War is a Series of Catastrophies that ends in a Victory: General William E Brougher

Thursday, April 22, 2010

General William E Brougher

At the last ADBC convention in Reno this past April,2010, I donated an autographed copy of General Broughers book of Poetry titled "The Long Dark Road". It was extremely difficult to part with but I am happy that it was auctioned for the price I had asked for. Just a few days ago, a lady who's first name is Morgan posted a comment on this blog. Apparently she was googling her grandfathers name, General William E Brougher, and came across my blog. She was thrilled to see a poem written by him called "Ned King of Bataan". We have been communicating now and she has given me permission to post some family photos of the General. I believe that she was unaware that an organization such as the ADBC existed and that conventions have been ongoing for many years. I have been talking to her about attending next years convention in Pittsburgh and she is very interested. Please enjoy these mostly unpublished photos of the general and his family.

Brougher prior to his capture 1942

General Brougher, Commander, 11th Division

Broughers welcome home party after repatriation

8 comments:

Minter said...: It's great to see that new material is still emerging -- and that descendants are still able to find out about what went on in the Philippines in WWII... It's amazing what's out there! I am still in pursuit too!; April 24, 2010 at 9:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Thank you so much for posting these most precious pictures of my grandparents. I'm happy to have provided them. The last picture is one taken at their 50th wedding anniversary, celebrated at West Point, USMA, at my mother's home.
To Mr. Minter, we've always known what happened in the Philippines!
We just didn't know that so many others cared so much. My grandfather was a true hero of WWII
and I am proud to call him Granddaddy.
Morgan; May 15, 2010 at 8:56 AM
Minter said...: You are very right to be proud Morgan.

If you felt like coming by my grandfather's page, I have set it up on Facebook: Lt Cdr N Minter Dial

Best from Paris, Minter; May 16, 2010 at 12:04 AM
MMH AIRCRAFT said...: I HAVE A SIGNED COPY OF "THE LONG
DARK ROAD" (1946)...EXC. COND.
JIM COOK; August 16, 2010 at 7:29 PM
William Brown said...: Thank you for posting Pictures of my Great Great Grandfather. Its an honor to be named after him :); February 25, 2011 at 2:02 PM
hopeinbrazil said...: Thank you for your website. I have always been a fan of WWII history, but in recent years have concentrated on Bataan and what happened there. I just finished Brougher's South to Bataan, North to Mukden which was amazing. Thank you for posting these pictures. I look forward to reading your archives.; June 10, 2011 at 12:19 AM
M. Evans said...: There must be more signed copies floating around of "The Long Dark Road" than has previously been thought. I, too, have one in excellent condition. In this one is written "For Col. Warren Coleman with all good wishes. Sincerely, W.E. Brougher." It was given to me by a friend. I have no idea how he came to have it.; August 20, 2011 at 6:33 AM
Bataan Son said...: You may go to abebooks.com. Everytime I look, they have two or three copies, all of which are autographed.; August 20, 2011 at 6:04 PM

My email address

I sign into and check this blog infrequently. If you post a question here, I may not see it for a week or two, sometimes longer. Those of you who wish to contact me, may do so at
callmebobplease@yahoo.com . I usually check my email once a day, however, sometimes I am out of town and may go several days before I read my email. If you email me, I will respond usually the same day but occasionally the following day.

Thank you for visiting and don't be afraid to send me an email should you have a question. There is little I enjoy more than helping the descendants, relatives and friends of Philippine veterans.

Robert Hudson

LET US NOT FORGET

Let us not forget that Filipinos did most of the fighting and most of the dying during the great battle for the Philippines. They also did most of the dying on the Bataan Death March and the subsequent internment at Camp O'Donnell.

We Americans celebrate our involvement and lament the suffering of our military personnel at the hands of the Japanese, yet often we disregard the unimaginable suffering and devastation that the Filipino people endured in the defense of their liberty. This blog began as a tribute to my father but expanded to include other American forces. Much of the research I have done and what I have written has been garnered from the National Archives and other sources restricted to the American involvement in this horrendous battle and following treatment of our forces in Philippine prison camps, Hellships and internment in Japan and Manchuria.

