THE SEARCH FOR THE TAIHOKU “OKA” CAMP

As mentioned in an earlier article, the whereabouts of the “OKA” jungle camp have consistently eluded us. Even the six survivors of the former camp that we have corresponded with, could not provide any real leads, so we were really stumped as to where to even begin to look for this camp.

Then one evening in a phone conversation with Jack Geddes, I mentioned something about this “mystery” camp - which I thought “might” be up in the mountains north of Taipei City. I mentioned that the POWs spoke of coal heaps, and Jack immediately started talking about a narrow-gauge railway that ran up a certain valley in the mountains north of the city - and with coal mine slag heaps along the side. This was the very thing the POWs had described. It seems that Jack and his family had hiked in that valley many years ago. Finally, we had a lead!

So on Wednesday, December 29, Jack and I, Jerry Norris and Stuart Saunders took off in Stuart’s car to try to find the valley which Jack and the POWs spoke about.

After spending some time driving up various “dead-end” mountain roads which ran high up into the hills, we returned to the main valley bottom again to try another approach on the opposite side of the valley.

We stopped at the foot of another mountain road to ask one of the older local residents if he knew where the old rail-line ran and where the old coal mine was located. He told us we were standing on the spot where the rail-line came down from the mountain and pointed to the now-paved narrow road up the mountain as the place where formerly the old were laid.

So now we had the valley; we just had to try to find where the camp site might have been. We asked the old man if he knew anything about the Japanese POW camp. He remembered the Japanese being there, but knew nothing of the camp - which wasn’t surprising since the Japanese army did not want the local residents to know anything about the camps and what went on in them. This is characteristic of all the camps on Taiwan - and also, all of Asia.

The POWs mentioned some sort of school where they were billetted for the period while they built the bamboo huts. Several local residents told us of a school which would have dated from the wartime period that was located across the valley and high up on the mountain. We decided that since this area was not accessible from our present location we might check it out another time, and started up the road where the former rail-line ran.

After much driving and further searching we came across another older man who had worked in the coal mine. He offered to show us where its former location had been. The mine was closed in 1983 and all traces of the works had been removed. The mountain grasses and forests had all but overgrown the area. He too knew nothing of the former POW camp and never recalled seeing any POWs anywhere near the mine. This would also be correct, as the POWs never spoke of having anything to do with the mine, but that on their way to and from the camp to get supplies from the village in the valley, they passed the rail-lines and the coal slag heaps. They were never allowed to use the railway to carry their goods back to camp - they always had to walk up the mountain with their heavy loads. It was only after they were liberated on their last trip down the mountain that they were put on small flatcars by the local Taiwanese who had sympathy for them and helped them on their way.

The weather began to close in, and as the afternoon wore on and the rains came down, we knew we would not find the camp that day. We are pleased with the leads we have and the contacts made however, and are looking forward soon to making another attempt at finding the camp. We will certainly check out the old school and its environs and see if there may be any older residents in that area who might remember the POWs from that earlier time.

So you see, finding these camps is not a simple matter. Even with good leads it often takes several tries, but we are not giving up. The challenge is there and we’re up to that challenge - to find these camps - so that all will know what took place here so many years ago.