Bridge Over The River Kwai Last Explosion Sunday Night

[oldsailor35]

Lets not forget the Thai who saved many POW's lives by putting his family and himself at risk by helping supply drugs, medicines eggs and other foods to the Australian doctors under the command of the wonderful Australian surgeon "Wearey Dunlop". These doctors made their own surgical instruments etc from spoons and whatever they could get. After the war the Australians collected enough money to give to the Thai family, i think that their name was Boon Haw (or something like that) who then formed a bus company which i am led to believe is now one of Thailands biggest .During the days of the occupation Mr Boon had a small truck and was supplying the Japs, at the same time smuggling what he could to Wearey Dunlop and his men. Yes, there were a lot of wonderful brave Thai's back in those days, and you had better believe it, their lives, and that of their families were all on the line if they were caught helping the POW's in any way

[oldsailor35]

Incidentially ! If anyone wishes to find a particular grave in the cemetry. Do not be an idiot like i was 6 years ago. I was looking for the grave of one of my mums school mates (suspected boyfriend) and took 2 days going to every grave before i found it right in the middle two rows from the back !

Next day in the museum i discovered that i could have found the grave from their computer in a few mins.

Bugger !

[oldsailor35]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Who were said to be more brutal than the Japs !

[stoneyboy]

Incidentially ! If anyone wishes to find a particular grave in the cemetry. Do not be an idiot like i was 6 years ago. I was looking for the grave of one of my mums school mates (suspected boyfriend) and took 2 days going to every grave before i found it right in the middle two rows from the back !

Next day in the museum i discovered that i could have found the grave from their computer in a few mins.

Bugger !

Or on the commonwealth war graves commission web site here.

http://www.cwgc.org/

Where I easily found my late grandfathers grave.

[Waterloo]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Who were said to be more brutal than the Japs !

Although to be fair to the Koreans they were treated extremley brutally by the Japanese as well, not sure I would have behaved any better under the same circumstances

[oldsailor35]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Who were said to be more brutal than the Japs !

Although to be fair to the Koreans they were treated extremley brutally by the Japanese as well, not sure I would have behaved any better under the same circumstances

Well thats how it was with those sick minded bastards, Jap officers beat Jap sergeants, Jap sergeants beat Jap corporals and so on down. Yes those Korean guards were the bottom of the chain, but is well documented that they did appear to relish the job !

[barefoot1988]

Lets not forget the Thai who saved many POW's lives by putting his family and himself at risk by helping supply drugs, medicines eggs and other foods to the Australian doctors under the command of the wonderful Australian surgeon "Wearey Dunlop". These doctors made their own surgical instruments etc from spoons and whatever they could get. After the war the Australians collected enough money to give to the Thai family, i think that their name was Boon Haw (or something like that) who then formed a bus company which i am led to believe is now one of Thailands biggest .During the days of the occupation Mr Boon had a small truck and was supplying the Japs, at the same time smuggling what he could to Wearey Dunlop and his men. Yes, there were a lot of wonderful brave Thai's back in those days, and you had better believe it, their lives, and that of their families were all on the line if they were caught helping the POW's in any way

You are referring Boonpong, the thai chinese who assisted Weary Dunlop, not Boon Haw. Boon Haw is a different person, well known for his tiger balm

[Bagwan]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Correct. You don't put front line troops to guard prisoners. My understanding gleaned from a survivor who, in 1953 was still gaunt and looked unwell, was that the Korean guards were treated , not much better than the prisoners by Japanese officers who I guess were pretty third rate themselves.

I read some time ago that the USAAF tried to bomb the bridge on two occasions and failed miserably. A further attempt was made and the centre spans destroyed. These were however fairly quickly repaired. The job of disrupting the railway, which was required to supply theJapaneses troops in Burma and advancing into India, was handed over to the RAF, or possibly the RAAF, who sent three B24's (?) bombers and the first scored a direct hit but it is not clear from what I have read whether this was the same bridge. The other two bombers found alternative targets.

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

[thehappyfarang]

From what i understand, the bridge over the river Kwai was blown up in WW2.

The bridge that stands there today is a different bridge at a different location

so the whole thing is a false statement.

I believe that is correct.

No, that is totally wrong!

The steel and concrete bridge which still stands today was partly destroyed by bombing in June 1945. You will notice that the two spans which were hit are now a different shape to the rest of the spans.

Photographic evidence is available.

Absolutely right - the photos of the bridge from the war are clearly the same bridge as you see today. The bombing just took out a part of the bridge - it was later repaired.

