US Veterans Visit Old POW Camp in Japan

It is too bad that people in Japan and Korea cannot get past harsh history like these US vets are able to do:

HEIWAJIMA, JAPAN — Bill Sanchez looked out over the canal. “That’s where the geisha girls used to be,” he said, pointing at the opposite bank, now lined with modern apartment buildings. “They used to wave at us.”

Was that a twinkle in his eye or just the reflection of the water?

For most American servicemen held as prisoners during World War II, returning to Japan is a complicated thing. But 96-year-old Sanchez, who spent 42 months doing back-breaking work here, said Thursday that the war was bad for everyone. He’s heartened at the way America’s former enemy has emerged from the ashes.

“I went through all that suffering, and the Japanese went through all those bombings,” he said, standing on the waterway that runs alongside what was once Camp Omori, where he was held prisoner.

Now, the camp site is a venue for boat races along the canal, complete with Jumbotron and betting windows. The neighboring mall features huge signs declaring “Big fun”and “Game panic.”

“I take a bit of pride in all of this. What they have done is unbelievable,” said Sanchez, who was brought to Japan on a “hell ship” in 1942 after U.S. forces surrendered in the Philippines, where he was stationed.

He was wearing a crimson garrison cap with “American ex-prisoners of war” on it.

Sanchez, a retired trader in steel and other commodities from Monterey Park, Calif., is one of seven former POWs visiting Japan on a trip organized by Japan’s foreign ministry “to promote mutual understanding between Japan and the United States through encouraging a reconciliation of minds.” (Washington Post)

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