Author’s Commentary

How would you like to go to Tokyo to plead for conpensation for the horror and deprivation you suffered in a Japanese prison camp in World War II, only to find that your own State and Justice Departments were sitting across the table from you, aiding Japan and denying you your right to petition?

Hard to believe? Well, that’s what happened in the summer of 1998 when ex-prisoners of war and their attorneys pled their case in Tokyo. And that was not an isolated incident — every time POWs have sued for reparations, both here and in Japan, they have been opposed by our own government.

Ironically, most American ex-POWs would have been content with just receiving the thanks of a grateful nation for the years they spent in Japanese prison camps fulfilling their country's call to duty . . . until 1988 when President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act. That act provided $1.65 billion in reparations to 82,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry who had been evacuated, relocated, and interned here in World War II. That came to around $20,000 per person, and although it hardly compensated them for their losses, it must have helped considerably.

When I and other ex-POWs looked at the rationale that motivated the offer, we came to the conclusion that if those of Japanese ancestry were entitled to reparations for the loss of their homes, possessions, and businesses, so were we. Actually more so, as we had been asked by our respective governments — at that time I was British, although my mother was an American — to stay in China and the Philippines to protect our nations’ interests.

Coupled with that, was the horrific condition of the camps we were in: they were vastly different from the internment centers in the States. Families were huddled in 9' × 12' cells with no heat, clothing, medical supplies, and scant food rations. In no way were we internees — we were prisoners of war who never got to leave the camp for the duration of hostilities!

Today, if you were to ask our State and Justice Departments how they can justify the stand they are taking against WWII ex-POWs of the Pacific Theater they will tell you piously they are upholding the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. Never mind that the spurious document, ill-conceived and rushed to publication, has been labeled highly controversial and a travesty of justice.

In the late 1990s, to Great Britain’s credit, Parliament came through finally with a £10,000 ex gratia (belated thanks) payment to each and every living British ex-POW. That came out at around $15,000 per person and was greatly appreciated by my sisters and me. I could only think how it would have helped my mother and father; they lost everything to the Japanese military who robbed our homes and raided the Swiss compound where most of our family treasures and heirlooms were stored for safekeeping. As with the Japanese internees in the United States, it wouldn’t have compensated them for their loss, but it certainly would have helped financially.

If it were just me, I’d forget the past and get on with my life, but I can’t sit back and watch fellow seniors in their sixties, seventies, and eighties, who are suffering from ailments and infirmities caused by malnutrition suffered in Japanese prison camps, being ignored by our government. If the United States won’t allow them to sue Japan for reparations, then at least it shold follow Great Britain’s lead and compensate American ex-POWs for their sacrifice and patriotism.

Of course our government’s attitude is brutally clear: If it can ignore them long enough they will all be dead . . . and the problem will have solved itself!

Updated August 2011