Posted on 06/01/2004 10:30:17 AM PDT by jtminton
Terence Sumner Kirk of Burleson, a U.S. Marine in World War II, made the only photographs ever taken inside a Japanese POW camp. Not upon liberation, but while a prisoner -- a prisoner for every single day of the war.
And he did it without a conventional camera or film.
As I talked with him in his living room, he admitted he was telling me things that have never been in print before. You will be among the first to know.
Kirk, 88, explained: "My father died when I was 3. My brother, Art, and I were put in the Mooseheart Orphanage in Illinois. My mother was expecting another child and got a job at the orphanage so that she could check on us. My sister Virginia was born there. My three other siblings, Ben, Sara and Ruth, were strangers to us.
"For some reason, the orphanage made a special effort not to house brothers and sisters together, so we really had no family ties. Our mother was with us on holidays, but we hardly knew her.
"I think that sort of upbringing made me more independent and perhaps helped me in what I went through as a POW."
After Kirk graduated from the orphanage school, he entered the U.S. Marine Corps. He was part of the "North China Marines" Ligation Guards in Tientsen, detached to the U.S. Embassy in Peking. A total of 203 North China Marines were stationed in three posts near the embassy.
Japan had been in China for sometime, and it was decided to send the embassy staff back to the United States.
The North China Marines, located in nearby Chinwangtao, had already packed away their heavy arms to get ready for the voyage back, when the men heard on a radio that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States was at war. Thousands of Japanese were based nearby.
Kirk was one of the 23 Marines left behind in Chinwangtao. In desperation, they uncrated, cleaned and readied their weapons for battle; however, orders came from headquarters in Peking to lay down arms. It was expected that the Marines would receive diplomatic immunity as part of the embassy staff under the 1900 Protocol.
But it didn't happen.
"I know now that if the U.S. State Department had responded and had sent for us, we would have been granted immunity," Kirk said emotionally. "We were abandoned by our own government."
While the Japanese waited for word from the U.S. State Department, Kirk described the treatment they received from December 1941 until March 1942 as "quite different" from the way other POWs were treated.
"Other POWs were stripped of their watches and valuables," he said.
They let "us keep ours and even let us store our other things. They expected us to be repatriated," he said. "We would have been, even if a neutral party had come for us. We were told that the Japanese contacted the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo to question our State Department on what they intended to do about the North China Marines. It was reported that the secretary of state, Cordell Hull, replied, 'We will get back to you on that.' He never did. Because of that, we were prisoners for 1,355 days, every day of the war."
The enemy was tired of waiting. In his self-published book, "The Secret Camera," Kirk told of being sent through a series of four camps from China into Japan, to be used as slave labor.
"I was forced to work at Nipon Steel where I cut scrap iron in rain, wind and snow, with no protection," he said. "We were fed millet -- horse feed. Your body can tolerate that just so long. It tears a little bit of life out of you. They switched to white rice. If we tried to stash away anything, the rats ate it all. I knew I had to do something."
As winter turned to spring, he was in Woosung camp, a swamp near Shanghai. He wrote of trying to keep warm during the day: "A few of us crawled under the four stiff cotton blankets we found folded at the head of our straw mats, but when the interpreter discovered what we were doing, he laid down one of his rules.
"'No one will be in bed except when thick [sick] or it it [is] bedtime.'" He squealed out his order as he stalked up and down the corridor.
"Our most effective method to fight the cold was marching up and down the long corridor, stomping our feet," Kirk said. "Stomping kept the blood circulation. To sit down was inviting trouble; our feet would begin to freeze and we would get chilblain. Chilblain causes pain that is hard to explain. The anguish caused by the pain can make a grown man whimper and cry like a baby."
Infestations caused Kirk to contract malaria and dengue fever. He somehow survived.
Once in Japan, both Yawata and Kokura camps were on the north side of the island of Kyushu, between the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Conditions continued to deteriorate. As carts of dead young men were pulled to the crematorium each day, Cpl. Kirk decided he had to find a way to let the American people know about the camps.
When Kirk developed malaria, he became acquainted with a Japanese interpreter, Nishi, who offered to take him to a doctor friend who was working on a serum to cure the disease. Kirk knew many had died of it at the camp, and he was willing to take the vaccine.
