Larue Barnes: Pictures of survival (WW2 Marine POW in Japan who took pics with a homemade camera)

Cleburne Times-Review ^ | 5/30/2004 | Larue Barnes

[northchina]

Re Kirk pin-hole camera, atomic bomb, Japanese civilian deaths. Justice was not completely served. The large majority of Japanese military and political prisoners accused of war crimes were let free as part of MacArthur's policies to rebuild Japan. In 1952 the US signed a treaty with Japan which has been used ever since to block POWs from sueing the civilian companies they were forced to perform slave labor for. The US Justice Department has gone to court repeatedly to argue for Japan against these American POWs.
Japanese civilian deaths were not caused by American weapons. The Japanese people had accepted their government's terribly aggressive policies for years. The Japanese nation attacked ours. Whatever happened to Japan and the Japanese people was brought on by Japan and the Japanese people. To this day they do not recognize that fact in their own history books.
Our government asks today for Americans to serve in another war while continuing to ignore those deserving of recognition from a past war. Jessica Lynch was awarded a Bronze Star simply for being a POW for two weeks. Terence Kirk risked his life to obtain evidence of Japanese treatment of POWs while a prisoner for four years. He was awarded nothing (not even his back pay until 56 years later).

[northchina]

You are correct. There was a case of a POW taking pictures, apparently in the Philippines. In fact, some books including those pictures also include one of Kirk's. Look closely and you will see the shot of the sick POWs posing that Kirk took included in the Philippine photos. The fault is with the research for that book.
Kirk was the only one to take photos in a POW camp in Japan itself. It was much more difficult to do anything like this in Japan because there was no underground movement from which the POWs could get help as there was in the Philippines. Both men deserve recognition.