These
links are deemed
accurate for sources of information. PLEASE make recommendations for
links you believe are accurate and interesting for POW
Research.
Singapore
Malay Volunteers- learn the history & Units of the
Malay Volunteers- fast growing web site
Naval
History and Heritage Command: U.S.
Prisoners of War and Civilian
American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The
Issue of Compensation by Japan by Gary K. Reynolds, Information
Research Specialist (2002)
Searchable Special Recommended
Web
Data Bases for information regarding
individual POWS & KIAs
MIA- American effort to
locate,
and identify remains of MIAs
Naval Disasters of WWII- Duncan's
Naval Research-
Simply the best site anywhere for information
about every major ship lost in any manner and facts of WWII.
Merchant
Marine as
POWs-
Complete list of all Merchant seaman held by the Japanese (and
Germans), among the very first POWs in the Pacific War (see
main page here)
HMAS
Perth-
Full story, roster, etc.
Excellent site for study.
General
Overview of all POW sites:
Massacres
by the Japanese-
well organized and extensive information on the
major Japanese massacres. Perhaps someday Japan may acknowledge these
facts.
The
HONG
KONG
battle- a stunning data base of those who fought and died in the
defense of Hong Kong. An impressive historical achievement.
C Force Reports and Stats - Canadian
POWs,
mostly from Hong Kong, documents where the men were rescued and where and how some
perished.
BRITISH
NAVY - Force Z - rosters, etc. of ships lost in
Pacific and much
more.
Commonwealth
Medical
Personnel
-Story of the POWs of the Japanese including the
Medical personnel who cared for them. This will embrace amongst others
the POWs of Burma, Thailand (Siam), Burma-Thailand Railway, Sumatra
Railway, Changi, Manchuria and Timor.
The Chinese
WAR SLAVE
pages
[link no longer good]. New site
explores
the enslavement of Chinese, thousands taken to Japan. Worse treatment
than imaginable with an extraordinarily high death rate. Must read!
Roll
of Honour
-Another great research
project of Ron Taylor. Very detailed list of mostly British POWs
including an updated Java Index of men captured in Java area plus hell
ship rosters. Great stuff!
FEPOW-
"Far East POW" Community,
an excellent British organization that helps document both military and
civilian internee in the Pacific.
Children
of the Far East
POWS
- excellent information and a special British charity that is
spearheading the drive to create the first permanent
memorial
to all FEPOW in Britain
ADBC-
The American Defenders of
Bataan and Corregidor: a useful site for research, memoirs, unit
histories and further contact. See also the
American Defenders of Bataan &
Corregidor Memorial Society (Descendants Group).
American
Ex-Prisoners of War
- not very useful for
research but has "request for help" listings.
American
POWs of Japan blog site -- Lots of good information
here.
Bataan Blogspot -
Robert Hudson's blog with a multitude of photos and stories (be
sure to read
his
own story)
Dutch
POW Camps under the Japanese:This
excellent site by
Henk Beekhuis gives
information on civilian and
military POW camps in the Dutch East Indies as well as other SE Asian
camps, including Japan. Very good database on transport ships
(hellships). (
Google
translation to English)
Dutch
National POW Database: Deceased list in detail.
Netherlands
East Indies (NEI) - Site specifically dealing with the camps
in the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) The site is written in Dutch
but also contains ENGLISH versions of the Dutch features.
Sites relating to
Specific Camps:
Fukuoka
Camp #1 - An
OUTSTANDING
site covering the history, pictures, rosters, and life in these camps
on Kyushu, all located by the Japanese next to military airfields. [Webpages are now a part of Mansell.com]
Fukuoka Camp 17
- A Lewiston Idaho school history project started in fall of 2002 by
the teacher, Linda Dahl Weeks. [Webpages are now a part of Mansell.com]
Korean
Camps - Excellent and scholarly report of the 1000+ men,
mostly Australians, shipped to Korea in August 1942 on the
Fukkai
Maru.
POW
Camps in Taiwan (Formosa) - Outstanding site regarding
Formosa (Taiwan) that is rapidly expanding. Photos, rosters, details.
Canadians in Hong Kong-
new site relating the experience of these men at start of war in Hong
Kong. Worthy of an OBE
The
Old China Hands- site devoted to documenting the internment
camps for civilians in China.
Hiroshima POWs -
includes complete English translation of book written by Shigeaki Mori
about American POWs killed in Hiroshima and his incredible work to
inform families.
Bataan Missing-
dedicated to the thousands of American servicemen who were imprisoned
and died of starvation, disease and mistreatment on the Bataan Death
March and in Japanese prison camps in the Philippines.
Hiroshima POWs -
includes complete English translation of book written by Shigeaki Mori
about American POWs killed in Hiroshima and his incredible work to
inform families.
Individual Experiences:
Stanley
Willner Story - Saga of a
Merchant Mariner captured by a German raider, used as a slave by
Japanese on Death Railway.
Hank
Cowan's Story - Captured
on Bataan, sent to Nichols Detail and finally rescued at Cabanatuan.
One of the
Ghost Soldiers.