As they made the trip, Kirk learned that Nishi was a native of California. Kirk wrote: "A year before the war began, he explained, he received a telegram, supposedly from his grandmother, who was dying. It was her deathbed wish to see her grandson, who lived in America. Included with the telegram was enough money to book passage aboard a ship to Japan. He accepted the news as factual, and since he had no reason to expect foul play, he embarked on a free trip to Japan -- home of his ancestors.
"Upon his arrival in Yokohama, he was promptly pressed into the military service. The telegram turned out to be a hoax to get him to Japan, where his particular talents could serve the Japanese Empire. Since he was educated in the United States, they figured they could use him some way to help in their war effort.
"To me, it was obvious, he harbored an underlying and bitter resentment, especially for the deception that separated him from his family."
Kirk wrote: "It was then that I got this wild idea to ask Nishi to help me do something I had been thinking about for months. I wanted to get some pictures of the sick and dying prisoners, so someday all Americans could see how the enemy treated American prisoners of war."
He reminded Nishi that prisoners were dying from starvation and lack of medical treatment and that someone should be held accountable.
Kirk told Nishi his desire to take photographic evidence home with him. He explained that he could take pictures without a conventional camera, but that he needed photographic plates.
He pled: "Photographs will be the whole case, Nishi. One picture of a starving man or a poor soul swelled up with beri-beri will tell a lot more than trying to describe what they looked like. It will be hard evidence that these men did exist. ... It is impossible to look into a crock of ashes and say this guy died of starvation, beatings or disease. It will be indisputable proof that our captors ... were nothing more than cruel and inhuman beasts."
After much thought, Nishi agreed to bring him photographic plates. Kirk found they were 8-by-10-inch plates. The camera that Kirk had made (which resembled two cardboard boxes with one slightly smaller box inside the other) measured 4-by-5 inches. He asked for a diamond glass cutter. Nishi brought that, too.
Kirk informed a trusted Dr. Markowitz about his plans. Then he enlisted Marine Martin A. Gatewood of Chillicothe, Texas, to set up security for the operation.
Kirk wrote: "I had one more problem to solve. ... I needed a darkroom where I could change the plates because this pinhole camera was only one shot at a time, then I had to reload with a fresh plate."
He solved his problem by using the sunken bathtub in the Japanese soldier's bathroom. After he determined when it was not in use, he climbed into the empty tub with his camera and pulled a sheet of plywood over him to make it totally dark. After each shot, it was necessary to remove the used plate and put in a fresh one.
His camera was separated into its two "boxes" and disguised as a holder for his toothbrush and toothpowder.
He smiled and added, "They starved us, but they wanted us to have good teeth."
All six photos, which are now in the U.S. Marines Archives Branch of the Marine Corps University's General Alfred M. Gray Research Center in Quantico, Va., were taken in a little over an hour on his monthly day off.
He explained in his book: "The doctor was ready for me. He had his patients waiting in the sun between the barracks and the hospital building. I set the camera down on the edge of a concrete cistern to steady it, aimed the camera at the sick men standing in a row, removed the patch from the pinhole after asking them to hold still as long as I had the patch in my hand, then I began counting. One second, two seconds, three seconds and so on up to ten seconds. Then I replaced the patch over the pinhole."
After getting shots of patients and one of the prison camp, he was determined to get a photo of the hydro-electric plant there at Kokura.
The shot had to be from one of the gun towers. He told his sentinel, Gatewood, what he planned to do, and Gatewood told his team members.
Kirk had to climb a ladder with one hand while holding his camera with the other. Just as he was ready to take the picture, he heard a shrill whistle -- his warning signal.
"I peeled off the black tape from the pinhole and started counting. ... Two shrill whistles! The soldiers were not only close, but they were heading in my direction!"
He finished his 10 count but his hand shook so badly he had to make another try.
"By then, I weighed only 85 pounds," he told me. "Gravity was kind to me. I dropped about 20 feet and hit the ground running. A patrol came up just as I went around to the other side of the building.
"Nishi brought back five prints of each plate a week later. I couldn't believe how clear the pictures were. In one photo, you have to look carefully to see that one marine, a mere skeleton, is being held up by another who is standing behind him. He died the day after I took the photo."
