[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1255-E1256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE END OF THE LONG MARCH

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                         HON. BRIAN P. BILBRAY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 2009

  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, on this Memorial Weekend, when we 
remember the sacrifices of the men and women who fought for our freedom 
and democracy, I would like to call my colleagues' attention to a 
powerful essay that appeared in the Japan Times last month. It was 
written by one of my constituents, Dr. Lester Tenney who is a survivor 
of the Battle of the Philippines, the Bataan Death March, a ``Hell 
Ship,'' and a Mitsui coal mine. He recalls that at his first prison 
camp, the Japanese commandant turned to the American prisoners of war 
(POWs) and told them that they were ``lower than dogs'' and ``they (the 
Japanese) would treat us that way for the rest of our lives.'' Then he 
said, ``We will never be friends with the piggish Americans.''

[[Page E1256]]

  Yet the Japanese commandant who belittled this brave American was 
wrong. The United States and Japan have become friends and close 
allies, a result we welcome. Dr. Tenney's anger has been tempered by 
the many Japanese people who have welcomed him to Japan. Personal 
friendships and common goals heal many wounds.
  Most important, Dr. Tenney reports an important development in US-
Japan relations that cements the trust between our people. This year, 
the Government of Japan has apologized finally and officially to all 
former POWs of Japan. The Japanese are also considering including the 
American POWs in a program for peace, friendship and exchange. I hope 
that they will follow through with this. It is this spirit of 
reconciliation and remembrance that makes this American Memorial Day so 
significant.

                       The End of the Long March

                           (By Lester Tenney)

       Carlsbad, CA.--Sixty-seven years ago this month, on April 
     9, 1942, I was surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on 
     the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. At my first prison 
     camp, the Japanese commandant turned to the American 
     prisoners of war (POWs) and told us that we were ``lower than 
     dogs'' and ``they (the Japanese) would treat us that way for 
     the rest of our lives.'' Then he said, ``We will never be 
     friends with the piggish Americans.''
       For a long time I thought he was right. But we have both 
     changed. This year, I welcomed the Japanese government's 
     first official apology to the American POWs, 63 years after 
     our liberation.
       If my fellow soldiers or I had known the consequences of 
     being a POW of the Japanese, we would have fought to the 
     death. After three long months of jungle fighting against a 
     better-equipped invasion force, the American and Filipino 
     troops were starving, sick, exhausted and out of ammunition.
       At surrender, we were immediately forced to march 105 km 
     through the steaming Bataan Peninsula without food, water, 
     medical treatment or rest. Today, the Bataan Death March is 
     remembered as one of the worst war crimes of World War II.
       I will never forget my buddies who were shot simply for 
     trying to get a drink of water; crushed by a tank for 
     stumbling; bayoneted just because they could not take another 
     step; or forced at gun point to bury alive the sick. I bear a 
     deep scar where a Japanese officer on horseback brought his 
     samurai sword down on my shoulder.
       Those who survived the Death March faced over three years 
     of unimaginably brutal imprisonment. Many, like me, were 
     herded into ``Hell Ships,'' packed shoulder to shoulder 
     without food or sanitation and shipped to factories, mines 
     and docks across the Japanese Empire. The survivors were 
     literally sold to private Japanese companies to work 
     sustaining wartime production.
       I dug coal in a dangerous Mitsui Corporation-owned mine. 
     Like all POWs, I was overworked, beaten, humiliated and 
     starved. The damage and suffering we endured from these 
     companies' employees were comparable to, and sometimes worse 
     than, that inflicted upon us by the Imperial Japanese 
     military. Among World War II combat veterans and former POWs, 
     those who were prisoners of the Japanese have the highest 
     percentage of post-traumatic stress disorders. To say the 
     least, we POWs had and still have intense feelings about 
     Japan.
       Yet the Japanese commandant who belittled his American 
     captives was wrong. The United States and Japan have become 
     friends and close allies--a result we welcome. My anger has 
     been tempered by the many Japanese people who have welcomed 
     me to Japan. Personal friendships and common goals heal many 
     wounds.
       Our unfortunate history came largely to closure in a 
     personal meeting with the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and 
     his wife last November. I was finally able to tell a Japanese 
     official my story. He heard of my humiliations, saw my scars 
     and learned of my Japanese friends who have helped me 
     overcome my POW trauma.
       I asked for the ambassador's help in requesting three 
     things from his government so that justice is achieved for 
     POWs: (1) an official apology; (2) an appeal to companies to 
     apologize for their wartime use of POWs; and (3) a 
     reconciliation project.
       In December, the ambassador wrote me with news for which I 
     have waited decades. His letter said that Japan's government 
     extends ``a heartfelt apology for our country having caused 
     tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including 
     those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan 
     Peninsula and Corregidor Island in the Philippines.''
       This acknowledging gesture was followed in February by a 
     Cabinet-approved statement to a member of the Diet that 
     extended the apology to all ``former POWs.'' It is the first 
     official apology specifically to mention POWs or any 
     particular group hurt by Imperial Japan.
       We POWs accept these long-sought apologies and now ask 
     Japan to state them for all to hear and understand. I trust 
     that my two other requests will be fulfilled soon. It has 
     taken nearly seven decades, but Japan's recognition of its 
     mistreatment of POWs attains historic justice and brings 
     fullness to the U.S.-Japan relationship. A future of a 
     peaceful alliance is what we really wanted in the first 
     place.

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