[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 143 (Thursday, November 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING FORMER POW DARRELL STARK OF STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONNECTICUT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2014

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of my 
constituents, Darrell Stark, 92, of Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Mr. 
Stark, a veteran of the Army's 31st Infantry Regiment and former 
prisoner of war of the Empire of Japan in World War II, recently 
returned from a historic trip to Japan he and six other former POWs, 
accompanied by their family members, were guests of the Japanese 
government last month on a trip of reconciliation and remembrance.
  Mr. Stark was 17 when he joined the Army in 1941, and was immediately 
sent to the Philippines where he was assigned to a heavy weapons 
company as a weapons carrier and runner. He participated in the defense 
of the Bataan peninsula, where despite disease, lack of supplies and 
obsolete weapons, he and his fellow defenders were able to fight the 
Japanese to a four-month standstill. Despite their efforts, however, 
Bataan was surrendered on April 9, 1942. Mr. Stark was taken prisoner 
and over the course of the next three years was held in various prisons 
and camps in the Philippines, forced into labor and suffering extremely 
harsh and difficult conditions. After being liberated in September 
1945, Mr. Stark returned home for treatment, eventually settling in 
Connecticut where he worked for the Department of Corrections and spoke 
often to students about his role in in the defense of the Philippines.
  Between October 11 to 20, Mr. Stark and six of his fellow POWs were 
guests of the Government of Japan as part of the fifth American POW 
Friendship delegation to visit Japan. This delegation included members 
of the Army, Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marines who fought in the 
Pacific Theater of World War II. Their trip was part of an ongoing 
reconciliation process that began in 2010 when the Japanese government 
delivered to the first American POW delegation an official Cabinet-
approved apology for the damage and suffering these men endured.
  As part of the delegation, Mr. Stark was able to travel to his former 
POW camp in Yokkaichi near Kyoto. The managers of Ishihara Sangyo 
Kaisha (ISK), the company that controlled the camp, not only received 
him warmly, but honored him. ISK is now a multi-national chemical 
company with operations in the United States and one of only a handful 
of companies that have apologized to POWs forced into labor.
  This once in a lifetime trip for Mr. Stark was made possible through 
the hard work of many people, including the U.S. State Department and 
the Government of Japan. While coming to terms with the past is 
undoubtedly difficult for our American survivors and the Japanese 
people, it is my hope that our two nations will continue to work 
together to sustain and improve efforts such as this to provide 
reconciliation with our shared history, provide closure to our POWs and 
their families, and build stronger relations for the future.

                          ____________________