The Japanese had thought that housing the POWs near the hydro-electric plant at Kokura would serve as human shields. However, the U.S. military was not aware that POWs were there, Kirk said.
The town was bombed Aug. 8, 1945, with magnesium fire bombs.
The prisoners were unaware that the first atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, two days before.
The second one was to be dropped on them.
Kirk wrote what he learned later: "As a B-29 named Bock's Car was winging its way across the Pacific toward Japan and me, it had an atomic bomb in its belly. Its destination was the arsenal of Kokura ... this bomb ... was ten feet eight inches long and five feet in diameter and was intended to destroy the stockpile of military arms and equipment stored in the arsenal at Kokura. Unknown to the crew, there was also a prison camp with six hundred and seventy some, wretched, starving, allied prisoners of war.
"However, it was not meant to be. With mechanical failure, human error and God's help, we survived," Kirk said.
The changing wind blew the smoke from the air raid of the day before back over them. Since the bombardier had specific orders not to drop the weapon except on visual targets, Nagasaki became the target instead of Kokura.
The next morning, the prisoners found that the Japanese were gone.
"Two days passed before we saw any planes, but even then, they were too high and too far away for us to signal them," he wrote.
Early the next morning, those in the camp collected all the white rags and white clothing in camp and made 20-foot letters, "POW" with a long white arrow pointing to the compound. A small combat plane spotted them and in turn, performed wild, acrobatic flying over the barracks in celebration. Soon, six B-29s flew over with their bomb bay doors wide open, dropping food by parachute.
The good deed backfired. Cases of canned food exploded on impact. Luckily, the POWs had taken shelter. Other food arrived safely, and a single B-29 dropped cylinders of food, clothing, cigarettes and toilet articles on the beach. Soon the men had new U.S. Army uniforms, including underwear and socks -- but most importantly, they were provided medicine and medical supplies.
"It was as if they had sent us a complete commissary and post exchange," Kirk said.
Through magazines and newspapers they learned about the atom bombs and how they ended the war.
Kirk made his way to find other Marines and traveled through the radiation debris field of Hiroshima. Later, a Navy doctor wanted to remove Kirk's thyroid as a precaution, but Kirk refused. He has never developed cancer.
Making it to Guam, he and others were shocked when they were made to sign a gag order and ordered not to discuss camp conditions or their treatment. He could tell no one about what he had been through.
"During my debriefing," he told me, "I gave copies of my photos to officials. I was surprised at their lack of concern. Until recently, I thought the photos were probably trashed. According to www.mansell.com, they were used in the Japanese war crimes trials."
His emotional reaction to the apparent indifference toward his imprisonment and mistreatment and the gag order that kept him from discussing it with anyone was one of stoicism.
Even though Kirk had a rank of sergeant during his prison time, he said he was paid back wages as a corporal, his rank at capture. Some 57 years later, he was paid the difference, but at 1940s value -- like comparing $1,600 to $16,000.
"But once a Marine, always a Marine," he said. "I followed orders. I've always loved my country. I married after the war, had two children and never told my wife that I had been a POW."
Kirk earned his associate's degree from Santa Rosa Junior College and served as a Marine recruiter and an instructor for the Federal Aviation Administration. His marriage ended after 18 years.
More than 30 years after the war, he made a decision. He wanted the American public and the world to know how he and others had been treated by the Japanese, and he wanted to prove it by his photographs. Gag order or no gag order, he began to write.
It took him six years to finalize his manuscript. He submitted it to 26 publishers and received rejections from all of them. Undaunted, he published it himself and titled it "The Secret Camera."
He's married to Mildred now, and her daughter, Carolyn Noonan, manages his book sales. She reports that the book is in its third edition with more than 5,500 copies out there. Kirk has been on television and has been interviewed many times. (See www.thesecretcamera.com to view all his photographs.)
But he had never told anyone until today how he and others were truly abandoned by the U.S.A. -- how the gag order that prohibited soldiers from telling their story perhaps, in reality, served as a cover-up for the way they had been tortured and starved by the Japanese every day of World War II as a result of that abandonment.
Noonan cited that a 1951 peace treaty denied the POWs the right to seek anything from Japan; all atrocities were forgiven. Then, in October 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled after years of pleadings that the POWs cannot sue for any restitution or seek recourse from Japan's big business that used them as slaves.
