Further Trial Information
The Allies also established the United Nations War Crimes Commission (the UNWCC) in 1943. The UNWCC collected evidence on Axis war crimes and drew up lists of suspected war criminals for Allied prosecution after the war. In 1944, a sub-commission of the UNWCC was established in Chungking to focus on the investigation of Japanese atrocities.
By the later part of 1945, the Allied Powers had agreed on war crimes trials as a means of pursuing justice. This set the stage for post-WWII trials. A select group of higher-ranking military and political Axis leaders would be jointly tried by the Allies at the Nuremberg Trial (19 November 1945 – 1 October 1946) and the Tokyo Trial (3 May 1945 – 12 November 1945). In addition and separate from the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials, individual Allied Powers and countries held national trials of Axis defendants in various locations, including Singapore.
Upon Japan’s surrender, the Allies began organizing war crimes investigations and prosecutions throughout Asia. At the Tokyo Trial, the Allies prosecuted only 28 high-ranking ‘Class A’ suspects from various government and military departments on charges linked to the waging of war and war crimes. Hundreds of lower-ranking ‘Class B’ and ‘Class C’ suspects of diverse ranks were prosecuted at other Allied trials operating across Asia.
It is hard to arrive at the exact number of Allied trials held in Asia, as there continues to be access restrictions to some national trial records. Some latest estimates of the number of war crimes trials held by different national authorities in Asia are as follows: China (605 trials), the US (456 trials), the Netherlands (448 trials), Britain (330 trials), Australia (294 trials), the Philippines (72 trials), and France (39 trials). In 1956, China prosecuted another four cases involving 1062 defendants, out of which 45 were sentenced and the rest acquitted. The Allies conducted these trials before military courts pursuant to national laws of the Allied Power concerned. Altogether 2244 war crimes prosecutions were conducted in Asia. 5700 defendants were prosecuted: 984 defendants were executed; 3419 sentenced to imprisonment; and 1018 acquitted.
The British conducted national war crimes trials (the Singapore Trials) pursuant to a 1945 Royal Warrant adopted by the British executive under royal prerogative powers (1945 Royal Warrant). The British military was given the responsibility of implementing these trials in different locations across Asia and Europe. 330 trials were organized by the British military in Asia. Of these, 131 trials were conducted in Singapore.
As of mid-1946, the British military had established 12 war crimes courts in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Rangoon, Hong Kong, and Borneo. Eight of 12 courts established were located in Singapore. There were also ‘travelling courts’ that made their way to particular locations to hear a case.
Singapore served as the base for the British military’s war crimes investigations and prosecutions in Asia. Investigations were conducted out of Goodwood Park Hotel. Post-war conditions in Singapore posed many challenges to the organizing of these trials. There was a shortage of food, basic necessities, and qualified personnel in post-war Singapore.
Trials conducted in Singapore concerned not only Japanese military atrocities perpetrated in Singapore but those committed in other parts of Asia (see Tials Chart 1 above).
A substantial number of trials addressed the abuse and neglect of POWs and civilian detainees in prisons and camps, such as Changi Prison, Sime Road Prison, Outram Road Gaol, and Selarang Barracks.
Click on images to enlarge and read.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Elbert Ausley – Schaumburg, IL; US Navy, WWII, USS Gambier Bay survivor
Donald Campbell – Ponca City, OK; US Army Air Corps
William Duffy Sr. – Shannondell, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Lt. Colonel
Raymond M. Giles – Srague, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, P-38 pilot, Lt. Col. (Ret.)
Bertha Holtwick – Boston, MA; US Army WAC, WWII, nurse
Jack Isaacs – USA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 194/17th Airborne Division
James Milstead – Chicago, IL; USMC, WWII, CBI
Cyril Newdick – Maketu, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 79638, Sgt.
Emery Sutton – FL; US Navy, WWII, PTO / ETO, USS Wasp
C-130 Hercules crash victims in Australia
Rick A. DeMorgan Jr. – Navarre, FL; US Air Force, Flight Engineer / Firefighter
Paul Clyde Hudson – Buckeye, AZ; USMC, Naval Academy graduate, Lt. Col (Ret. 20 y.) / Firefighter, 1st Officer
Ian H. McBeth – Great Falls, MT; WY & MT National Guard, Lt. Col. / Firefighter, Captain
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Posted on January 27, 2020, in WWII and tagged 1940's, family history, History, Japanese War Trials, Military, Military History, Pacific, Pacific War, WW2. Bookmark the permalink. 120 Comments.
Yours is an excellent and informative blog. I love reading.