I once read something years ago that said "The more that informations grows, the more that education will become specialized". This is true of what I have come to understand in this field. There is too much to know so I keep to what is closest to my heart. I have, however, never forgotten that the Filipinos are at the heart of any story of the battle for Bataan.

Let us not forget!

Werner Gruhls comments on dropping the Atomic Bombs

By August 1945, each added week of war comdemned more Allied and Japanese cities and villages to destruction and doomed approximately 100,000 Chinese and other Allies plus 50,000 Japanese to death; together about 150,000 per week.

The two A-bombs took approximately 150,000 lives, which equaled the carnage of one week of war. There is every indication that the bombs shortened the war by months. My projections show that the use of the atomic bomb saved from one million to three million lives and spared many millions more physically and psychologically wounded victims.

We are Soldiers Still

Soldiers Still

I lay silent in my grave as sunsets come and go

Time lost its meaning quite some time ago

This earth that I lay under was once a battleground

And remains of men like me lay scattered all around

I hear the voices above me and steps of many feet

No one knows of our location nor of our defeat.

The children sing and play not far from where we lie

We hear their laughs and screams and even when they cry

The sounds we hear above us are sounds of normal life

Not the sounds of bombs and bullets or casualties of strife

No sounds of screeching horses or sounds of rusty treads

Nor cries of wounded men soon to join the dead.

The times have changed somewhat over the span of years

No longer do loved ones call our names accompanied by tears

We stood our ground as best we could and gave it all we got

But day by day our numbers thinned as each of us were shot

I only ask that you think of us and hopefully you will

We were soldiers then and we are soldiers still.

Robert Hudson 7/24/2011

Prediction by Hirohitos Advisor

Hirohitos Advisor, the Marquis Kido, predicted in a Top Secret memo of December 3rd, 1940, a full year before Pearl Harbor: "After this war, the U. S. and the USSR may emerge unhurt, when all other nations are devastated...Our country may face great hardships".

"However, there is no need to despair. They will grow careless and corrupt. We will simply have to sleep in the woodshed and eat bitter fruits for a few decades. Then, when we have refurbished our manliness inside and out, we may still achieve a favorable result".

Prisoner of War

They say you are a prisoner, my dear.

But I know better. Oh, I know you stand

Somewhere within a wire-bound stockade

And see strange people in a stranger land.

But this is not imprisonment. We know,

For we have said it often, you and I,

That only when the soul lays down its arms

And yields to circumstance, can freedom die.

Night after night, as I lie down to rest,

I think of your-brave eyes upon the stars.

So certain in your faith that God is there,

My darling, that you do not see the bars.

The above poem is one of a group of war lyrics written by Norine Freeman, who is a member of the editorial staff of the Cincinnati Post. Circa 1944

Captured American Generals in the Philippines / World War Two

Jonathon M Wainwright Lieutenant General
Edward P King Jr. Major General
William F Sharp Major General
George M Parker Major General
George F Moore Major General
Albert M Jones Major General
Lewis C Beebe Brigadier General
Clifford Blumel Brigadier General
William E Brougher Brigadier General
Bradford Chynoweth Brigadier General
Charles C Drake Brigadier General
Arnold J Funk Brigadier General
Maxon S Lough Brigadier General
Allen C McBride Brigadier General
Clinton A Pierce Brigadier General
Carl H Seals Brigadier General
Luther R Stevens Brigadier General
Joseph J Vachon Brigadier General
James R Weaver Brigadier General

Your Comments

Feel free to comment on any post on the right side of this blog. Simply click on the word "Comments" at the bottom of any post and type in what you wish to share and click on "Publish your comment". I have the right to moderate any post, however, I can assure you that good, bad or indifferent,no changes will be made save eliminating foul language should any occur.

If you wish a response, leave your email address with your comments, otherwise I have no way of contacting you.

