Mitsubishi Apologizes to Families of American POW’s Used as Forced Laborers During World War II
Notice how the family members of U.S. POW’s used as forced laborers in Japan are not launching lawsuits, demanding compensation, and wanting normalization treaties with Japan thrown away:
The daughter of a Marine Corps veteran got an apology from Mitsubishi Materials Corp. during a visit Wednesday to the site of a mine where the veteran worked as a prisoner during World War II.
George Burlage, a member of the 4th Marine Regiment, was captured on Corregidor in May 1942 and spent time in prisoner of war camps in the Philippines and Taiwan before traveling to Japan in a “hell ship” prisoner transport.
The Visalia, Calif., native ended the war working at a lead and zinc mine operated by Mitsubishi Mining in northeast Japan, according to his biography provided by the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society.
This week, his daughter Georgianne Burlage, 64, of Denton, Texas, traveled to her dad’s old POW camp, now a tourist attraction called Hosokura Mine Park in Sendai, as part of a trip for eight children of American POWs arranged by the Japanese government.
Some 27,000 U.S. troops were captured by Japan during the war and suffered in hellacious conditions at the hands of their Japanese captors: torture, starvation, disease, exposure and the continual deaths of their brothers in arms. About 40% percent of the POWs perished — 1,115 of them after being sent to Japan to work as forced laborers at more than 100 camps run by approximately 60 companies. (………)
“Officials from Mitsubishi met us and formally apologized to me for what happened to my father,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “That meant a lot to me. They were very gracious.” (…….)
Despite his ordeal, her father hadn’t expressed animosity toward the Japanese people and remained philosophical about his time in captivity, she said.
“They were mistreated but he always said it was 40 months of his life. He didn’t let it ruin the rest of his life,” she said.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Knowing I’d be bashed, let me point out a few things…
1. The Korean “forced laborers” who are suing are not same as these POWs. Korean laborers were conscripted. (the conscription took place very short period of time at the end of the war)
2. Many prison guards were ethnic Koreans of Japanese imperial army. Some 129 ethnic Koran prison guards were later convicted as war criminals at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
ROK and today’s Koreans have been trying to mislead everyone in the world and change history by insisting they were “forced laborers”. Imperial Japan conscripted its own citizens during the war which included SOME of ethnic Koreans and Taiwanese. The fact is, some 80,000 ethnic Koreans volunteered for the Imperial Japanese army. I just can’t stand those who tell lies in my face.
Toru, there is no reason to bash truthful statements. The current occupiers of the Blue House don’t want pesky things like facts to alter the narrative they are feeding the public, simply: Japan (and thriving democracy) = bad. Norkistan & China (with some of the worst human rights records and repressive dictatorships) = good. Come let us join our Norkistan brothers in bondage! The occupiers of the Blue House are going to be greatly surprised when kim fatty the third puts them in chains to be sent to the newest gulag. There is no way anyone from the current regime survives the revolution, even if it is disguised as a confederation.