Books on war

[Keith Webb]

I interviewed Bryan several years ago when he came to Temora. He had some excellent stories of his flying in Corsairs.
One of my friends, Dave Salter was also there with his ex-Kiwi Harvard, it was actually one which Bryan had flown at Ardmore during his training. Bryan was still flying and Dave took him up. He let Bryan fly it and once he had his eye in, he was even doing aerobatics.

Originally Posted by motto

'Too Young To Die' by Bryan Cox. ISBN 0 09 172741 3 (Paper) 0 09 172740 5 (Cased)
The story of a New Zealand fighter pilot in the Pacific War.
A very good insight into the not insignificant contribution made by NZ operated Corsairs. A contribution little known outside of their homeland.
I was particularly interested to read it due to a WW2 AIF friend of the family who was involved in fighting Japanese forces with NZ Corsairs carrying out ground attack from overhead. One of his clear memories was being showered with empty .50 Cal cases and how much they hurt. Something you don't tend to think about.

David

[hrpearce]

Greg gave me two books and Mum one.

[Howard]

That should fill in fifteen minutes or so!
Cheers and all the best for Christmas.
H

[motto]

The brutal behaviour of the Japanese forces during WW2 has once again come under scrutiny as a result of the recently released film 'The Railway Man' Starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The film deals with the emotional damage suffered by the lead character (Firth) as a result of his maltreatment as a POW working on the Thai-Burma railway.
For anyone wishing to know what it was really like to labour under Japanese control as a POW in WW2 with first hand accounts of japanese brutality and total indifference to the suffering of others including their own wounded this book cannot be surpassed.
One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Ian Denys Peek is arguably the definitive work on the day to day treatment of Japanese held prisoners and I had trouble putting it down as the author's descriptive ability is a rare gift to encounter.
If you read one book on the topic make it this one, it is not a dirge, it is a story of triumph over adversity.

One Fourteenth of an Elephant by Ian Denys Peek, ISBN 0 330 36463 4

David

[hrpearce]

Howard
Two of the books are full of words with hardly any pictures so a fiew weeks reading at my pace.
David
Thank you for the recommendation I had some money in my paypal so I bought a copy.
I am starting to gather quite a library.

[Marc Montgomery]

If you want to know the horrors of Japanese atrocity, and have a strong stomach...google - --- Unit 731 ---

hard to imagine, but worse than anything Mengele could dream up.
And the Japanese govt and court systems have continually stymied attempts to bring more evidence of these atrocities to light.. requiring in fact, discovered evidence be destroyed

I vaguely recall an incident a few years ago where researchers had discovered bones etc from a 731 site but were refused permission to continue and instead allow development over the site to hide/destroy it permanently

The Japanese PM raised ire again for visiting the Yakusuni war dead shrine where hundreds of war criminals are buried including several A class war criminals.

He said it was a visit to denounce war, but everyone knows the real political implications of visiting the shrine, and he broke an agreement with China that no sitting PM should visit.

This is also the PM who denies that Japan forced women into sexual slavery

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/wo...?ref=shinzoabe
He has also ordered a rewriting of school history books to reflect a more nationalistic view of Japan wartime record.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/wo...?ref=shinzoabe

[motto]

One Fourteenth of an Elephant doesn't attempt to document Japan's overtly criminal behaviour and doesn't mention such activity. Japanese attitudes and actions permeate the story, they are not particularly focused on but woven in and through the narrative. The most unsettling aspect was the total indifference to suffering that was so casually demonstrated and universal. The lack of humanity is so alien to (modern) western culture it's difficult to get your head around.
The activities of the infamous Unit 731 are an entirely separate issue and the horrors carried out by them difficult to approach without stirring up deep emotions crowned by an overwhelming repugnance.
The full story of the unit will probably never be known as I understand that members were made immune from prosecution in return for handing over all their experimental data to the allies.
I find it a bitter pill to swallow that when he was Prime Minister Bob Hawke made funds available for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals who did not carry out crimes against Australians and nary a word is said about our buddies to the north who did so 'Bigtime'.

Sandakan, Tol Plantation, Banka Beach.

We Will Remember Them

David