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Thank you very much. Stay safe!
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Reblogged this on Fascist Bostonian and commented:
#worldwar2 #wwii #alliedwarcrimes #allywarcrimes
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Thank you.
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I have an interest and found it very interesting and we’ll researched.
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Thank you.
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Excellent post, GP. This puts all the numbers into focus.
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Thank you for reading so much of this site, Jennie. It really is appreciated.
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My pleasure, GP.. And thank you for writing it.
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🙂 🙂
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What a campaign!
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Thank you my friend.
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I knew about Nuremberg Trial but did not know about Tokyo and other. Thank you for sharing.
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I was very surprised to discover just how many didn’t know about the trials!
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Thank you again for let us know.
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I’d not thought about military and prison people from the losing side of the war being prosecuted after the war was over, I’d seen from other posts that POWs were often treated abominably but I feel it’s a good thing that commanders realise if they go too far even in times of war they can be prosecuted afterwards.
Best wishes
Charlotte
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Exactly. We often think about the military that were simply following orders, but like you said – if they go too far….
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An interesting article. I remember reading somewhere that the Japanese had no respect for POW believing that soldiers should flight to the death. According to that article, this is why they disrespected and abused their prisoners so badly.
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True, plus they had not signed the Geneva Convention pact.
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So sad. I had never heard about this before, GP Cox.
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I am discovering that many were unaware of the Pacific trials. I suppose Nuremberg received most of the media attention (especially in Europe.). I find that odd for North America and Pacific nations, being as Japan attacked us, not Hitler.
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The pie chart is quite interesting. Thanks again for the education, GP!
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My pleasure, Lavinia. I was surprised to find out that so many people were unaware that these trials, or any trials, occurred in the Pacific.
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This story needs to be told and retold
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Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
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Thank you very much, Rick.
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GP, the numbers are utterly mind-blowing. Thank you for sharing this post. Hugs on the wing!
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Sure thing, Teagan.
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Never heard or read before about. Good work, and thank you for the important information. Thank you, GP! Best wishes, Michael
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My pleasure, Michael.
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It’s good to know that a substantial number of war crimes were investigated and prosecutions brought. There will always be those who got away ‘Scott free’ though, which is the saddening part.
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Ones that got away are still happening today, I’m afraid.
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Indeed they are.
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Almost an industry. Evidently no shortage of criminals and crimes were committed. A very sad time in Earth History.
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That it was. That’s why it must never be allowed to happen again!
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I hadn’t realised that there were quite so many trials held and found your blog post quite reassuring really. I suspect that the tiny number for France is an effort, even in Vietnam, to hide the French fascination for Fascism with the Vichy French who fought on Hitler’s side in several theatres of the war.
The Chinese suffered enormously. I just found this in Wikipedia. “When they captured Singapore:
“The Japanese introduced the system of “Sook Ching”, meaning “purging through purification” in Chinese, to get rid of those, especially so ethnic Chinese, deemed to be hostile to the Empire of Japan (anti-Japanese elements in the local population). The Sook Ching Massacre claimed the lives of between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic Chinese.
The British were most upset in Singapore at the time by “Alexandra Hospital massacre” which is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore#Alexandra_Hospital_massacre
A more detailed account is available if you click on “British Military Hospital, Singapore”.
Once again, behaviour beyond the understanding of the Allies.
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As always, John, I knew you would come up with more data and I greatly appreciate it. One of my readers is from Singapore too, I’ll have to guide them to the comment!!
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Thank you for sharing this. As a Singaporean, I am always glad to learn more about our history.😃
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I’m far from a math whiz — in fact, I’m just the opposite and I know almost nothing about statistics. Still, I couldn’t help noticing the distribution of the executed, imprisoned, and pardoned. If you drew that as a graph, it would make a rough bell curve — which is extremely interesting, given the impossibility of such a thing being planned.
And you’re right about the lemon cookies. They ruined them. (Here’s a heretical hint: the Oreo thins with the mint filling are better than the GSA thin mints, and even the family size of Oreos is cheaper!)
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I do know that they tried to make the trials fair by giving the defendants both an American and Japanese attorney. Bell curves and graphs make my eyes glaze over!! Thanks for coming, Linda and giving me the low-down on the cookies!!!
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I used to sell those cookies, long, long ago. Haven’t eaten any in years. 🙂
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They seem to find me when I’m actually on a diet (but then again, I think I’m always on a diet! ) 🙂
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I know the feeling! We are on a 5:2 fast diet in February, will definitely try a mint Oreo after that. 🙂
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hahahaha
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I was never aware of the sheer number of trials, G. –Curt
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I think it would have taken far too long to appease the public if the trials were all in one place and by the countries involved. Thanks for your interest, Curt.