Thank you,

Robert Hudson

Army Command Structure at Division Level

First is the division commander. This is always a Major General--a two-star. There are more major generals than we have major general slots.
He has three officers who report to him: the Assistant Division Commander for Operations, the Assistant Division Commander for Support and the Chief of Staff. Normally the Assistant Division Commanders are brigadier generals; the chief of staff is a full-bird colonel.
The ADC(O) is in charge of the warfighters--the infantry, armor, field artillery, cavalry, engineer, air defense artillery and aviation assets. In a lot of divisions, the ADC(O) owns the medical company too. The ADC(S) is in charge of all the combat support and combat service support elements of the division. (This doesn't mean the ADC(O) owns the infantrymen in an infantry battalion and the ADC(S) owns the cooks in the mess hall.)
The Chief of Staff manages four officers:
G-1 is personnel
G-2 is intelligence. He controls two other officers: assistant G-2 for security and assistant G-2 for intelligence. In practice, the G-2 and not the ADC(S) owns the division Military Intelligence battalion. G-2 owns the division crypto bunker, where the encryption equipment is repaired. It's called a crypto bunker because it is always, no matter which installation you're on, in an ammo bunker.
G-3 is the division operations officer. He's got four officers working for him. The first is the G-3 Operations Officer. He is in charge of warfighting. The second is the G-3 Plans officer, then the G-3 Training and G-3 Air officers. The G-3 Air is ALWAYS a pilot. G-3 is also in charge of ammunition.
G-4 is logistics. He is in charge of all supplies except ammunition.

Letter Home from Lt. Henry Lee / Philippine Scouts

I have seen some horrible things happen, and have had my share of narrow escapes, but I have also seen some very wonderful acts of courage, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. And I have found what I have searched for all my life—a cause and a job in which I can lose myself completely and to which I can give every ounce of my strength and my mind. And I have mentally and spiritually conquered my fear of death.My prayer each night is that God will send you, who are suffering so much more than I am, His strength and peace. During the first few days of war I also prayed for personal protection from physical harm, but now I see that is something for which I have no right to ask, and I pray now that I may be given strength to bear whatever I must bear, and do whatever I must do so that those men under me will have every reasonable chance.Life and my family have been very good to me—and have given me everything I have ever really wanted, and should anything happen to me here it will not be like closing a book in the middle as it would have been had I been killed in the first days of the war. For in the last two months I have done a lifetime of living, and have been a part of one of the most unselfish cooperative efforts that has ever been made by any group of individuals. ... If the same selfless spirit were devoted to world betterment in time of peace, what a good world we would have.

Philisophy of an ex POW

There is beauty in life and it is found in simplicity. Simplicity does not infer happiness, health, wealth or love. It is none of those and all of those, as long as they are uncomplicated and unadorned with all of lifes myriad facets.

A grain of sand is simple and beautiful. If you hold one grain on the tip of your finger and stare at it or gaze at it under a microscope, it is beautiful. Yet to hold a handful of sand or watch it spread under the weight of your foot, its beauty is lost in the complication of mass. It has been said that the simpler one lives, the happier one is. Of that I am not sure, but there is beauty in it.

There was a time when my life was in fact simplicity itself. I had been a prisoner of war for some time. At some point, I realized that the Japanese had slowly simplified my life. They had stripped me of my dignity, my faith, my pride, and my job as a soldier. They had separated me from my family, my girlfriend, my daughter, and killed most of my buddies and friends. All my possessions had been stripped from me and I did not even have the rags of a uniform I had been captured in. I had been released of all of lifes responsibilities and left with one possession

That one possession was my life. My one duty was to stay alive. My simple routine was work, eat, live. I may have been a little touched but who was not at this point? I had one responsibility…Live. I didn’t have to worry about finding a water pump for my 32 Ford, thinking of what to get Mom for her birthday or making sure that my girlfriend in Manila and our newborn daughter were fed and taken care of.

I had been reduced to me. I didn’t even hate the Japanese at this point. I felt no hate, no love, no remorse, no fear and lost the ability to cry when a fellow prisoner died. I was beyond despair. The emotions which had lubricated my life were gone and it was a good thing for emotions give you excess hope and can throw you into a rage which in turn drains you of the strength to survive.

