In Memoriam

A word regarding donations to the Society:

Banks in Taiwan are reluctant to accept anything other than US dollars, so if making a donation to the Society please send the funds in US$ - preferably in a bank wire / transfer to our account here. Please contact us for the pertinent account information. Thank you.

REMEMBERING DEAR POW FRIENDS. . .

     Two more dear FEPOW friends have passed away this summer. They have been very special friends and have helped so much in my study of the former Taiwan camps. Here is a tribute to them . . .

CARL A. PASURKA –

I have known and corresponded with Carl and his family for many years. His son Carl Jr. found our website and contacted us and we have been friends ever since. I would always call Carl and his wife Lorraine whenever I was back in Canada in the summer to have a chat and  we had some great conversations together. I would always get a Christmas card from them and periodically a note of thanks for remembering the men through our work. They were always such an encouragement to me.

Carl was in Toroku Camp for a couple of months before moving on to Japan. When we had the dedication of the Toroku POW Memorial this past June I showed his picture – then and now, and told a bit of his story. He was so pleased with this and I’m so happy that we were able to get the memorial up and dedicated while he was still with us. He will be missed, but not forgotten!

ABEL ORTEGA –

Abel was also a dear friend who I talked with every time I returned to Canada for a vacation. He was also in Toroku Camp and in his later years wrote a book on his experiences as a POW. He too was very pleased to know that at last there was a memorial to him and the others who had suffered so terribly on the hellship the Hokusen Maru and who had experienced a bit of a reprieve from their ordeal as POWs during their brief stay at Toroku Camp.

Abel was a member of the famous 192nd Tank Battalion and had survived the Bataan Death March. He had lived through the horrors of Camp O’Donnell and Cabanatuan before being sent via Taiwan to Japan where he finished out the war. After the Japs surrendered Abel and several other men made flags from the parachutes that were used to drop food and supplies to them before their evacuation. He had a great spirit and was very involved in POW circles in the US in his later years.

PASSING POWS. . .

As you can see from the list of those who have passed on in these past few months, it consists mainly of American ex-POWs. This is because we are getting reports and being told of their passing and we are grateful for this information so we can honour them one more time.

However, we have a lot of men still listed in our  POW survivors’ rosters who we have not heard from for a long time – in some cases many years, so we don’t know if they’re still with us or not. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows of the passing of former Taiwan POWs in the UK, the USA, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada or wherever. Let us not forget them – ever!