ARTICLES & STORIES

HISTORY GROUPS DEMAND JAPAN TO FULLY ACCEPT WAR RESPONSIBILITIES

August 2005

     The Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition and several affiliated World War II Truth in History groups – including the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society, are demanding that Japan bring proper closure to all pending WW II issues on the 60th anniversary of the end of the war this V-J Day.

     The groups express strong objection to the repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine – for the purpose of worshipping war criminals and promoting militarism - by Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his cabinet and LDP party members, as well...

ENOURA MARU MEMORIAL SERVICE - JANUARY 9, 2005

     January 9, 1945 – was the date of the bombing of the hellship Enoura Maru at Takao Harbour, Formosa, with the loss of more than 300 American POW lives. On January 9th 2005 – the 60th Anniversary of that tragic event, the Society held a special memorial service to remember the Enoura Maru and the men who suffered and died that day. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the City of Kaohsiung Cultural Affairs Bureau at a pier at Kaohsiung Harbour. Following the service on the pier, wreaths were laid on the water...

THE STORY OF THE BOMBING OF THE ENOURA MARU

Address given at the Memorial Service for the men who suffered and died on the hellship Enoura Maru at Kaohsiung Taiwan - January 9th 1945

by Michael Hurst MBE, Director, Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society

     Thank you all for coming here today to join with the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society in this important service of remembrance. I would like to pay tribute to the more than 300 brave men who died - right here in this harbour, 60 years ago today - on January 9th 1945, by telling you a little of the...

REMARKS BY AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH CHIEF ROBERT FORDEN

Enoura Maru Memorial Service Sunday, January 9th 2005 Kaohsiung

     I am proud to be here today with you to honor the memory of those brave men who lost their lives here 60 years ago in the cause of freedom. Standing here on this warm sunny day in Kaohsiung, looking out at the calm seas and the city of people going about their everyday lives, it’s hard to imagine the horrendous conditions under which the American prisoners of war found themselves 60 years ago today.

     On board the 'hell ships' they suffered under...

The TAIWAN HELLSHIPS MEMORIAL DEDICATION

     Taiwan played a significant role in the story of the hellships in World War II. Being a Japanese colony and secure base, it served as a haven for many hellships en route to Japan, as well as a prime destination for POWs being used as slave labour here for the Japanese war effort.

     Following the memorial service held in January 2005 by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society to commemorate the bombing of the hellship Enoura Maru in Kaohsiung Harbour, it was suggested that a memorial be built in Taiwan to remember...

THE ENOURA MARU HELLSHIP MEMORIAL SAGA

     This is the story of the Enoura Maru Hellship Memorial from the beginning in 2011 to its eventual dedication on August 15th 2018. Also on the website are the stories of the bombing of the ship, the memorial service held at Kaohsiung Harbour in 2005, and the building and dedication of the Taiwan Hellships Memorial in 2006.

     This is the culmination of seven year’s work that was first initiated by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society back in 2011 at the request of some of the family members of the men who had died...

FURTHER JAPANESE ATROCITIES ON TAIWAN DURING WW II COME TO LIGHT. . .

     In a letter received in the autumn of 2000, we learned of further atrocities committed against prisoners of war on Taiwan by the Japanese in the closing days of the war.

     At that time we received a letter from Mr. Charles D. "Buddy" Parker of Florida, USA asking for assistance in finding more information on his brother who had been executed by the Japanese in Taihoku in June 1945. This was the first time we had heard anything about other POWs being executed. To our knowledge there were only the two POWs...

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT THE REMAINS OF THE OLD NORTH WALL OF THE FORMER TAIPEI PRISON FOR THE 14 AMERICAN AIRMEN EXECUTED BY THE JAPANESE 60 YEARS AGO

     June 19th 1945 – was the date of the senseless murder of 14 American airmen at the Taipei Prison. On June 19th 2005 – the 60th Anniversary of that tragic event, the Society held a special memorial service to remember the men who suffered and died that day. The ceremony was held just outside the remnant of the old north wall of the former prison with the brother of one of the slain airmen and his two sons present with us for the occasion. A number of friends and supporters joined with us as...