An American Prisoner of War, World War II, Held by the Japanese Research Paper

An American Prisoner of War, World War II, Held by the Japanese - Research Paper Example Even I had been getting letters quite frequently from my family in Wisconsin, but circumstances, kept me from going back even after United States had declared war on the Japanese. The canons were now faced in the direction of the seas and the British Navy were ready for the Japanese onslaught – or at least, they thought they were, until the day of reckoning for a thousand Singaporeans came on 8th February, 2942. The British troops were outsmarted by the Japanese as their troops made their way into Singapore on bicycles and after making their way through the heavy marshes and swamps of the Malay Peninsula, the Japanese took the British army by surprise. There were many stories going on about the barbarity of the Japanese army and word got around that the Japanese were not interested in taking prisoners any more. i A pamphlet was distributed amongst the Japanese that I also got to see for myself, which apparently was an ominous command that specifically told them to see their victims as the murderers of their fathers and not hold themselves back from killing them, which will lighten their hearts. ii I only understood the real meaning of the text after I was forced to learn Japanese in the camps, but these were just the tip of the ice berg of the blatant savagery that they had inflicted on the people there. This spelled a disaster for everyone in the peninsula and being on the outskirts of Bukit Timah, I had become accustomed to the sounds of gun shots and explosion in the distance. The violence was rapidly expanding. The Singaporeans put up a final stand against Japan in the battle of Bukit Chandu headed by General Adnan, where the Japanese disguised themselves as Punjabi troops and were compromised. Despite the fact that the Punjabi troops launched an excellent defensive attack, they outmaneuvered by the Japanese and then their