[rene123]

In the late 1930s, the Japanese youth that were inducted into the army were taught to be brutal from an early age, just as Hitler taught his young group of thugs. They were taught to accept pain and torture, so it was little wonder why they treated the allied prisoners so brutally. You can't really blame the children for what they were taught. I can say there are some similarities around the world today... and some much closer to home than we think.

From historical facts, the Japanese army forced the allied prisoners onto the bridge prior to the bombing, so the allied planes actually killed their own men. The river ran red with blood for a week afterwards.

[Potosi]

From what i understand, the bridge over the river Kwai was blown up in WW2.

The bridge that stands there today is a different bridge at a different location

so the whole thing is a false statement.

I believe that is correct.

No, that is totally wrong!

The steel and concrete bridge which still stands today was partly destroyed by bombing in June 1945. You will notice that the two spans which were hit are now a different shape to the rest of the spans.

Photographic evidence is available.

Thnx for the correction.

There never was a bridge over the River Kwai. The bridge crosses a river that was called Mae Klong, and the Thais renamed it Kwai to reconcile fiction and reality. So now there are two rivers Kwai. The Japanese had to fix the bridge after the war, and they delivered the angular segments. Adding insult to injury.

[prodriver]

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

As I've mentioned before on this forum, Thais were not involved in the building of the railway so no Thais perished due to working on the railway.

[metisdead]

An off topic post and a reply have been removed.

[rene123]

There is an amazing number of people here who seem to have been in Kanchanaburi at the time of the bridge bombing and also have first hand knowledge of what happened. I commend you on your longevity and great memory.

[thaifkrlim]

There is an amazing number of people here who seem to have been in Kanchanaburi at the time of the bridge bombing and also have first hand knowledge of what happened. I commend you on your longevity and great memory.

similar to the number of people who were there at that time of Jesus' ascension and disappearance into the galaxy

[Kan Win]

From what i understand, the bridge over the river Kwai was blown up in WW2.

The bridge that stands there today is a different bridge at a different location

so the whole thing is a false statement.

I believe that is correct.

Well I believe this photo. Hope some one Kan disprove it and show me the real place and photo as well.

By the way, the white part of both banks of this river is sand and it still is at low level up river that is, Khwae Yai.

Win

[Kan Win]

For your info,

The Black and White photo was taken (not by me btw) from south to north and the colour one on top (also not by me btw) from north to south.

Now you know.

Win

[Waterloo]

From what i understand, the bridge over the river Kwai was blown up in WW2.

The bridge that stands there today is a different bridge at a different location

so the whole thing is a false statement.

I believe that is correct.

Well I believe this photo. Hope some one Kan disprove it and show me the real place and photo as well.

By the way, the white part of both banks of this river is sand and it still is at low level up river that is, Khwae Yai.

Win

and as per my previous post I notice the black & white photo shows 2 bridges

[oldsailor35]

Lets not forget the Thai who saved many POW's lives by putting his family and himself at risk by helping supply drugs, medicines eggs and other foods to the Australian doctors under the command of the wonderful Australian surgeon "Wearey Dunlop". These doctors made their own surgical instruments etc from spoons and whatever they could get. After the war the Australians collected enough money to give to the Thai family, i think that their name was Boon Haw (or something like that) who then formed a bus company which i am led to believe is now one of Thailands biggest .During the days of the occupation Mr Boon had a small truck and was supplying the Japs, at the same time smuggling what he could to Wearey Dunlop and his men. Yes, there were a lot of wonderful brave Thai's back in those days, and you had better believe it, their lives, and that of their families were all on the line if they were caught helping the POW's in any way

You are referring Boonpong, the thai chinese who assisted Weary Dunlop, not Boon Haw. Boon Haw is a different person, well known for his tiger balm

Ah well! i was half way there, but yes now i remember !

[oldsailor35]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Correct. You don't put front line troops to guard prisoners. My understanding gleaned from a survivor who, in 1953 was still gaunt and looked unwell, was that the Korean guards were treated , not much better than the prisoners by Japanese officers who I guess were pretty third rate themselves.

I read some time ago that the USAAF tried to bomb the bridge on two occasions and failed miserably. A further attempt was made and the centre spans destroyed. These were however fairly quickly repaired. The job of disrupting the railway, which was required to supply theJapaneses troops in Burma and advancing into India, was handed over to the RAF, or possibly the RAAF, who sent three B24's (?) bombers and the first scored a direct hit but it is not clear from what I have read whether this was the same bridge. The other two bombers found alternative targets.

