World search for camp's survivors
Source: Xinhua |
August 16, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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A SEARCH at the site of a World War II prison camp in China has unearthed just cartridge cases, cans and a few daily utensils.
Song Jianguo and his fellow historians have also found a network of underground tunnels, but the lack of historical material at the Liaoyuan camp has left them frustrated.
The paucity of material does not match the historical value of the camp, said Song, who works with the municipal cultural administration of Liaoyuan.
Built in Liaoyuan City in northeast China's Jilin Province, it was used to hold 34 high-ranking Allied officers, including 10 prominent lieutenant generals and governor-generals.
Among them were Jonathan Wainwright, commander of Allied forces in the Philippines, and Arthur Percival, British commander of Malaya.
A museum is being built, but the lack of historical records has sparked a global search for survivors. "We will send historians to the United States, Britain, Netherlands, Philippines, Japan as well as Taiwan to find those veterans who had survived the Japanese POW camp in China," said Song.
By 2002, when the site was found with the help of an American veteran, few local residents were aware of its wartime identity.
But Hao Liansheng, now 78, remembers it as a "horrific place."
Surrounded by electric fences and guarded by soldiers watching from towers, the camp used to scare away most local people. Hao could not help wondering at the strange sight of Caucasians walking around, each escorted by a Japanese soldier.
Hal Leith, now 93, recorded the camp's final days in his diary. In 1945, he took part in a rescue operation. Wainwright "looked like a tattered scarecrow - quite thin - and was losing his hearing," Leith wrote.
Chang Yijie, head of the research group, said: "Japanese troops destroyed all the files on their retreat, leaving few clues for us."
Next month, historians will travel to Walla Walla in the United States, Wainwright's hometown.
"Barbara Clark, the mayor of Walla Walla, has invited the Chinese historians to visit those local veterans who survived the camp," said Song. "We hope to bring back oral accounts, videos and objects to help us complete our museum."
Song Jianguo and his fellow historians have also found a network of underground tunnels, but the lack of historical material at the Liaoyuan camp has left them frustrated.
The paucity of material does not match the historical value of the camp, said Song, who works with the municipal cultural administration of Liaoyuan.
Built in Liaoyuan City in northeast China's Jilin Province, it was used to hold 34 high-ranking Allied officers, including 10 prominent lieutenant generals and governor-generals.
Among them were Jonathan Wainwright, commander of Allied forces in the Philippines, and Arthur Percival, British commander of Malaya.
A museum is being built, but the lack of historical records has sparked a global search for survivors. "We will send historians to the United States, Britain, Netherlands, Philippines, Japan as well as Taiwan to find those veterans who had survived the Japanese POW camp in China," said Song.
By 2002, when the site was found with the help of an American veteran, few local residents were aware of its wartime identity.
But Hao Liansheng, now 78, remembers it as a "horrific place."
Surrounded by electric fences and guarded by soldiers watching from towers, the camp used to scare away most local people. Hao could not help wondering at the strange sight of Caucasians walking around, each escorted by a Japanese soldier.
Hal Leith, now 93, recorded the camp's final days in his diary. In 1945, he took part in a rescue operation. Wainwright "looked like a tattered scarecrow - quite thin - and was losing his hearing," Leith wrote.
Chang Yijie, head of the research group, said: "Japanese troops destroyed all the files on their retreat, leaving few clues for us."
Next month, historians will travel to Walla Walla in the United States, Wainwright's hometown.
"Barbara Clark, the mayor of Walla Walla, has invited the Chinese historians to visit those local veterans who survived the camp," said Song. "We hope to bring back oral accounts, videos and objects to help us complete our museum."
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