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Me neither, Curt.
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John.
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You are welcome.
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You may have addressed this in another post, but after seeing the number of acquittals, I’m curious about the burden of proof that the prosecutors needed for a guilty verdict.
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Getting into the trial transcripts is very tedious and really not my purview. They are here if you choose to investigate.
https://www.archives.gov/research/captured-german-records/war-crimes-trials.html#asia
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I had no idea GP! Didn’t think much of anything happened in Asia to Japanese war criminals outside of Tojo’s trial and execution. Thanks for the enlightenment! Best regards.
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I appreciate you reading the post, Torrito.
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I wonder why there were no trials in Korea, where so many atrocities occurred. I also wonder why the Japanese emperor wasn’t dethroned and imprisoned.
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Some Koreans were tried, but not in Korea. The most prominent ethnic Korean convicted was Lieutenant General Hong Sa Ik, who orchestrated the organization of prisoner of war camps in Southeast Asia. In 2006, the South Korean government “pardoned” 83 of the 148 convicted Korean war criminals.(Why? I don’t know) One hundred-sixty Taiwanese who had served in the forces of the Empire of Japan were convicted of war crimes and 11 were executed.
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I’m sure there was Korean collusion with Japanese, I was wondering why the Korean government didn’t have trials against the Japanese war criminals who raped and Korean women and children which was orchestrated by the Japanese army. The Japanese people worshiped their Emperor like a god, he should’ve been held accountable also, he was complicit in the crimes.
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I think I would need a Korean researcher to explain further – I would not want to give misleading info.
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I heard that the Korean government weren’t allowed to participate in any war crime trials against Japan, I could be wrong about that but it seemed strange to me, sounded disempowering.
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It could very well be. They had been under Japanese rule from 1910-1945,
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Yes, my parents and grandparents were under Japanese occupation in Korea. It destroyed my grandfather, he died in his early 40s and my grandmother had to survive raising 4 daughters alone. That’s why I can’t forget what was done to my country of origin.
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I certainly can’t blame you.
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GP, the loss of the crew of the C-130 Crew hit us all hard in Australia. They were our “ brothers” and I can tell you that as the event unfolded strangers were crying and holding each other in the streets.
These fires have been ugly and we are only just past the halfway mark of summer. The assistance from firemen from all over the world truly is appreciated and I’m sure the loss of life has been limited because of their efforts.
Our grief is your grief.
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Thank you very much for your kind words. I’ve known many a fireman in my life and know they would all go help if they could. I’ve been following the news on your fires and hope they come to an end soon!!!
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I didn’t hear about this subject until now. I agree that the UN had lost a lot of credibility since then. They do seem to care about real atrocities anymore
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It’s a shame that we hear so much bad news that we become sort of numb to it all. I’m glad you found the post interesting, Maria.
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I imagine the horrible things the POWs went through in camps and on death marches. Many didn’t survive, but they still had some justice after the tribunals
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Thank you.
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I didn’t realize there were so many war trials that went on. Something new I learned today. Glad people were held accountable for their bad deeds. Unlike today . . .
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True enough, Rose. Different politics today, I suppose. I’ve actually quite trying to guess their motives or principles.
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I agree with Beth. It had to be done, for everyone’s peace of mind.
Good cartoons, GP! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Agreed, Pete!
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Love the cartoons–one seems very appropriate for today and we each have our own opinion to whom they are referring.
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I was wondering who would make a modern-day connection to today’s humor (despite it NOT being a current cartoon). I should have known you would catch it!! 🙂
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Happy not to disappoint you. 🙂
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I had no idea of any war trials, other than Nuremberg, of course. They were never mentioned in the USSR. Once again, thank you for educating me, GP!
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I don’t usually recommend Wiki, but this is just a quick overview of the Soviet trials of the Japanese……
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khabarovsk_War_Crime_Trials
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Very interesting that, even though a privileged few heard about Khabarovsk trial (it was not covered in official press), no details were given, and the reports were published in English. Now that you got me curious, I’ll search the Russian sources.
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Let me know what you locate, Dolly.
