JAP BAYONETS FOILED MOBS.

Policeman Tells of Protecting Captured U.S. Fliers.

YOKOHAMA, April 8.(AP)--A former member of Japan’s military police testified at a war crimes trial today that Japanese had to use fixed bayonets "in order to keep the people from mobbing captured American fliers."

Shoichi Uzawa made the statement in testifying at the trial of two Japanese charged with beheading Lieut. Darwin R. Emry of Denver who was captured after his B-29 crashed May 25, 1945.

In another courtroom, the prosecution dropped prosecution of one charge against Capt. Tsutomu Shiba. It was an accusation that he permitted a subordinate to beat Pvt. Michael Daley Parsons, Kas. The beating occurred before Shiba was assigned to the camp, the defense had insisted.

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From the TULSA DAILY WORLD, Oct 8, l946

LOST BATTALION SURVIVORS RECALL JAP PRISON HORRORS

Plainview, Tex., Oct. 8 (U.P)--Survivors of the Lost Battalion would like to be better remembered by the Veterans Administration.

A resolution they adopted at their fifth annual reunion here said they felt they should receive more consideration from the federal agency.

The Lost Battalion was a group of American soldiers held prisoners by the Japanese on the island of Java for 42 agony-filled months of brutality, disease, slave-labor and malnutrition Until the war ended in l945 , nothing had been heard of the group.Approximately 30 per cent of the 2^nd Battalion, l3lst Field Artillery, died while held prisoners by the Japanese, according to J. B. Heinen Jr., an officer of the battalion and now president of the Lost Battalion Assn.

Tom Wootan of Kermit, Tex., still bears the mute testimony of the treatment received. He continues to be hospitalized with arthritis after being ravaged by beri beri. He attended the reunion on crutches, on short leave from a hospital.

He was a member of Battery E. In an interview, Wootan told this story:

"We were captured on Mar. 8, l942, when Java was surrounded by the allied commander, British Gen. Wavell. E Battery was separated from the rest of the battalion, and we were joined by survivors of the cruiser Houston, which had been sunk between Java and Sumatra. Some of the specially trained men, mainly communications personnel, were sent to Japan.""Our main group was sent to Burma, where we were forced to construct a railroad through the jungle of Bangkok, Siam, in conjunction with Australia and English prisoners (mostly survivors of the British ship Dunkirk) and Dutch prisoners."

"During this period we suffered loss of about 200 divided between the Lost Battalion and Houston survivors."

"The basic cause was malnutrition, which in time permitted the boys to be eaten up by tropic ulcers, beri beri, pellagra, dysentery and malaria."

"We served as slave labor, with pick and shovel, seeing no power equipment, and being forced to work from before sunup until l0 and ll o’clock at night.""We were given a very small amount of rice, an occasional bit of meat no larger than one bite, and gourds with no food value."

"During one period we worked over 90 days without a single day of rest.""At the outset, we were divided into groups of 50--"kumi"—and at the end of the 90 days an average "kumi" could only muster five men able to work."

"Our hospital facilities were bamboo huts with "atap" leaves for a roof. The floor of the hospital hut was covered by over a foot of water, except for a small space at the ends.""There were no facilities, no medicine. The boys who were bedridden, many of them with several of these diseases, had to crawl through water to get outside."

"After the railroad was built we were forced to work on Siam roads."

"At the end of the war the Japs were ordered to concentrate us at points near airports and we were flown to hospitals in Calcutta where we had the first treatment and food for 42 months."

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A letter to Mike from the:

"LOST BATTALION"

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

HONORS THE MEMORY OF MICHAEL J. DALEY

This certificate is awarded by a grateful nation in recognition of devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our country in the Armed Forces of the United States.   

Lyndon B. Johnson PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES