| Comings
and Goings. . . Over
the past year there have been several changes in the personnel of
the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.
Just after our last newsletter, we were pleased to welcome Ms. Frances
Adamson as the new Representative for the Australian Commerce and
Industry Office in Taipei, and she immediately became involved with
our Society. This year’s Remembrance Weekend activities were
under the auspices of the ACIO and Frances took a leading role in
organizing and carrying out this very successful event.
We also lost an Aussie from our crew when Andrew Currie left us
for greener pastures in Mainland China. Although only with us for
a short time, Andrew contributed a lot in the way of ideas and support
and we will miss him very much on our team.
In June of this year David Coates finished his term as Director-General
of the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei, and returned
to the UK. David has been very supportive of our work over the past
three years and has been a tremendous encouragement to me. I am
very grateful to him for all his help, and I will certainly miss
him.
Very shortly after David’s departure, his replacement, Derek
Marsh, arrived on the scene. Derek is keenly interested in the POWs’
story as well, and has been very supportive in many areas already
and we look forward to his continued help and support in the future.
Our UK Rep.,
Maurice Rooney has asked to be relieved of his job as he has not
been feeling quite “up to par” these past few months.
Maurice has done a tremendous job over the past five years in helping
us contact former Taiwan POWs and their families in the UK, arranging
reunions, taking care of our UK finances, and handling the day to
day operation of our Society in the UK. His contribution has been
immense and we are very grateful to him for all his support and
for his assistance in helping to make the story of the Taiwan POWs
better known. Thank you Maurice for all you have done!
We are currently looking for a replacement for Maurice, so if anyone
in the UK is interested and willing to volunteer, please contact
the Director, Michael Hurst, as soon as possible.
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AS
TRUE TODAY AS THEN…
Lt.
General Jonathan Wainwright had the painful duty of surrendering
the Philippine islands to the Japanese when it became apparent
that to continue fighting would be disastrous - not only for
all of his troops, but also for the people of the Philippines.
Following the surrender some of the American POWs had to endure
the Bataan Death March – one of the most hideous acts
of barbarism of the Pacific War, and many hundreds of others
died of starvation and beatings in the various camps in which
they were confined.
General Wainwright was sent to Taiwan, along with nearly 300
senior officers and men in the fall of 1942 where he remained
for most of his time as a POW. He witnessed first hand the cruelty
and depravity of the Japanese during those awful times.
On September 13, 1945 he attended a banquet in New York given
in his honor upon his return home, and following the dinner
he gave a speech challenging the world to remember what the
men of the Pacific theatre had suffered under the Japanese.
It went like this –
“
Before the Japanese again are allowed to take their place
among other respected nations, they must be made to realize
that their medieval ways have no place in our modern world.
Japan must be made to realize on every step of her long road
back to acceptance among civilized nations, that government
does not indulge in the excesses she has loosed on the world
these past fourteen years, and call it quits when her leaders
have had enough. They must not be permitted for one moment
the illusion that we let them view the cessation of hostilities
as merely a brake, and not a stop to their ambitions.
She must learn truth and humanity and righteousness rather
than deceit and cruelty and treachery, are the basis of international
relations and way of life.
The Japanese are not sorry for what they have done to countless
thousands in populations of the countries they have occupied.
They are not sorry for the torture they have inflicted on
our soldiers. It simply could not occur to them to be sorry,
because they have done nothing which is at variance with their
accepted philosophy. That is the point which should be clearly
understood.”
It seems
that nothing has changed since Wainwright’s speech and
the American government still hasn’t understood the
point which he tried to make back then. They are still looking
the other way when it comes to Japan – putting business
and self-interest ahead of truth and justice when it comes
to former POWs. Some things never change!
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ARE YOU A CHILD
OR FAMILY MEMBER OF A FORMER
FAR EAST PRISONER OF WAR?
If so, then there
is an organization you should know about. COFEPOW (Children
and Families of Far East Prisoners of War) was founded in
November 1997, and is an association dedicated to bringing
the children and families of former Far East POWs together,
to remembering the men who were POWs in the Far East during
World War II, and also to building a permanent memorial to
those wonderful men who gave so much for our freedom. The
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society supports COFEPOW, its aims
and its work.
For
more information on COFEPOW; how it may be of assistance to
you as a FEPOW family member, and how you can have a part
in its work, please contact:
Mrs. Carol Cooper, 20 Burgh Rd., Gorleston, Gt. Yarmouth,
Norfolk NR31 8BE
Tel. 01493 664116 or visit their website at www.cofepow.org.uk
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