Here is a picture and the story that my dad wrote in 1967 about being a POW of the Japanese. He was captured May 6, 1942 when Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese because the US was not prepared and McArthur said his infamous words "I shall return". Which was interpreted - "So long suckers - you are expendable".
He was liberated September, 1945 from Fukuoka prison camp #17 across the bay from Nagasaki - working in Mitsui's coal mine.
James Oscar Bennett - Japanese P.O.W. #1201 Prison Camp Fukuoka #17
Coal Mine Story continued……….
I read with interest the story in the October issue of R.D. (Reader’s Digest)
concerning – Everything is Mitsui’s business. About the large amount of money
involved – billions and millions. About large business deals over all of the
world. The story seemed to touch on the most important big business deals and
high finance.
In contrast to this – let me introduce you to a much lower level of his M (Baron
Mitsui’s) business deals & finances. In fact it is about as low as you can get.
For instance – let me say 15 sen per day for labor, the pay for working in one
of his coal mines. When was this? Sept 1944 until the end of the Second World
War. Where? At the coal mine at Omuta – across from Nagasaki. Yes, I was an
American P.O.W. It took the prison ship exactly 62 days to travel from Manila
to Moji, Japan. 100 of us were sent to Omuta to join American, British, Aussie,
and Dutch that were already there. We were given one week of schooling before
we were sent to the mine.
Let me describe the mine as I saw it. It was old – supposed to be the oldest in
Japan. We worked 1500 ft underground. The overhead ceiling was rotten. Great
cracks in all of the overhead. Water gushed from most of these cracks.
Cave-ins were a daily occurrence. We would work in one place one day and the
next the entire lateral would be caved in. Let me use just one day as an
example to try and describe the kind of work that we did – and the conditions
under which we did this work. Any day will do. All were alike. Torturous,
nightmarish hunger, - days that we do not like to remember but yet we can’t
forget.
We arose from our flea and louse infected pads on the floor before daylight. We
would then dress, put on the few clothes that we had. Most of us slept naked.
By doing that the few clothes that we did have seemed warmer. We would use a
canteen filled with hot water for a hot water bottle. That would keep us warm
until about midnight. The rest of the night did not seem to matter because it
wasn’t long until we had to get up anyway.
We would then place our wooden blocks with our numbers on them on the board by
the door in their proper place so that the day guard would know where we were.
By placing the “Kabok”, as we called it, in the wrong place could get you into
serious trouble. It was usually a beating. If you were sick, it would be
push-ups. We would muster in front of the barracks and then march to the mess
hall. Had to goose step when we passed the guard house.
In the mess hall we fell in line and went by the “board”. It was a large board
with small holes and pegs. Each hole had a number of a P.W. by it and when a
man went through, the hole by his number was pegged. In that way a man could
not go through again and get double rations. If he tried it – then he was fined
a few rations of food. Because of the starvation diet there were some that
would try it. We would also draw the noonday meal that we were supposed to take
to the mine. It usually consisted of a piece of bread about the size of your
fist and a slice of pickled radish. That was one complete meal for a mine
worker. Because of being starved – we would eat that meal along with the
breakfast which was rice and soup and very little of that. We could not risk
carrying our meal to the mine because there was too large a chance that it would
be stolen. After we had eaten we were marched to the guard house at the main
gate where we were counted before leaving the camp. Inside the guard house we
could hear the licks of the guards and the moans of the prisoners. The morning
before they made them stand outside in their G strings & shirts while they
poured buckets of water on them – which in turn froze to their clothing. Their
crime? Stealing food. Starved humans being tortured because they had yielded
to their natural instincts. We had to march around 2 miles to the mine. There
are some things even after 22 years that stand out in my memory. Many P.W.s
were without shoes. I can still see them as they splashed through the snow
barefooted. I can still remember having to stop 3 or 4 times each day on the
way to work because of diarrhea. The line didn’t wait and you didn’t dare get
behind.
When we finally arrived at the mine, we had to stand in ranks for a long time to
be counted again. Most of the P.W.s had diarrhea. Just imagine the filth. We
had one commode for the P.W.s at the mine. We were issued lamps at the
storeroom and then we went into the building where we received our work
assignments.
The military had been in charge of us but now we had been turned over to the
civilians. You – Mt. Mitsui, to dig the coal for you. To help you build your
vast empire of business. Yes, for 15 sen a day 10 for the privates. This day I
went down in your mine to build a rock wall. The roof was weak. The rocks from
previous cave-ins were used. The place was called “Mesui Mooky”. About the
wettest & lowest place in the mine. Not long after, that level became filled
with water and was that way when we left.
Linear Mode
