Taipei [ 金山南路2段44巷 ]. The site is located about a block south of Xinyi Road on the west side of the street. The lane is right next to the Chunghwa Telecom Building and just a couple of blocks walk from the Dongmen MRT Station Exit #3.