Re: Former POW - Japan Never Said They Were Sorry

Date: May 29, 2004

"A message to Japan from former POW
Lester Tenney

This Memorial Day (May 29) in the United States has a different significance to many Americans who fought in World War II, than did the Memorial Days of the past. For this day marks the dedication of a monument in Washington, DC, honoring the veterans of WWII who fought for freedom and our country's honor. Some being honored today came home, while others died on the field of battle or as prisoners of war.

Although 59 years has past since the end of hostilities, here we are at last paying respect to those who fought in WWII and sacrificed so much, but came home and ended up receiving so little.

The specific group of veterans I am speaking about, the ones who received so little, are those who were captured by the Imperial Japanese Army, and were then forced into slavery with some of Japan's leading private profit making industrial companies. We survivors of this enslavement have sought justice in American courts, the same justice I might add that we fought so fervently to protect. But our plea for justice was denied us by our State Department; the reason given was because of the strong friendship that currently exists between our two countries.

I can accept that, as I also have many friends in Japan, friends made in spite of the horrors of war, friends with whom I share a common feeling of love, kindness and respect. But just because the Supreme Court of the United States has refused to hear our appeal, and we, the victims who were seeking justice, have finally succumbed to their decision, this should in no way absolve Japan, or those companies who enslaved thousands of Americans during WWII, of an honorable conclusion to this sad period in your great country's history. I would hope that Japan wants to solve the problem of responsibility and thereby have its honor restored so that once again Japan will have its honorable place in a free world.

Our legal fight has never been about money. It has been about honor, dignity and responsibility. We former POWs, like the great country of Japan, want our honor and dignity restored. But we also want those who violated our rights as human beings, to accept their responsibility. Accepting responsibility is the honorable thing to do. And Japan, as the whole world knows, is the epitome and creator of the meaning of honor.

Similar to the memorial being dedicated this weekend, which took 59 years to accomplish, 59 years has also passed with Japan still not willing to come to grips with its past and apologize for its transgressions during WWII. But I believe it is never too late to say, "We're sorry."

Likewise, the companies that enslaved thousands of Americans, and failed to provide them with the very basic necessities of life should, once and for all, come forward and apologize for the cruelties that were handed out to the innocent and unarmed prisoners of war who were mistreated, underfed and deprived of medical care during this period of slavery.

Historical records shows that the abuse of prisoners of war by the Japanese soldiers and the private company overseers took place on a massive scale. During a legal hearing in the POW issue, one American judge wrote the following: "Over 11,000 of the 27,000 some Americans captured and interned by the Japanese military during World War II died."

While the abuse perpetrated against American POWs in Japan during WWII was condoned and allowed to continue for 3 1/2 years without reprisal, the recent abuse of Iraqi detainees by some American service men and women was immediately condemned and dealt with by the U.S. government. The president of the United States immediately offered a meaningful apology to those detainees mistreated, and has already begun the legal means of punishing those who committed this transgression against humanity.

Knowing this, why have we not been offered an apology by those who abused us? The negative actions of those Japanese who committed acts of violence against we former POWs have stained Japans honor, and to continue the delay of offering an apology has tainted Japan's integrity as a first class nation.

Now as Americans are honoring veterans of WWII, there is an opening for the Japanese to come forward and issue the apology so badly needed to close the books on a sad period of Japan's history. If Japan is truly our friend, then as a gesture of friendship, they should commit themselves to restoring their honor, and apologize for their transgressions.

If the Japanese companies that utilized American POWs reject their responsibility to pay back wages to these prisoners for their labor, then it is my fervent hope that they, along with the Japanese government, consider setting up and funding an educational foundation to educate future generations from both countries about the horrors of war and to explain to the world the experiences of POWs during the war years. In this way it is our hope that we can abolish war and its aftermath.

And my last wish before I leave this earth is to receive a formal apology from the company who placed me into servitude, stole my honor and my dignity, and broke my body, Is that too much to wish for? I hope not.

Dr Lester Tenney is a former POW and a survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March. He recently lost his case against Mitsui where he was seeking an apology and unpaid wages for his wartime slave labor. He has been a frequent guest speaker at many colleges and high schools in Japan. His book, "My Hitch in Hell" has been translated into Japanese and published in Japan."