I had seen and lived through the horrors of which I could never speak of. Lifes purpose for me was to see another sunrise, to live another day, to keep breathing.
There was a simple beauty in this routine. My total focus was to survive. To survive was in itself victory over the enemy and the end to suffering. Eat, work, breathe, live. Simple. Survival was beautiful.

Richard C. Hudson
9 August, 1946

World War Two POW Statistics

POWs of the Japanese:
Death Rates by Nationalities (all figures approx.)

AmericanTotal POWs: 25,600
POW Deaths: 10,650
Percentage Dead: 41.6%

British, Australian, British Indian

Total POWs: 130,000
POW Deaths: 8,100
Percentage Dead: 6.2%

Dutch

Total POWs: 37,000
POW Deaths: 8,500
Percentage Dead: 23%

Forced Laborers from The Netherland East Indies (Indonesia)

Laborers: 300,000
Laborer Deaths: 230,000
Percentage Dead: 76.6%

American POWs HELD IN WWII

Military Held

There were 130,201 US Military captured and interned in WWII. As of January 1, 2000, 38,114 were still alive (29.2%). Of the total count of US POWs in WWII, 36,260 were captured and interned by the Japanese. On January 1, 2000, 5,745 were still alive (15.8%). Here is the grim news--the comparison of those military held by Germany and Japan.

Captured and Interned: By Nazis -93,941
Died while POW: 1,121 -1.1%
Alive on Jan1, 2000 44,773- 47.6%

Captured and interned by Japanese - 36,260
Died While POW: 13,851 - 38.2% -
Alive on Jan1, 2000 5,745 - 15.8%

Civilians Held
There were 18,745 US Civilians captured and interned in WWII. As of January 1, 2000, 3,018 were still alive (16.1%). Of the total civilian POWs in WWII, 13,996 were captured and interned by the Japanese. On January 1, 1999, only 1,497 were still alive (10.7%). Again, here are the grim statistics--the comparison of US civilians interned by Germany versus those held by Japan.

Captured and interned by Nazis: 4,746
Died while a POW: 168 - 3.5%
Alive on Jan1,2000 - 1,521 or 32%

Captured and interned by Japanese: 13,996
Died while a POW: 1,536 - 11%
Alive on Jan1,2000 - 1497 or 10.7%

Source: AXPOW Association, March 15, 2000

"The Veterans Administration reports that 46,417 ex-prisoners-of-war were alive as of January 1, 2001. The numbers of living Ex-POWs is dwindling rapidly. The number living as of January 1, 1998, was 55,999.

Clearly our numbers are decreasing at well over 3000 per year and this rate is accelerating." -- Wally Nelson, EX-POW Bulletin, June 2001

Behind Bamboo: American POWs in the Pacific
Estimated number captured, died and returned to U.S. control.
Captured by Country

Philippines: 22,000
Wake Island :1,555
Java (Indonesia): 890
Guam: 400
Japan & elsewhere :300
Celebes (Indonesia): 255
China: 200

Total :25,600

Killed or Died in Captivity by Country
Philippines: 5,135
On prison ships: 3,840
Japan: 1,200
Manchuria (China): 175
Burma: 130
Wake Island: 100
Korea: 70

Total :10,650

POWs Liberated by Country

Japan: 11,400
Philippines: 1,500
Manchuria (China): 1,200
Burma-Thailand: 480
Celebes (Indonesia): 200
Korea: 150
China: 20
Total: 14,950

Source: Surrender and Survival: The Experience of American POWs in the Pacific by E. Bartlett Kerr, 1985

From Japanese Statistics

Country Total POWs POW Deaths Death Rate (%)
Britain 50,016 12,433 24.8%

Holland 37,000 8,500 22.9%

Australia 21,726 7,412 34.1%

United States 21,580 7,107 32.9%

Canada 1,691 273 16.1%

New Zealand 121 31 25.6%

Total 132,134 35,756 27.1%

Source: Horyo Saishu Ronkoku Fuzoku-sho B, Feb. 19, 1948

Comparative Statistic for Japanese prisoners of war held in the Soviet Union: Out of 575,000 internees, 55,000 died in captivity, a death rate of 9.6%.

