Dedication of the Toroku Prisoner of War Memorial

It was 64 years ago on November 9th 1944 that the first group of 294 American POWs came into the Toroku POW Camp. They had come from Kaohsiung by train after disembarking from the Japanese hellship “Hokusen Maru”.

     More than 1100 men had been crammed into the holds of this small, old cargo vessel, and during its 39 day voyage from Manila to Taiwan, 39 men had died of starvation, thirst, disease and overcrowding. The men were in such terrible condition that the Japanese decided to off-load them in Taiwan to get them well before taking them on to Japan to continue their work as slaves for the war effort there.

     The men occupied the former buildings of what is now the Gou-Ba Elementary School. The school had been in operation then for 26 years under the Japanese occupation, and the students were moved out so the prisoners could be housed in their classrooms. The men slept on the cement floor of the classrooms and each was given 2 – 3 cotton blankets – that was all they had for a bed.

Old Japanese school building – the last POW structure in Taiwan
– torn down in November 2003.

The POWs were divided into nine ‘squads’ for administration purposes and each group had different tasks to do in and around the camp. Because most were too sick and weak to do heavy work, they were engaged in various jobs including growing vegetables, cleaning and maintenance, gathering wood and bringing supplies from town. Some also worked in the nearby sugar mill up the road from the camp.

     Two of the classrooms were set aside as ‘hospital wards’ for the sickest prisoners. Despite the terrible ordeal they had been through, only one of the American POWs died during their time at Toroku Camp. He was buried in the local cemetery. Most of the others managed to regain some of their former strength, due to an increase in food, better treatment and living conditions, and less work. Most of the prisoners have said that this was the best POW camp they were ever in and wished they could have stayed there for the remainder of the war, but sadly, such was not to be.

     In mid-January 1945, almost all of the POWs except those still sick, were removed from the camp and sent to either Kaohsiung or Keelung and put on ships destined for Japan. Several more men died at sea on the way there.

     In  early  March  1945  the  remaining  POWs  at  Toroku were joined by a group of British POWs from Inrin Camp. During the next month two British and two Americans died

and were also buried in the village cemetery. After the war the remains of all five POWs were removed and sent to either Hong Kong or Manila for re-burial. The POWs stayed at Toroku until April 11th when they were all moved to Shirakawa Camp and the Toroku Camp was closed.

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The site of the former Toroku Camp was discovered by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society team in September 2000. We re-visited the school again in September 2003 and suggested then that a memorial stone might be erected here to mark the school’s place in history. Sadly, in November 2003 the old Japanese school building was torn down – it was the last POW building remaining from all of the former camps on Taiwan.

     In 2005 another suggestion was made to the school to erect a memorial and in December 2008 permission was finally given. We were thrilled to be able to gather at the school on June 6th to dedicate the memorial to the men who had previously been in that camp.

     A group from Taipei travelled to Touliou on the day and at 1:30 pm the dedication service was held. Society Director Michael Hurst told a little of the story of the camp and thanked those who had given their support in the building of the memorial. In addition, speeches from Maj/Gen. Pang of the R.O.C. Veterans Affairs Commission, Douliou City Councilor Chang Cheng Shen and school and community reps paid tribute to the men who had suffered and those who had died in the camp. Some of the students from the school were involved in the ceremony as well, and we hope they will always remember the men who helped to win the freedom and peace for us that we enjoy in Taiwan today.

     Poems were read by Society board member Mark Wilkie and a poem in Chinese written especially for the occasion was read by one of the teachers from the school. A prayer of dedication for the memorial was rendered by Rev. Diane Wong, followed by the laying of wreaths on the memorial.

     We want to thank the county gov’t., the school board, Principal Hsu and Mr. Liu, the Deputy Chairman of the  Parents’ Association, for their support in getting the memorial erected. We also want to thank the local people of Gou-Ba community for the stories and details of the former camp and the POWs which they have shared with us.

     Thanks also go to all our board members and other supporters who have helped so much to bring about this memorial. POW Society board member Mark Wilkie has been a driving force behind getting the memorial built and an American friend Gene Hirte and his wife Anton, helped us find a suitable stone for the memorial, get it engraved and transport it to the school. We appreciate all their efforts.

     There are still a number of the former Toroku Camp POWs with us, but sadly none were able to be here for the dedication as we would have liked. We sincerely hope that seeing the photos and knowing that there is a memorial in their honour in their former camp, will bring them lasting peace and closure to those terrible days they spent here so long ago. May God bless them all!

(For more photos of the dedication ceremony see page 9.)