Posted on 11/29/2005 8:17:13 PM PST by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL
Essay Contest on POWs of the Japanese
US-JAPAN DIALOGUE ON POWS, INC., a California non-profit organization, is pleased to announce that it will hold its first essay writing contest. The purpose of this contest is to promote understanding and dialogue among/between college students in Japan and the United States on the history of American POWs of the Japanese during WWII. We look forward to receiving many submissions from both countries.
Two winners, one from Japan and the other from the United States, will win a free trip to Phoenix, Arizona, where the annual convention of American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor will be held in May of 2006. They will be meeting with many former POWs of the Japanese and their family members, while having a dialogue between themselves.
Eligibility: A college student either in Japan or the United States who is interested in researching on the history of American POWs of the Japanese during WWII.
Essay:
1. Read the content of the website, US-Japan Dialogue on POWs, http://www.us-japandialogueonpows.org.
2. Based on what you have learned from the website and other sources, write an essay of approximately 1,500 words in English.
3. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
- How you were affected by learning the experience of POWs
- What lessons can be learned from the experience of POWs
- How young people in Japan and the U. S. can learn together the history of
American POWs and promote understanding and dialogue on this topic
Deadline: February 28, 2006
Send your essay in the body of the e-mail, not as an attachment, to:
Admin@US-JapandialogueonPOWs.org
The subject line of the email should read "POW Essay." In your essay, please include your name, address and the name of the college you attend.
Award:
Two winners will be announced by the end of March, 2006. They will travel to Phoenix, Arizona from May 18 to 21, 2006 with all expenses paid by US-JAPAN DIALOGUE ON POWS, INC. All the submitted essays will be posted on US-Japan Dialogue on POWs.
Inquiries: Send your questions to Admin@US-JapandialogueonPOWs.org
Free Trade bump
Thanks for that information, Geopyg!
It is an unfortunate part of our history but it should not be forgotten.
I thought you all might like to see this website:
http://www.hellshipsmemorial.org/
So sad. Surely, he is at peace now in the arms of our Lord.
God bless him. God bless them all.
No one should have to endure such horrors for the short time they walk this earth.
Doc, thanks for sharing the story about your cousin.
So many of his fellow soldiers in WW2 were reluctant to talk about their experiences. Perhaps they felt that there was no way to communicate the horrors they had survived, except to someone who had been there, and then if they were there, there would be no need to verbalize what they had experienced in common--it was just an unspoken bond.
His generation is passing into history. He, and millions like him, turned the tides of battle, carrying out the directives of officers and generals who would become famous.
But we see that great battles turn on small details and individual efforts, that together with many other such small incidents, make the decisive effort.
Your cousin is one who had seen and endured much, probably too much. His was a daily battle for survival against an often ruthless enemy, in the face of unbelievable fear, hardship, and suffering.He probably saw many friends succumb in the effort to dislodge an intractable enemy on various island battles, many times in hand to hand combat. No wonder he could not bear any reminder of his former enemy. So much had been lost.
Our freedoms were preserved by countless good men like your cousin, and their sacrifice of youth and idealism in the face of battle can never be forgotten.
Yet, their generation is never one to brag about their exploits. Growing up in the fifties and sixties, I remember my veteran uncles saying that those who had "been there" didn't brag about their exploits. Only the ones who had seen little or no action freely bragged about their exploits.
They thought the real heroes were those they left behind on the fields of battle. They never saw themselves as among the real heroes of WW2.
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