War
Mysteries Solved: The
disappearance of the
US
Submarine Gudgeon
The Start of
the Pacific War:
Dutch
East
Indies - History of the
military campaigns including Orders of Battle. A remarkable achievement
by a young scholar in Slovenia.
Shanghai-
The
attack by the Japanese,
July 1937. Site
includes
102 startling
pictures of the attack by a Swiss national, Karl
Kangelbacher, who lived in the city.
Wake
Island - The complete story of the invasion and fall of Wake
Financing
the War - Japan promoted opium sales in China -a fascinating
look at the "real" story.
The
Geneva Convention (1929) relating to the treatment of POWS.
Full text.
Myths and Outright Lies:
FDR-Churchill -
Did FDR know the Japanese fleet was coming? Proof from German
intercepts now revealed.
Singapore - Churchill once said that he will be
remembered in history as a great leader, "For I shall write the
history." The real story of how Churchill knowingly lied about the
surrender and maligned the Australian fighters he sent into battle
without proper equipment.
More
on the Churchill deception
about Singapore.
Coventry
Bombing -The WWII bombing
of Coventry has been portrayed for years as a cold-hearted Churchill
decision not to let on the Allies had the German enigma code cracked.
Turns out it had more to do with a bad jamming frequency used by early
British electronic warfare. The British X-Geraet jammer stations were
slightly off frequency and failed to confuse the German pathfinder
bombers.
Hirohito's
speech announcing
the "unconditional"
surrender - deception of his own people.
Lies
From
the Smithsonian- Rebuttal
to the distortions and outright lies regarding the Japanese-Americans
in WW II. The exhibit was partially funded by a Japanese WAR CRIMINAL. Your tax dollars at work distorting history.
Nazi
transfer of enriched uranium to Japan
(More on the Japanese development of an atomic bomb, see
Hog Wild – 1945: One B-29, One Soviet Conspiracy by Dwight Rider)
Articles of interest for POW Research:
War
Casualties: Casualty count of All wars fought by the United
States
The
Plan to invade Japan- Operation Downfall
ANZAC
Day- On 25 April every year Australians commemorate
Anzac Day. It is Australia's most sacred day.
POWs of the
Japanese- Web site of Lt Col Winstanley with extensive
articles regarding Burma-Thailand Death Railway and numerous camp
illustrations
Merchant
Marine in WWII. George Duffy's valuable research on the men
who sailed the supply ships.
Operation
RAMP- (Return of Allied
POWs) Listing of B-29 missions to drop food to starving POWs.
War
graves register for
British Commonwealth. Register for all Commonwealth men killed in World
War I and II.
Commonwealth
Deceased at the Yokohama Cemetery
- plus mystery of
missing
Aussie graves
Corregidor- Excellent site if you want to understand
about the composition of the batteries. Not easily navigated but has
excellent discussions and historical essays by determined researchers.
Atrocities
of WWII-
both
German and Japanese. Well researched and accurate but not for
the weak of heart.
The
life experience of partners of ex-POWs of the Japanese: An
outstanding study by Betty Peters, Nursing
Research Coordinator, Australia.
Hell
Ships:
West
Point Listing of Known hell ships- constantly update and very accurate.
Arisan
Maru- Roster of the
almost 1800 men who perished when this hell ship was sunk. Prepared by
the son of former POW William E. Bowen.
Oryoku Maru: Detailed roster for every man on board giving name, rank,
unit and place of actual death. A monumental research achievement by
Jim Erickson.
Montevideo
Maru - excellent site that
questions the Japanese records- was this the ship?
Oryoku
Maru - site
by son of POW killed on this ship.
Excellent work! Now includes the Erickson roster of all men on the
Oryoku. Includes photographs, stories of survivors. Plus more
information, particularly regarding the Moji POW Hospital (Fukuoka #4).
Transport
ship database - becoming one of the most accurate
online databases on hellships (link is Dutch to English translation)
Book-
The best book on this subject is: "
Death on the Hellships" by
Greg Michno. Worth every dime and the only book worth buying.
Movies:
YouTube
search
Just plain
interesting links:
Rare actual
photo
of American Revolutionary soldier, Captain George Fishley!
More--- A
PATRIOT OF THE REVOLUTION
New York City pulled out all the stops for the Fourth
of July, 1853. Military units and veterans of the War of 1812 paraded.
Carelessness with firearms, said the New York Times, produced "the
usual catalogue of small disasters."
Individual
Units:
192nd
Tank Battalion - Bataan - A high
school project to remember and teach. Accounts for almost every man who
was in this unit on Bataan, along with their stories.
The
Philippine Scouts - Extensive site remembering the Philippine
Scouts that fought so honorably on Bataan and Corregidor.
4th
Marines - info on the often-ignored 4th Marines who fought courageously on
Bataan and Corregidor; see also
From Shanghai to Corregidor - Marines in the Defense of the Philippines (PDF)
North
China Marines - Excellent
site documents the Marines in Peking, Tientsin and Shanghai
USS Houston - web site designed to honor the men of this
ship, sunk off Java. Most survivors enslaved on the Thailand-Burma
"Death" Railway
Defense of
Bataan - much history here on the various units on Bataan
200th and 515th Coast
Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) - many photos and stories at this website
developed by the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico;
of note is the
Bataan
Memorial Park