The Man Who Refused To Die

[churchill]

The Man Who Refused To Die

They came to think of themselves as the forgotten army - the men who endured years of suffering in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps during World War II.

Yet many of the survivors, when they came back, never spoke of what they had seen and suffered. Now, one survivor of the camps has broken his 65-year silence.

Alistair Urquhart, then a 22-year-old Gordon Highlander from Aberdeen, became a prisoner of war without firing a shot.

This is a story of almost unimaginable suffering. The POWs were transported deep into Thailand on rice trucks that were more like steel coffins.

story continues

-- BBC 2010-02-26

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Edited February 26, 2010 by webfact

[ballpoint]

I saw this guy being interviewed on Hard Talk a few months back. What an amazing story.

[101734]

Thanks for the link, very interesting. (never forget)

[neverdie]

Thankyou churchill. The sacrafices these men made were incredible.

[ballpoint]

Thankyou churchill. The sacrafices these men made were incredible.

It certainly puts whining about being ripped off a few baht while here on holiday into perspective.

[hammered]

I had an uncle who was captured in the first week of the war and spent the whole war in a Japanese POW casmp. After the war he spent a year os so travelling to far flung reaches of the empire doing short jobs. He never spoke of his experiences to anyone right up until his death. Nice guy too.

[Crossy]

Thailand?

The POWs were transported deep into Thailand on rice trucks that were more like steel coffins.

My emphasis.

[neverdie]

^Some people have no education as to what occurred to POW's here in Thailand......I must point out, not at the hand of the thais.

A good place to check out is the musuem at Kanchanburi, the war cemetary etc.

Very sobering places

[yabaaaa]

Did Thais comply or was there a resistance movement there at all?

[babuhavas]

Thailand?

The POWs were transported deep into Thailand on rice trucks that were more like steel coffins.

My emphasis.

Perfect

[billd766]

Did Thais comply or was there a resistance movement there at all?

Both actually.

They were given a choice by the Japanese to either "allow" the country to be taken over or it would be done forcibly.

There was a resistance movement as well and at the end of the war the Americans said that the country had been forcibly taken over and though some Thais had helped Japan it was under duress and Thailand was declared a friendly nation.

Whilst a lot is made of the numbers of prisoners of war who died building the railway there were far more civilian forced labourers who died and they came from countries who had been invaded by the Japanese.

That is not to say that the POW's didn't suffer dreadfully as well.

Also a fair number of Japanese died on the railway during that period.

If anyone has the time they should go on a trip to Kanchanaburi and visit the war graves and sites.

I found it very interesting when I went years ago.

[IanForbes]

Thanks for that, George. Too many of the old heros are dying without their tales being told. There is no need to carry on the hatred of attrocities committed by others, but it is a good reminder of what caused those attrocities in the first place.

[ongoing]

This guy should be given a medel. He must have been made of steel to surive back then. Thailand is best decribed as a shit hole now. I can only imagine how bad it was back then.

[carmine]

The suffering of these old heroes must have been unimagionable. Whenever i see interviews i find myself in awe of them and the sacrifices they have made for others. Then i find myself feeling very humble and lucky that i was born into a generation that has not had to endure such things.

[BigWheelMan]

Recommended viewing:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124052/

[WeeGB]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

[TheLaughingMan]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

I understand where you are coming from but Japan then and Japan now are completely different. Back then there was a lot of propaganda and brainwashing, now they are a very sensible moral succesful culture (for the most part). Being bombed into oblivion did make a difference, even if it was horrific, something had to be done to get rid of the culture of brainwashing that was dominant at the time. My point is, do not blame todays Japanese for the crimes of the past, todays Japanese could not relate at all to the insane actions of their ancestors. I say this as a person that spends a great deal of time with Japanese people and lived with a Japanese woman for years.

Also, the fact that many Japanese visitors are going there is a good thing. The knowledge should be widely available to them and any country that commits horrors in the past, nullifies the chance they will ever be involved in something like that again. If they weren't going and interested in the history of it I would be more worried.

Edited February 26, 2010 by TheLaughingMan

[bjoe97]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

silly comment, backward thinking, aggressive, senseless

'the Japanese were armed, trained, advised by the west

so, should all those in the west be barred for helping create this monster?

the Brits bombed Bangkok as punishment and killed many innocents

bear this in mind when you have temper issues

we are all guilty, the losers should not be more so

this constant continuation of the blame game doesn't help, looks so childish,ios not the progressive way forward at all

[yabaaaa]

Did Thais comply or was there a resistance movement there at all?

Both actually.

They were given a choice by the Japanese to either "allow" the country to be taken over or it would be done forcibly.

There was a resistance movement as well and at the end of the war the Americans said that the country had been forcibly taken over and though some Thais had helped Japan it was under duress and Thailand was declared a friendly nation.

Whilst a lot is made of the numbers of prisoners of war who died building the railway there were far more civilian forced labourers who died and they came from countries who had been invaded by the Japanese.

That is not to say that the POW's didn't suffer dreadfully as well.

Also a fair number of Japanese died on the railway during that period.

If anyone has the time they should go on a trip to Kanchanaburi and visit the war graves and sites.

I found it very interesting when I went years ago.

Thanks for the reply I was curious how they saw all of this at the time.

[BigWheelMan]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

I downloaded the film from, Rapidshare

[Naam]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

your logic is overwhelming!

[Latindancer]

If you click on the link, note the last sentence : "Germany has atoned. Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt."

