CAN YOU SEE STARS

Perhaps my last entry relating to Mr Lammy and Mr Starmer, regarding their relationships with Messrs Trump and Vance was bordering on intolerance. Is my view narrow minded or simple antipathy? I find it difficult to see the President and his second as anything but hard line fanatics with an infantile mindset on power. They seem to have a comic book relationship with the world around them. Indeed, the success of comic book character related films, indicates the fascination and skewed view American citizens have towards good and evil. The attraction to dominance, power and order, leaning towards fanatical nationalism, is seen as good. Any left leaning soft liberalism is weak and, therefore, evil.

So what about the British Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary? It is a good thing to try to influence people away from the fanatical or hard line approach to diplomacy. In fact, it is a good thing to try to influence people towards simple diplomacy, to stand up for integrity, human rights and decency. I presume that is what Messrs Lammy and Starmer are trying to achieve, in their own way, in the face of the chaotic and whimsical infantile behaviour of Trump and his cohorts. It would be a considerable achievement were it possible.  Who am I to criticise them for attempting what I consider to be impossible? My intolerance of Trump, Vance et al, should not be extended to Starmer et al. and I should perhaps give them a break for making the effort. I feel that somehow my assessment that their attempts are feeble and pathetic, and bound to fail, is being intolerant and lacking in empathy. My abhorrence of the Trump regime is such that I have become narrow minded, and I find any attempt at reconciliation with such a brutish, venal and crass governance, difficult to take in. 

What is going on in Gaza, Ukraine, indeed in many parts of the world is a disgrace. I was recently sent a copy of copy of a letter sent by a young man, just 27 years old, to his parents back in the UK. He had recently been released from a Japanese Prisoner of War camp in 1945. He was sitting on the deck of the USS Santee heading for Manilla on the 8th September 1945, just one month after Hiroshima. 

If ever there was inspiration for humanity, despite the circumstances, read this letter.. I have been given permission by the family to post it on this blog. I also post a photo of the original transcription presumably done sometime in the 1940/50’s.  The letter does contain what is now considered a derogatory epithet, which I think one can forgive in the circumstances. If this does not give you hope, I don’t know what could.

I am very much indebted to the Piper family for giving me pemisson to share it. 

 COPY


On the U.S.S. SANTEE Somewhere around Manilla
                  

        Sat. 8th Sept. 1945.