Makes you Think!

Letter to JAP Listserve August 26th, 2007

To the members of this listserve,

Each day I sit at this computer and I begin the daunting task of investigating the past. It necessarily has to be a labor of love for the information that I tease out of data banks often saddens, surprises and tempers me. Patient ingenuity is always required on a tortuous course of investigation into analogous and dissimilar information.

Lately, the ding which alerts me to a received email has more often signaled the passing of another POW more than any other cause. Emails from Wes Injerd, Roger Mansell, Michael Houlahan, and others who utilize this listserve arrive almost on a daily basis and it induces in me a heightened desire to insure that we who have fused together on this listserve, as well as our fellow countrymen, bow to the memory of our fallen hero's because we owe them the tribute of admiration. We are thankful for the long and productive lives of those who still live among us and of course saddened by the loss of so many recently. Their suffering was as keenly felt as it was impossible to measure.

Who shall say that the first to fall in the long battle were not the most fortunate until the end of the war? During their imprisonment, we saw in our soldiers the flaming up of unconquerable heroism. Survival was imperative to our soldiers not only because of the will to survive, but also because they had the duty to persevere and they did so with the calm audacity of a fearless conscience.

Since the beginning of the realization of our father's greatness, we have learned how proudly they pursued the noble task of survival. They strove and since we are proof that they strove successfully, they have transmitted to us the obligation of effort. I ask all who read this to watch for those who use a varnish of truth to cover lies as well as those who adorn falsehoods with plausibility.

It is our duty to our vanishing fathers that their trials are not swept under the mat of history. Success is only proportionate to effort and this is an effort we must take seriously. The rewriters of history are in the aisles and we must keep the lights on so that they have no where to hide. To those who have recently lost a member of this close knit family, I offer my deepest condolences and praise for their sacrifices on my behalf. Death has carried them beyond the bounds of their destiny and may they rest in peace for the length of eternity.

Robert Hudson

Which was Worse?

The Bataan Death March goes down as one of the worst atrocities perpetrated against soldiers. There were 600-700 American deaths and 5,000-10,000 Filipino deaths.

Yet, at Camp O'Donnell, 1,600 Americans and 16,000 Filipino deaths occured. The only difference between the two was the March.
Was the treatment of POW's at Camp O'Donnell more or less of an atrocity?

Tell me: how does a nation like Japan remove the essence of compassion in its soldiers,which is so engrained in all humans from birth? How does a soldier get to the point where he enjoys, even revels, in the misery and suffering of others?

31st Infantry Commendation by General Douglas MacArthur

"There is no unit in the American Army which has served with greater distinction both in peace and in war, than the 31st Infantry. Never stationed within our continental limits, as the advanced element in our Pacific Defense, the Regiment has always performed its assigned mission with marked gallantry and commendable precision. At Bataan, it achieved its greatest glory as its lines held firm time and time again against the assault of overwhelming superior forces. As it now faces a future of continued service in our country's cause, its regimental colors fly under a halo of tradition, of honor, duty and sacrifice, which will be an inspiration for American Armies for all time to come."
General Douglas Mac Arthur
4 August 1946

Retyped News clips regarding my father and War Crimes Trials

Jap Private Admits
Beating Weiser man

YOKOHAMA (AP)--- Two of four defendants in the first joint war crimes trial here pleaded guilty today.
Pvt. Teruo One pleaded guilty of beating Tech. Sgt. Richard C. Hudson , 409 N First St, Weiser, Idaho. Corp. Naraichi Chihara pleaded guilty of beating Staff Sgt. Herbert Shoemaker, Little Rock, Arkansas., and Pfc. Charles Tolbert, Cuero, Texas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Pleads Guilty
To Beating Weiser Man

