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Set off in one corner of the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, is a glass case containing objects crafted by United States fighting men held captive in German WWII prisoner of war camps. On the side of the case is a plaque stating that no such objects were recovered from U.S. prisoners of war held in Japan. The reason given for this is that the conditions were so harsh in Japanese camps that returning captives wanted no reminders of their terrible ordeal. If alive today, Marine Sergeant Major Charles Jackson, captured on Corregidor in the spring of 1942, would undoubtedly verify the museum's statement. Jackson died in 1970, but due to the efforts of Major Bruce H. Norton, an ex-Marine currently employed as a tactical officer at The Citadel, his memoirs live on in book and audio format. Jackson's journal describing life as a prisoner of war is inundated with references to the cruelty of his Japanese captors and the unbearable conditions under which he and his fellow prisoners lived. The agony of starvation was felt on a daily basis by these soldiers who were forced to work as field hands and copper miners for the Japanese. Death from malaria, dysentery, and other diseases was common. Added to these natural disorders was malnutrition and the atrocities committed by the Japanese, such as beheadings, shootings, beatings, and bayonet stabbings. By official records, 4500 American and 25,000 Filipino prisoners lost their lives in Japanese prisoner of war camps between the fall of Bataan with its subsequent Death March and the surrender of the Japanese army. Tens of thousands more would have died if the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had not put an end to the Japanese war office order to kill all camp prisoners at the first sign of an American invasion. Jackson relates his own personal history as a captive through a series of mini-stories featuring men he knew in the camps. The first story tells of Father McManus, a captured chaplain who slaved as a field hand each day in the place of prisoners too sick to work. Shedding his officer's insignia, the chaplain risked his life fooling the Japanese guards. The story of Captain Flemming is one of bravery under duress, the tale of an officer who helped his men survive the awful days of confinement. Jackson speaks of one camp commandant, Lt. Osaka, whose strict adherence to military order may have saved the lives of some prisoners. Other stories tell of the Old Swede, 1st Sgt. Earl O'Carlson; Phillipine Army 1st Sgt. Santalossis; and Suchow, a Marine mascot dog who survived three years in the camps even at a time when desperately hungry prisoners were killing and eating any cat, dog, rat, or snake they could capture. Adopted by a civilian prisoner, Ray Foss, the dog was released along with his human companions in 1945, and lived another four years after the war. Jackson's memoirs are plainly written with little literary grandeur to enhance the narrative. They are extremely memorable, though, and at times, highly poignant. The book's title is derived from the three words written by a U.S. naval officer when, as a prisoner in Japan, he was allowed to pen up to ten words on a card to his wife. 'I am alive!' is about all that most of these prisoners could say for themselves. Still, the words ring out with a defiance of spirit characteristic of the men who survived those brutal times. This audio version of "I Am Alive!" is highly recommended as an accurate rendition of history that defies the whitewash applied to Japanese motives and actions during World War II by some of today's politically correct thinkers. Much thanks must be given to Major Bruce H. Norton, through whose efforts this book came to life.
Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, August 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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