This thread is somewhat aviation related as many allied airmen spent time interned there. Per wiki: "Ōmori was the site of an army-administered prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. The inhumane conditions in the camp were described in detail in the award winning book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption describing the life of American Olympic Athlete Louis Zamperini. The camp was brutal and included in its staff known war criminal Mutsuhiro Watanabe. However, US Navy submarine commander Richard O'Kane found Omori camp harsh, but essentially correct in administration, particularly compared with the Ōfuna navy detention centre. Local anti-militarist Japanese civilians sometimes helped the prisoners with small gifts of food."
Pappy Boyington spent time there as well. Per wiki: "Following a determined but futile search, Boyington was declared missing in action (MIA). He had been picked up by a Japanese submarine and became a prisoner of war. (The submarine was sunk 13 days after picking him up.) According to Boyington's autobiography, he was never accorded official P.O.W. status by the Japanese and his captivity was not reported to the Red Cross. He spent the rest of the war, some 20 months, in Japanese prison camps. After being held temporarily at Rabaul and then Truk, where he survived the massive U.S. Navy raid known as "Operation Hailstone", he was transported first to Ōfuna and finally to Ōmori Prison Camp near Tokyo. During that time he was selected for temporary promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. A fellow American prisoner of war was Medal of Honor recipient submarine captain Richard O'Kane. At Ōfuna Boyington was interned with the former Olympic distance runner and downed aviator lieutenant Louis Zamperini. On August 29, 1945, after the atomic bombs and the Japanese capitulation, Boyington was liberated from Japanese custody at Omori Prison Camp."
The facebook link below shows some fascinating photos of the camp being used to intern high ranking Japanese after the war and before their final sentencing including Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of the empire of Japan During World War II, from 1941 to 1944.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Radio.WW2/p ... 0196829966This link below has a great deal of interesting information, photos and stories about the camp.
http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/ca ... omori.html
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