To my sainted and respected parents, re-establishing communication, your second son, alive and quite definitely kicking, David Towry. From the hands of the Nips to the hands of the U.S. Navy who have shaved me all over and cleaned me up. Proper old lag. I am tremendously happy for
 a little while anyway though the world does not seem to be. Bless you my Olds and thank you very much for having me.
         How do you do? Last communication I have is a p.c. dated Sept '44 which I got last March. It said "All well". I trust it still is so though I have had bad dreams on that score. We reach Manilla
 tomorrow and I hope to get a cable through and an answer.. But what a time! 3  years almost  exactly. I trust you know by now that I am alive at least.                                                                                                                                        I have not the vaguest idea where to begin. I hope sometime to draw a long screed in comparative detail of the life of a P.O.W. As it is I have to hand in this letter tonight and it’s 4 p.m. now  I will draw up the barest outline for you.
DEC. 1941 Sailed from Bombay to Singapore.
4th to 5th Jan. 1942 Landed Singapore, train to Macassor (?). Then fell back on Moar, 19th Jan. Batt, pretty well exterminated. (as far as I know 4 officers survived). Followed 1 month dodging about behind the Nips until 12th Feb. (about), when I and another officer got shang-haied by some Malays and handed over to the Nips. On the 15th Feb. Singapore fell and I was dropped on the 5th Field Regt. A.A. who nursed me very generously for the first months of captivity. I was pretty sick then with some form of blood poisoning with jungle sores and a small bullet in my thigh.
OCT. 1942 Moved from Changi the big prison camp in Singapore by ship to Formosa.  A most unpleasant voyage.
NOVEMBER 1942 Arrived Theihoko In Formosa or Taiwan in a new camp, remained here until Aug. 1943, getting pretty hungry and not very fit.
AUG. 1943 Move of all officers from Theihoko to Shirakawa about 7 miles outside Kago, three quarters the way down the island to a so-called Officers Camp. Here were concentrated all the captured Allied senior officers up to Maj. Gens.,Brigs and Cols. as common as pennies. I stayed here until 28 Aug. 1945 when we moved back to Theihoko and thence 10 days (two days?) ago into the arms of the U.S. Navy, whose hospitality is almost embarrassing.
                         I was fairly lucky at Shirakawa, especially up to the beginning of the year. I held a “staff job”, Librarian, which means I did not have to  go out and work on the farm, initially stayed pretty fit though thin until Jan. 1945. The generals were flown out in Aug. 1944 to Manchuria. The Cols. followed them in Oct. by boat, and the last big move from the island was in Feb. 1945 when they cleared all fit officers and hundreds of men from the island. Bombing was fairly heavy by then.
After the Cols went in Oct. the camp was turned into a "sick camp". We received the debris from all the men's camps, 4 in number, and shocking debris it was - mine accidents, but mainly malnutrition, beri-beri, chronic diarrhoea and shear starvation   Terrifying. Food got bad and went worse and worse until the surrender, when the Nips turned round and showered Food on us - meat and rice and sweets, sugar etc. Hunger was the dominating factor of the whole 3 and a half years. Men talked and thought of little else. Other major difficulties were beatings up, though officers did not get badly beaten up as a rule after the lst year and a half, but the men did; Also lack of news, particularly in the last year; lack of mail - none at all till ‘44.
                     I was sick when the last draft left in Feb. this year, so I stayed. Whether it was luck, or not I don't know yet but I rather guess so. Japan was nobody's business by all accounts. I had the Hell of a packet this year - started malaria last Xmas; paratyphoid Jan-March, and then in June as near as touch got pipped on the post with bacillary dysentry. Bless the Red X; they filled me up with blood plasma and I made it . Convalescence after it was a bit tricky because the food was so bad. In July - Aug. when I should have been putting on weight, I lost about 10 lbs. We were weighed regularly every month, and our last one was on 21st Aug. when I touched 8st. 6 lbs. That afternoon the post- surrender Nips generosity began. I put on over a stone in a fortnight,  an I’ll  be as fat as a turkey in a couple of months.  Voila, c’est fini.
If I tired to put you any more in the picture than that, it would run into volumes. To describe the emotional reactions would be so dangerous, because l'm too close to the whole dam  schemozzle to be able to get any true perspective on it. I’ve seen a lot of most unpleasant incidents, but I abhor, the atrocity stories. They get  no-one anywhere, you never do by taking anything out of context and then postulating it as the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And another  thing is that to be anywhere near fair, and to understand the Nips, which must be done, we must consider them by their own standards. God knows they have enough to answer for, even by that. But they are poor, pitiably pour. I mean pitiably. They kept us just below the starvation line, but often they were only just above it themselves. That is not an apology for them, but I have been scared stiff by the pettiness and rancour and complete loss of any dignity  at all in the few broadcasts I have heard go far. It strikes me that everyone’s hands are pretty mucky. But then, or course, I was never beaten up badly.
                 It’s an extremely unpleasant topic, which is one of the reasons I have not given you the details more. For  the im juiste Present is so marvellous, free with all the space of sea and sky.
Beautiful food, tremendous kindness to us of all ranks in this carrier..Tomorrow Manilla, the day after God knows, but going home, and at peace. Lord, it's worth waiting for. Life at the moment for me is a lovely chaos. Striking matches, smoking American cigarettes, being clean, having new clothes, cleaning teeth with a real toothbrush, and Colgate's -its terrific. A prospect of new books to be read, new films, plays, papers best above all the prospect of doing something, of going places and doing things. It has its terrors though. The decisions I shall have to make very soon will be vital and decisive - jobs etc. And I have scarcely made any decision for 3 years. Its bewildering, I regret to state that I don't know what to do.  Cambridge, I fear, is off. Even that is not definite, but to face facts, 1 have deteriorated physically and mentally, much much slower in the uptake.  There were no facilities  at all for following  up anything in my line of study - we had quite a good fiction - library, but little else. I have had no inspiration regarding things medieval at all.  And I've forgotten most I ever knew. We all suffered badly from malnutrition memory failing, and loss of concentration. The Drs, were inclined to think that it was only passing, and would be relieved  by beef steaks and fish. Time will prove. I wrote a certain amount, mostly verse, but the desire for that seems to have been killed by dysentry - that’s a shocking disease. I had a touch of jaundice in 1943, and I thought that was depressing- but dysentry - cor. Anyway out with your bright ideas for my Future Career. How I have a Future its a terrifying feeling..
                 I hope to be able to cable you directly from Manilla. and perhaps get an answer.  I've written to Anne c/o-New Delhi - which is a trifle vague, but all I know from your last card is that she was there lest Sept: I'm glad you like her to much. Words are not adequate to begin to explain what she has meant to me.  Please send my love to Michael. I suppose I’ll  be saluting him. I suppose he’s out in this part at the world. I trust he’s alright. And Philip? But I feel a bit sick when I start thinking about the people I once knew, knowing not who is alive and who is dead. I move very cautiously among them.
But I'm pretty selfish at the moment,  and take the moment for the moment. Eat, drink and be happy and optimistic, (Drink's not what it might be though. The U.S.N’s one failing seems to be that its dry). But I could live on the coffee alone, it's superb.
                     Here I must leave it  for the moment and get this Post. I’ll be writing again at length very soon I hope. But I hope more to be seeing you very soon. Still at No,10? I've been Astonishingly homesick at times.
                    It was worth waiting for, this release.  Its unimaginable, and I find it hard to believe even how, to grasp the possibilities, like a young bird learning, to fIy. I pray you have both survived the ordeal too; unhurt a much as possible. I guess you have not had much fun.
Look after yourselves, both of you..
                    My address is very vague for the moment. They recommend last service address, which I suppose is 3/9 Jats Malaya, but I think it would be a good idea to add “late P.O.W in Taiwan” to that. However, I hope to have cabled you a more reliable address than that  before this reaches you.. One thing I do hope, is to get out of the Army as quickly as possible.  And my back pay. The things I’ve got to do. Tomorrow and tomorrow.
                   Well my Olds, a la prochaine,  wite und witer. I must go and eat. Eating, marvellous -bread and butter - its incredible.  - Washing with scented soap. There’s no end to the wonders. Tonight I sleep on the Flight deck, with all the sea and the stars and the roosting aeroplanes.             
And tomorrow Manilla. Give my love to any and all you like to the Hasso’s, the Tyndalls, to Win and Hilda and Rob and Ronnie and Richard, and whole damn  lot. .I’ve got enough to go round twice, even after you‘ve knocked off your wallop, which is a very great deal.
Bless me, bless you. I see stars.
              Yours again