YOKOHAMA (UP)—Two of four Japanese soldiers charged with brutal offenses against American prisoners of war pleaded innocent when the four were arraigned before the Eighth Army war crimes commission.
Pvt. Shunsuke Kato pleaded innocent to charges of beating Pfc. Charles Tolbert, Cuero, Texas, while Motoichi Sakagani made the same plea to charges that he beat Sgt. 1st class William Otto Savage, Pell City, Ala., and Chief Machinists Mate Harry Broussard Beauty, Bridge, La.
Pvt. Teruo Ono pleaded guilty of beating Tech. Sgt. Richard C Hudson, Weiser, Idaho and Corp. Naraichi pleaded to beating Tech. Sgt Herbert Shoemaker, Little Rock, Ark., and Tolbert.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jap Beat Weiser Sargeant

YOKOHAMA (AP)—Lt. Takeharu Hirata, former Fukuoka prisoner of war camp commander, will go on trial Wednesday on charges of permitting his men to commit atrocities. Hirata is charged with permitting the beating of prisoners including Sgt Richard Hudson of Weiser Idaho

Testimony of Tommie Thompson on PBS/ Former POW

People & Events: Prisoners' Diseases
It was malaria I had to begin with. Then I had dengue fever, which, well, you are worse with dengue fever than malaria, but it is not fatal like malaria can be. Then I had amoebic dysentery, and there was nothing you could do. Then beri-beri came along and there were two types. There was wet and there was dry. [I had] the wet and my head swole up and everything swole up; and then there was the dry and there was no swelling it just hurt. Your feet hurt all the time, you couldn't put them on the ground. And then I went blind for a couple of days from some lack of vitamin. -- Bob Body, Cabanatuan POW
Disease was a constant in the camp. In the first six months, the primary causes of death were malaria, dysentery and starvation. As time wore on, diet-dependent diseases became more prevalent. The men suffered from all types of vitamin and mineral deficiencies which caused a host of debilitating diseases including beri-beri, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy; and, which caused a ghastly array of bizarre conditions as the men's bodies stopped supplying "unnecessary organs" with nutrients. The men's hair, nails, eyes, feet, teeth, nerves and genitals all suffered. Dr Hibbs, the Cabanatuan camp doctor, recalled "the whole place was a pathological museum... Most doctors would never see such cases in their entire lives."
"I Can't, I Can't"The most ubiquitous disease in the camp was beri-beri, which in some form affected nearly one hundred percent of the POWs. Beri-beri gets its name from a Singhalese phrase meaning "I can't, I can't." It is a debilitating disease. The dry form causes intense pain in the feet; the wet form causes extreme swelling, enlarges the heart, and can cause sudden death. It is caused by vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency.
Weevilly Diet The prisoners were particularly susceptible to beri-beri because of their diet, which consisted mainly of something called lugao. Ex-POW Harold Amos remembered: "They gave us a little lugao, that was rice mixed with water. The worms and bugs and weevils would float to the top and at first you'd pick them out and then after a couple of meals, why you just, as a little protein, you just ate it raw." Lugao is extremely low in thiamine because the husk of the rice which contains the thiamine has been removed.
Bugs, Frogs and DogsOn a typical day the prisoners received less than 300 calories of this rice porridge. Many supplemented their diets with insects, frogs and even the occasional dog or cat. In Cabanatuan, prisoners perfected the art of stealing ducks from their Japanese captors at night -- an activity they termed "gorking."
MalnutritionBecause their calorie intake was so low and they were required to engage in strenuous labor, all POWs suffered from malnutrition, by far the biggest killer in the camp. Pellagra, a disease caused by deficiency of vitamin B3 (niacin), was one of the biggest causes of psychosis in the camps. Dysentery plagued all the POWs.
Poor Sanitation Sanitation in the camp was a major problem. Fly control was the order of the day. Ex-POW James Hildebrand remembered: "they gave us a little round glass and we had to turn in ten flies a day... that was an easy task, you could find ten flies and turn them in like crazy."
Doctors ImprovisedThe physicians, like everyone else in the camp, improvised. They smuggled and cajoled medicines and fresh fruit. They created pills for dysentery from cornstarch, guava leaves and charcoal. They even conducted surgeries within the camp. Far too often though, men died.
Keys to SurvivalDue to limited medicines and facilities, survival was more clearly linked to the individual's ability to withstand disease and the harsh realities of existence. Two factors other than physiological ones came into play: the role of friends and the individual's own physical-emotional makeup.
Social and Psychological FactorsFriends were important. They not only could attempt to procure essentials -- medicine, a bit of extra protein, a better assignment -- but they provided attention, encouragement and moral support. Ex-POW Tommie Thomas recalled: "I started encouraging people. I remember a boy who couldn't eat the lugao. He says 'I can't stand that stinkin rice, it doesn't taste good.' And I said, 'Let's make a deal, I'll take a mouthful and you take a mouthful.' And that's what we did. I had some faith because that worked."
Traits for SurvivalAccording to a study done in 1952 for the American Journal of Psychiatry, traits that favored survival included:
A strong motivation for life with persistent exertion of will, good general intelligence, good constitution, emotional insensitivity or well-controlled, balanced sensitivity, a preserved sense of humor, a strong sense of obligation to others, controlled fantasy life, courage, successful active or passive resistance to captors, luck, opportunism, and a few preceding years of military experience.
Tommie Thomas, who survived surrender, the death march, a firing squad, cerebral malaria and diphtheria, exemplified this characterization. A man with luck, faith in God, and determination, he said of himself: "I had faith, I knew I was going to make it, and if anyone walked out of the camp, I was going to be one of them." On January 30, 1945 along with 511 other POWs, Tommie Thomas walked to freedom.
To this day, most of the men who returned still suffer from physical and psychological ailments related to the extreme deprivation and torture they experienced as prisoners of war.

