Charity and kindness that was never forgotten: "Sixty-nine years ago on Saturday, American and Filipino prisoners of war on the Bataan Peninsula started marching at gunpoint. By the time the survivors arrived at a prison camp in the Philippines in spring of 1942, they had watched thousands of their comrades die along the 60 or more miles. What they suffered endures as a symbol of wartime cruelty. A few months ago, the grandson of one of the survivors traveled from Northern Virginia to Japan with an old photograph in his hand. It was a grainy picture of a young Japanese boy. For Tim Ruse, a 27-year-old sleep disorders specialist from Centreville, and for the Japanese people who greeted him, the photo offered a way to pluck from a dark chapter of history one single act of compassion. It was a photo of the child who helped save his grandfather’s life. Now they just had to find him. "The image of the boy was one of two photographs that Carl Ruse clutched in his hands when he boarded the USS Rescue in September 1945. He stripped the filthy clothes from his emaciated frame and threw his makeshift crutches into the sea. He left everything behind except those two pictures: The first of himself when he arrived at the prison camp in Japan — his cheeks hollow, his gaze hard and haunted — and the second of the boy. "In the old, torn print, the child looks perhaps 11 or 12. He is not quite smiling, but his eyebrows are raised slightly. He wears a cap and buttoned jacket, a somber uniform framing his pudgy cheeks and dark, gentle eyes." Finding the Japanese boy who had saved his grandfather during World War II - The Washington Post WWII: Bataan Death March survivor Carl Ruse and the Battle for the Philippines - The Washington Post
Carl Ruse was my Grandfather...Tim is my brother who wrote the book. I went with him to Japan in November to see where our Grandfather had been, and to try to find the boy. I was doing some searching on this article and found this thread. I have a strong interest in WWII history so I thought I'd register. I'm glad to see my Grandfather's story getting some publicity. He would be pretty surprised by all of this. Our trip to Japan was really interesting, we had several news crews following us around once they heard the story about the boy. I'm working on a web page with details, hopefully I can finish it in the next couple of months. I'll try to remember to post it here then.
Hi Steve & welcome. Thats a great story, glad that there was a positive ending - sadly too many only saw brutality. Regards Pete
Hello Steve, welcome to the forum. Enjoyed the story and look forward to seeing more in due course! Best, Steve.
