[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S2521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE FIFTH AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR FRIENDSHIP DELEGATION TO 
                                 JAPAN

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to honor veterans from America's 
``greatest generation'' who were held captive as prisoners of war, 
POWs, by Japan during World War II and to recognize seven veterans--
including three from California--who recently participated in a 
historic trip to Japan to promote reconciliation and remembrance.
  At the invitation of the Japanese Government, the veterans were 
joined by their family members to become the 5th delegation of American 
POWs to visit Japan as part of the official Japanese-American POW 
Friendship Program that began in 2010.
  These brave men fought in the historic first battles of World War II 
and endured years of hardship as POWs. This year, as we commemorate the 
70th anniversary of the end of World War II, I want to recognize them 
and honor their service and sacrifice.
  Anthony Costa, 95, from Concord, CA, was a private first class in the 
famed 4th Marine Regiment, also known as the China Marines, which 
arrived in the Philippines days before the Japanese invasion. He fought 
to defend the island of Corregidor in the Philippines from December 
1941 to May 1942 before he was captured by the Japanese. As a POW, 
Private Costa was force-marched through Manila and taken to the 
Cabanatuan prison camp, where thousands of POWs died from starvation, 
dehydration and abuse. He was then moved to Japan to work as a slave 
dockworker in the freight yards in and around Osaka before being 
liberated in September 1945. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the 
Purple Heart.
  William Sanchez, 96, from Monterey Park, CA, was an Army sergeant 
with the 59th Coast Artillery assigned to the island of Corregidor in 
the Philippines where he helped defend the harbor against the Japanese 
invasion. In May 1942, Sergeant Sanchez and the rest of his division 
were captured and paraded through the streets of Manila to Bilibid 
Prison. He was later transported to Japan in the hold of a Japanese 
hell ship, where he endured a 33-day oceanic journey plagued by 
dysentery, malaria and malnutrition before reaching Camp Omori. At the 
POW camp, he was forced to work as a slave laborer and dockworker at 
the railway yards in Tokyo prior to his liberation in August 1945.
  Jack Schwartz, 100, from Hanford, CA, was a Navy lieutenant junior 
grade serving on Guam when the Japanese Navy attacked the island on 
December 8, 1941. When Guam fell to the Japanese, Lieutenant Schwartz 
was taken to a POW camp in Japan where he was repeatedly beaten, 
starved and provided insufficient clothing to endure the harsh winters. 
He was sent to several POW camps before being moved to Camp Rokuroshi, 
which was hidden in the Japanese Alps. After being liberated on 
September 8, 1945, he remained in the Navy and retired after a 
distinguished career in 1962.
  My constituents were joined on their trip by Daniel Crowley, 92, of 
Connecticut, an Army Air Corps infantryman who participated in the 
defense of Bataan and Corregidor; Oral Nichols, 93, of New Mexico, who 
served as a civilian medic in the historic defense of Wake Island; 
Warren Jorgenson, 93, of Nebraska, a marine who defended Corregidor; 
and Darrell Stark, 91, of Connecticut, who served as an Army 
infantryman on the Bataan Peninsula.
  This trip was part of a reconciliation process that, while 
undoubtedly painful, is critical to help provide closure to POWs and 
their families and continue building stronger relations between the 
U.S. and Japan. It is important that this reconciliation program 
continue so that this history is remembered and the families can 
continue to heal.

                          ____________________