This is what _I_ find completely unacceptable. Especially regarding what happened at Sandakan, since I am Australian.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Latindancer

[ballpoint]

For a very good account of those horrific times, a good read is "The Naked Island" by Russell Braddon. He was a young Australian who served in Malaya, was captured there and somehow survived four years in captivity, spending time in KL and Changi prisons before being sent to Kanchanburi (a five day journey in a railway cattle truck). A comment by him on the Thais: "As a nation we found the Thais excessively dishonest and thieving. We reciprocated wholeheartedly". One of the reasons why a surprising number managed to survive, given the living conditions, extreme labour demands, and severe shortages of food and medicine (not for any real shortage, but because the Japanese wouldn't hand them out), was the thriving trade done between the prisoners and locals, mainly exchanging clothing for fruit and eggs. Knowledge of this dark period should be compulsory for anyone living in this part of the world.

[IanForbes]

Nobody likes to look very deeply into their own closet.

[stingray]

The Japanese was bad as the germans, if not even more bad. They invited Pearl Harbor and Darvin, without any specific reason. I guess, just because they want to play war.

[WeeGB]

Is this movie generally available in Thailand, Big Wheel Man? Read the story of "The Rape of Nanking ", many years ago, an atrocity the Japanese still try to hide, along with their use of chemical weapons in China during WWII.

As others have said, the utmost respect must be given to all the POWs and forced labourers who suffered at the hands of a brutal Japanese regime. I'd love to go to Kanchanaburi, but I'm informed that many Japanese tourists go there, taking photos, and I honestly wouldn't trust myself to keep my temper....I had an Uncle that was a prisoner there too. Personally I think in view of the atrocities they committed there, Japanese should be barred...but I also think that two nuclear bombs weren't anywhere nearly enough.

silly comment, backward thinking, aggressive, senseless

'the Japanese were armed, trained, advised by the west

so, should all those in the west be barred for helping create this monster?

the Brits bombed Bangkok as punishment and killed many innocents

bear this in mind when you have temper issues

we are all guilty, the losers should not be more so

this constant continuation of the blame game doesn't help, looks so childish,ios not the progressive way forward at all

We are all guilty?

Which country committed atrocities in every country they invaded? Japan

Which country used chemical and biological weapons on civilians? Japan

Which country enslaved thousands of women to be used as "comfort women", (sex slaves), for their troops?

Japan

Which country has prime ministers that regularly visit shrines to those who perpetrated all of these evil acts? Japan

Which country not only refuses to recognise any of the above, but also refuses to pay compensation to the victims of their heinous crimes? Japan

Which country refuses to teach their young the truth about what really happened in World War II, but instead rewrites history, for their schoolchildren? Japan

The childish party here is the Japanese, who refuse to lose face and admit to any of this.

Progress can only be made when the wrongs that have been committed have been put right.

I think that those who gave their lives for freedom, and those women dragged from their home countries to suffer years of brutality, including being mass raped, deserve a far better epitaph than "we are all guilty".

I'm assuming that because of the way your post is written, that English is not your first language - either that or you are a complete idiot. Perhaps you might like to do some internet searches, on such things as the rape of nanking, japanese comfort women etc, you may just learn enough not to post drivel on here in future.

[Gary A]

The Japanese can rewrite history to suit themselves. Most of the rest of the world has forgotten the atrocities. I can assure you that Korea and China have NOT forgotten.

[sgunn65]

What is interesting about the Japanese tourists coming to visit the Bridge at Kanchanaburi is that they come to see a feat of Japanese Engineering!!!! Living in Kan and visiting the Cemetery and Museum regularly with clients you will see that few, if any, of the Japanese visit the cemetery or museum, they just go to the bridge.

Whilst you cannot blame the sins of the fathers on the children it is a shame that they have little conception (due to the education process) of what happened in their countries name.

[midasthailand]

Jesus guys, stop trying to play the blame game. In my experience most Japanese that visit Kanchanaburi do visit all three museums and many of them write messages of apology in the visitors book. Have a look next time you are in the Jeath museum. I attend Hellfire pass dawn service most ANZAC Days (25 April) and there are still some ex POW's that make the trip, usually 500 plus people for the dawn service and more than that for the service at 11 A.M in the main cemetery in town. It is always a good place to visit but more so around ANZAC Day when you can almost feel the presence of those that died building the railway.

Lest we forget!

[jayjayjayjay]

Just read the brief on BBS site.

This story is very similar to my great uncle, Headley Prosser, RIP. Hedley spoke to no one about his time in Kanchanburi until 1997 when I returned home. When he knew I had been to a couple of successive Anzac services at Hellfire Pass he pulled me aside and told me his story.

He landed in Changi, 2 weeks before it was taken by the Japanese in 42. He was marched to Thailand. Spent 3 years there, he said those who suvivied owe it to local Thai people for constant vigilance and small helpings of food. Those who worked and didn't challenge the Japs were allow to take food from the locals as the Japs new they could work harder. Sometime in late 1944 he was marched back to an port, I dont recall where. He was loaded up in the hull of a ship and sent to Japan, no food, little water, 35 days.

His ship got through! He was put to work in coal mines outside Nagasaki. He said due to electric being down they were on the surface in the days running up to the bombs. He witnessed both being dropped, something Headley said always brought a smile to him in a sad way. They painted PW on the top of roofs and had supplies dropped the three days later. He said it was four years out of his life he prayed no one would ever have to experience like that.

RIP Headley