Kirk feels U.S. history books should include more information about World War II, with more emphasis on the Pacific Theater.
"I think in the minds of some people, our battles were considered 'island hopping,' whereas the European Theater had more history written about it. Our students need to know more of everything that happened and how cruel the Japanese were," he said.
Noonan is fiercely determined that her stepfather should be awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries and the Bronze Star for his extreme bravery in his contribution to photographic history during World War II. She has been in contact with Sens. Orrin Hatch and John McCain in Washington, D.C., and will not give up, she says.
Kirk said that at his lectures, he begins his speech with these thoughts:
"Imagine. Freezing rain, very little food, no shelter. Imagine. You are very ill -- you are injured -- there is no medication -- no care. Now imagine. You might be tortured or murdered. This is what the prisoners of war went through every day in a Japanese prison camp."
I could not imagine. I looked at Terence Kirk and thought about all he'd told me. His kind smile had touched my heart. I spotted something on his bright red blazer.
"I wear it every single day," he said proudly.
It was the U.S. Marines insignia. There's no such thing as an ex-Marine.
Larue Barnes may be reached at laruebarnes@yahoo.com
Appreciation is expressed to
Carolyn Noonan for her assistance with research for this story.
The Secret Camera may be purchased for $20 by sending a check or money order payable to Terence S. Kirk, 7926 FM 927, Walnut Springs, TX, 76690, or by calling 254-797-5609.
This fella is a true American hero. And a tribute to American resourcefulness.
The thing to keep in mind here, though, is that Japanese civilians in the hundreds of thousands died of malnutrition and starvation during the war as well, mostly women and children, young and old. Not to mention the millions of Japanese civilians who died during the many incendiary and bombing raids, including, of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Many Japanese military officers were executed after the war because of the atrocities they committed themselves or allowed to be committed under their command. Generals Homma and Yamashita were hung, the architects of the invasions of Singapore and the Philippines. To the Japanese, this would be like hanging Patton or Eisenhower.
And these "Secret Camera" pictures were used to secure the convictions. Justice was served.
Goodness. . .at least those guys didn't have to wear women's underwear on their head as they ate ethic/religious appropriate meals, while waiting to see the doc. . .SARCASM!
I swear. . .
A far cry from pink panties.
incredible story.
UCRA, no doubt
thanks for the pin
I just ordered 2 copies.
Semper Fi!
...But...Gee, I always hear that it was the AMERICANS who were the bad guys...the way they rounded up all the nice, peaceful Japanese people and put them into camps during the war! Now THAT was torture!
I'd LOVE to see this guys' photos!
Thanks for the link
Fascinating.
Incredible he did this with a pinhole camera!
Good post,and most appropriate.
Semper Fi Bump !
I understand your sentiment and these were the best of men, I can't agree. Reading some of the stories from Iraq about our men's bravery, courage and standard-issue American decency leaves me just as silent.
Americans are special people. No matter what the self-loathing traitors in this country would have you believe.
The thing to keep in mind here, though, is that Japanese civilians in the hundreds of thousands died of malnutrition and starvation during the war as well, mostly women and children, young and old. Not to mention the millions of Japanese civilians who died during the many incendiary and bombing raids, including, of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It is very hard to feel sorry for the country who attacked and killed tens/hundreds of thousands of Americans. I do NOT feel sorry for them at all.
I do not feel sorry for the NVA I killed - nor will I feel sorry for the death of any enemy of this country - especially the DOMESTIC ENEMIES!
I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the Untied States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. - SO HELP ME GOD.
U.S.M.C.
"The thing to keep in mind here, though, is that Japanese civilians in the hundreds of thousands died of malnutrition and starvation during the war as well, mostly women and children, young and old. Not to mention the millions of Japanese civilians who died during the many incendiary and bombing raids, including, of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki"
Nanking....
I would agree with you. During the war, decisions were made according to military necessity about the killing on both sides. But my comments concerned complaints from some here about the post-war negotiated position that absolved the Japanese from any future compensatory claims for any crimes committed by their combatants. I think that this policy of the US government proved to be good for both sides. Those responsible for the atrocities were punished. The rest got on with their lives. The killing and recriminations had to stop at some point in time.
bump
He also takes Paypal. My copy is ordered.
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