Tommie Thomas / POW

Words to Remember

Never forget that a corpse never cares how it got to be so cold. Commanders should always keep in mind that they wage war through a wall of human blood, sweat, and tears whose pain they can never truly feel and whose loss they can never truly know. For they are become death: they are the destroyer of worlds." - Ellen Mogensen

"Sure as I am this day, we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us." - Winston Churchill

Thursday, April 22, 2010

General William E Brougher

8 comments:

KEEP GOING

Total Pageviews

My email address

LET US NOT FORGET

Werner Gruhls comments on dropping the Atomic Bombs

Japanese Policy Toward POW's

We are Soldiers Still

Prediction by Hirohitos Advisor

Quote from James Litton who was a child at the time of Japanese Occupation in Manila.

Definition of Hell

Captured American Generals in the Philippines / World War Two

Your Comments

Bataan on display

Socrates

Army Command Structure at Division Level

John Wayne Film Quote "In Harms Way"

74 Websites which can be Useful to you in Researching the Philippine Conflict and its Aftermath!

Quick Links

Thomas Babbington Macaulay /" Horatius at the Bridge"

Letter Home from Lt. Henry Lee / Philippine Scouts

WWII POSTER

Churchill Quote

Philisophy of an ex POW

From General Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright to President Roosevelt May, 1942

World War Two POW Statistics

Makes you Think!

Failed Suicide attempt by Tojo

Japanese War Crime Defendants

Names of War Criminals Enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan

Moral participation and Moral guilt

Jap Abuse of Filipinos on the March

Japs Lowering Flag on Corregidor

Letter to JAP Listserve August 26th, 2007

Inscription on a Civil War Confederate Memorial Obelisk - Marietta Georgia

Female POW's of the Japanese

War Poster

Which was Worse?

Jap Propaganda Leaflet

Fighting Filipinos

31st Infantry Commendation by General Douglas MacArthur

What the Romans knew

WWII Poster / War bonds

General King in Balanga

Father Superior -Found Murdered by Japanese

Post War location of POW remains

War Bond Poster

Retyped News clips regarding my father and War Crimes Trials

Testimony of Tommie Thompson on PBS/ Former POW

A Quote from Cicero

Dead Filipina

Bludgeoned POW

Words to Remember

Latin Proverb

Military Alphabet Code

Contributors