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

Yes, probably in their thousands. The asians were not accounted for and many died because of their hygiene standards. There were also a lot of Indian army POW's.

[oldsailor35]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Correct. You don't put front line troops to guard prisoners. My understanding gleaned from a survivor who, in 1953 was still gaunt and looked unwell, was that the Korean guards were treated , not much better than the prisoners by Japanese officers who I guess were pretty third rate themselves.

I read some time ago that the USAAF tried to bomb the bridge on two occasions and failed miserably. A further attempt was made and the centre spans destroyed. These were however fairly quickly repaired. The job of disrupting the railway, which was required to supply theJapaneses troops in Burma and advancing into India, was handed over to the RAF, or possibly the RAAF, who sent three B24's (?) bombers and the first scored a direct hit but it is not clear from what I have read whether this was the same bridge. The other two bombers found alternative targets.

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

The airforce also attempted to attack Hell fire pass as well because there are a couple of bomb craters up on the rock.

[oldsailor35]

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

As I've mentioned before on this forum, Thais were not involved in the building of the railway so no Thais perished due to working on the railway.

Well, thats the first time i heard of any Thais working on the railway !

[oldsailor35]

From what i understand, the bridge over the river Kwai was blown up in WW2.

The bridge that stands there today is a different bridge at a different location

so the whole thing is a false statement.

I believe that is correct.

Well I believe this photo. Hope some one Kan disprove it and show me the real place and photo as well.

By the way, the white part of both banks of this river is sand and it still is at low level up river that is, Khwae Yai.

Win

Thank you for those very excellent photos.

[rene123]

Thank you for the photos Kan Win.

[impulse]

Great thread- thanks for the picture, and now a plug- If you're in Thailand on a weekend and don't get to Kanchanburi at least once, you are missing out.

The Sat-Sun tourist train leaves Hua Lampong at 06:30, takes you to, then past the bridge, then returns to Bangkok the same evening. All for 120 baht round trip.

I'd suggest getting off at the bridge, spending a few hours in K-Buri, then hopping on the return train that afternoon since the part past the bridge isn't as interesting as K-buri itself.

To stay the weekend, take the Saturday train up, go all the way to the end, return to the bridge, stay in one of the dozens of hotels or guest houses in K-Buri and take the Sunday evening train back. One of the best travel deals I have ever experienced.

Hit a museum or two and the fascinating history being debated here will become a lot more clear.

More info: (Hope it's not breaking any rules) http://www.seat61.co...tm#.UNKOGORwrJI

[Waterloo]

Yes and as well as not actualy being on the river Kwai there was in fact two bridges, also although the Japanese were in charge most of the Guards were actualy Korean.

Correct. You don't put front line troops to guard prisoners. My understanding gleaned from a survivor who, in 1953 was still gaunt and looked unwell, was that the Korean guards were treated , not much better than the prisoners by Japanese officers who I guess were pretty third rate themselves.

I read some time ago that the USAAF tried to bomb the bridge on two occasions and failed miserably. A further attempt was made and the centre spans destroyed. These were however fairly quickly repaired. The job of disrupting the railway, which was required to supply theJapaneses troops in Burma and advancing into India, was handed over to the RAF, or possibly the RAAF, who sent three B24's (?) bombers and the first scored a direct hit but it is not clear from what I have read whether this was the same bridge. The other two bombers found alternative targets.

It should not be forgotten that about 800 US troops, many survivors of USS Houston, were put to work with the Commonwealth and Dutch personnel. The number of 'farang' fatalities varies according to the source, but for sure that it pales intio insignificance compared to the number of Asians, many of them Thais, who perished.

Yes, probably in their thousands. The asians were not accounted for and many died because of their hygiene standards. There were also a lot of Indian army POW's.

Difficult to get accurate numbers of deaths amongst the forced Asian labourers versus western prisoners of war, for obvious reasons.

Wikipedia suggests figures as follows.

A workforce of 180,000 forced Asian labour of which 90,000 died versus, 60,000 Western Pow’s with 16,000 fatalities.

The museum at hellfire pass attribute the disproportionate death rate amongst the Asian labour force being down to them being civilians, were as the western labour force were pow’s & therefore had the structure & the discipline of the military to fall back on!

[Kan Win]

For your info,

The Black and White photo was taken (not by me btw) from south to north and the colour one on top (also not by me btw) from north to south.

Now you know.

Win

Opps, another senior moment by me.

Sorry to say I am wrong.

The The Black and White photo was taken from north to south. as well.

Win