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Quote from the one and only Russian source cited everywhere (my translation below):
“Лица, осуждённые на непродолжительные сроки, отбыли их полностью и были отправлены на родину. Курусиму Юдзи перед отъездом ещё и повозили по Москве, показав ему достопримечательности советской столицы. Осуждённые на длительные сроки отбыли в заключении в тюрьме в Иваново только 7 лет, причём в достаточно комфортабельных условиях. Перед отправкой на родину в 1956 г. их одели по последней моде, в Хабаровске в их честь был устроен пышный банкет. Вернувшись в Японию, ни один из японских генералов, причастных к разработке БО, не написал мемуаров о «сталинских застенках», хотя им за это предлагались большие деньги.” (http://supotnitskiy.ru/book/book3-34.htm)
Those convicted for minimal number of years, served fully and were sent to their homeland. Kurusimu Yudzi was even given a detailed tour of Moscow before his departure. Those who were convicted for 25 years served only 7 years in Ivanovo prison in fairly comfortable conditions. Before sending them back home in 1956, they were provided with fashionable clothing, and In Khabarovsk they were honored at a sumptuous banquet. Upon their return to Japan, none of the Japanese generals who had been involved in developing biological weapons wrote memoirs about “stalin’s gaols,” even though they were offered big money.
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I appreciate your time to research this and give us a translation, Dolly – Very interesting. How much of that would you personally consider accurate?
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The author is micro-biologist, and this scientific paper was part of his dissertation that later on was incorporated into a book published in 2006. From what I gather, before 2006 NOBODY knew anything about it, but as a retired military physician and a scientist, this author undoubtedly had access to highly classified information.
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Terrific! Thank you again!!
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This is a thorough presentation I’ve only read bits or segments before, but here is a more4 comprehensive picture of the trials. What a staggering feat.
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To have all these trials go on around the vast Pacific was really among Man’s wonders of the world.
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Must have cost a packet.
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I found this information but it is more of a modern version. I’ll continue to try and locate some costs for WWII
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=hrbrief
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A whole different view of the process, fascinating, staggering time and monetary costs, blows my mind. Than k yo for taking the time GP
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No problem.
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Thank you for honoring the C130 crew, GP. These men served their entire careers with distinction even to their final mission. Also, thank you for the war crimes report.
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It broke my heart to hear about the firemen – serving their entire lives and then poof. It’s true, we (humans) don’t know what we have until we lose it.
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It amazes me how you get so many authentic pictures. A good read! 💕
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I can’t count how many websites and books I’ve been into to even give you a hint!! haha, and then I wonder what happened to my day? where did it go? er, Duh!!
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I can only repeat my earlier comments on these sad necessities – and to agree entirely with Beth
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Thank you, Derrick.
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Thanks for this interesting nugget of information on war trials in Singapore. Goodwood Hotel still exists and I will remember your this post when I next dine there. My lil red dot info I never knew till you shared GP. Thanks
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I’m glad you approve of what I have. And I’m happy when ever you think of this blog!!
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Of course! To me, you are my invaluable war historian. 😄👍
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I try to be!
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I think you might be interested in the comment from jfwknifton written here. He is a great researcher and always brings me additional data on a subject. Today he honed in on Singapore!
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Thanks GP! Yes, I zoomed in to read!
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Happy to help!
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Not sure the UN today is up to the same standards as then? Or have we just become hardened to atrocities? At least justice mattered then. Now everything is so political.
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I know politics were involved back then too – or the trials wouldn’t have been so publicized – but I believe you’re right in saying the UN is not up to the standards of yesteryear.
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Go girl scouts!
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Don’t you love it? I’ll bet the scouts got a kick out it!!
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Loved the “Breaking News.”
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It’s really funny when you realize you didn’t even have to bother Telling the news media that they screwed up!!!
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In your Farewell Salutes: Elbert Ausley, U.S.S. Gambier Bay survivor.
Gambier Bay was one of the heroic “Jeep” carriers in the Battle of Samar:
https://56packardman.com/2016/07/17/steamship-sunday-the-jeep-carriers-and-the-battle-of-samar/
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Thank you for putting the link!!
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I appreciate that the leaders were brought to justice, but in many ways, I’m encouraged by the fact that almost 20% of the defendants were acquitted.
I never say no to the Girl Scouts. No sense poking that bear.
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Hahaha, they don’t have to break down your door, eh?!
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Nope – Thin Mints, please.
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They used to be my favorite, then the lemon. But the next year they changed bakeries and the lemon haven’t been the same since.
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as challenging as this was, it was so necessary for so many reasons. an important process for the beginning of healing, to tell the world what has happened, to find some measure of justice, and, to find some closure
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Exactly – you summed it up perfectly, Beth. Thank you.
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Thank you, Ian.
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I thank you very much for linking with my site. As I’ve told you in the past, I find I am unable to click on a ‘Like’ button or comment on your blog. I don’t know what the trouble is and I feel bad about it.
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