What It Meant to be a Far East Prisoner of War (FEPOW) . . . *** 27-42% of FEPOWs captured by the Japanese were killed or died in captivity, compared with 1-2% of those Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen captured by the Germans and Italians. *** FEPOW deaths as a percentage were the highest rate of all the World War II battle fronts involving British troops. *** FEPOWs suffered trauma 24 hours a day, with the constant threat of death, disease, beatings, torture, starvation, seeing their comrades dying around them, burying them and even being forced to dig their own graves. From August 1942 until September 1945, more than 4,350 Allied prisoners of war were held in 14 Japanese-run POW camps on the island of Taiwan. They suffered terribly at the hands of their captors and more than 10% of the POWs died. In 1997 the Kinkaseki / Taiwan Prisoner of War Memorial was built at Jinguashi, and every year since then a Remembrance Day service has been held there. Above data via: Never Forgotten :: The Story of the Taiwan POW Camps and Never Forgotten :: The Story of the Taiwan POW Camps and the men who were intered in them. My visit to this memorial park (established in November 1997) has enabled me to take images of all 4372 names as they appear on multiple panels and, in addition, to produce 2 short videos showing the general layout of the site itself. note: 10 images attached. Memorial Garden: Memorial Wall: Most of the men who died here were interred in CWGC Sai Wan War Cemetery, HK, China. I can provide images of their grave markers/memorials if required. LEST WE FORGET Tony Buckley www.asiawargraves.com
An excellent tribute to all the POWs held on the Island of Formosa including my Uncle George - William George Pannell. I see it was raining while you were there: that's apparently quite the norm and just goes to show how truly atrocious the conditions were for those poor souls.
Indeed - non-stop rain the whole time I was there. Even his name on the Memorial Wall is surrounded by raindrops... Tony Buckley www.asiawargraves.com
