The BRUTAL Executions Of The Nurses Of Bangka Island

[@bushranger51]

Vivian Bullwinkle is a national heroine to us Australians, and yet, not many young Australians know of her story. As an older Australian I am ashamed of this fact. What rankles me is that while she testified at the Japanese War Crimes trials, not one of those responsible for this atrocity were ever held responsible or were ever punished for it.

[@chesterswortham5197]

It's sad that after your country's solders fought for your country's freedom your country was destroyed from within but yall let it happen when you give up your guns to thier so called gun control laws

[@nelliethursday1812]

Oh wow I am in America and sadly never heard of this magnificent woman. Army nurses deserve their own holiday to be celebrated world wide. Though hell they persevered many however would meet tragedy

[@krisushi1]

@@chesterswortham5197 How about paying respect to what our country went through during WWII and don't bring up current issues that aren't yours to worry about! So many of you think you know of our gun control laws and how they have worked but you think you know it all. How about fixing the problems in your own country first and then congratulate us for reducing mass shootings which seem to be an everyday occurrence in the US. Whilst you're at it, pay some respect to what Vivian Bullwinkle went through and educate yourself by reading her story. This is not the place for your political soapbox which the comment did not mention!

[@krisushi1]

If you want to learn more about Australian women during wartime, there is a great book I picked up at the Post Office called Heroic Australian Women in War by Susanna De Vries - HarperCollins Publishers. It tells some amazing stories from WWI through WWII. Nancy Wake (The White Mouse) had remarked: 'The exploits of Australia's women at war have been sadly neglected for years.' Yet women have suffered, strengthened and defied fear in extraordinary acts of bravery.🇦🇺

[@josephmetz890]

My father was an American soldier in the war and said the Aussies were very brave and tough and afraid of nothing. So on behalf of my Dad and myself Thanks for your service!

[@jon9021]

I’ve said this before, but the Japanese got off VERY lightly in the trials at the end of the war. They still deny that they committed atrocities.

[@scottmccloud9029]

Exactly why I have no respect for them. Or our government for screwing over the POWs.

[@jon9021]

@@scottmccloud9029 absolutely.

[@skaetur1]

Yeah, but, like, they totally denounce their behavior from that time now. They ain’t got no army or navy now. We didn’t punish them? TWO NUKES.

[@gaz4553]

@@skaetur1 They deserved to get spanked by them nukes.

[@grantmelocik1703]

@@skaetur1 No they don't denounce their behavior. They have rewritten their history books to minimize or not state their atrocities and blame the war on the US. This is not just some clown spouting-off - I spent time in Hiroshima and although horrified by the what the bomb did I was also horrified by two items - 1) In the Hiroshima museum is so biased it is disgusting with such a light, side note, treatment about how Japan started the war - the museum says "big mean USA started the war" - and no mention of all the Japanese atrocities including the millions killed in China, Bataan death march, etc. 2) Then while going through one of the nearby parks there was a display set-up about how "horrible the US was in murdering all the people of Manila (Philippines)" in WWII. It was all the US fault - I came unglued and started trying to tell them the truth as I have studied the history of that event until my wife pulled me away. Even the young Japanese seemed happy to just buy the propaganda on display. I work with the Japanese and have great respect for them, but I will admit I was so angry at what I experienced at Hiroshima I grumbled to my wife "we should have had another 20 nukes and used them." They are our allies now, however, it is awful the way the nation got away with what they did and our two bombs were small compared to what the Japanese did other peoples. And we saved untold thousands of American soldiers and untold thousands of Japanese.

[@CariettaW]

As an Australian, it really hits home. The Japanese were on par with the Nazis during WW2 yet most never saw trial or were held to account for their actions.

[@AnhNguyen-hr6wh]

Aussies new allie

[@tracysturgill9146]

They were worse !

[@dunruden9720]

@@tracysturgill9146 ??

[@LemonDrizzleGang]

They did get 2 atomic bombs

[@garzplace]

@@LemonDrizzleGang And richly deserved after crap like this and the Bataan death march.

[@peterclark7879]

I am the son of a Aussie army nurse, my mother was on the last ship to leave Sydney harbour before the Japanese mini subs attacked and she severed on an island called Morotai which the Japanese were still dug in on the other side, I am only here today because of the courage of our nurses and soldiers. We shall remember the fallen who have given to be who re are.

[@murraystewartj]

Amen.

[@dunruden9720]

she severed??

[@judyc9380]

@@dunruden9720 figure it out typo....served.

[@Cromwelldunbar]

@@judyc9380 Aye, indeed, Judy, and a many of these typos are not deliberate, intended or even in ignorance thereof the sole guilt is that of not reading through afterwards but heavens alive aren‘t we all in a humorous hurry (!) ….my own pet bane is the number of times the auto corrector records my entry as an “if” when I want an “of” leaving me mentally beside myself so damned certain I never typed an “i” ! And “worse” for I reckon I’d even swear on oath that I never did….write the letter “i “ …danger danger hand on heart how really sure am I that I never did! … Seeking to dash our thoughts down on the keyboard and onto to the screen…I reckon that pesky auto corrector has its stubborn moments thinking (does it “think”? ) I wanted an “i “ and I in too much of a hurry fail to do the boring job of re-reading as I ought…Guilty? Oh aye and anything for peace…But d’you know what the other day it did? To my entry of the possessive adjective third person singular for things ie “its” the cheeky rascal popped up - and twice to boot (!) as though with some insistence and I quote “ something here doesn’t look right; do you mean “it’s “? “ not verbatim but words to same effect! I nearly went through the roof …to cite an old worn out expression, so let’s say my head nearly touched the ceiling, especially the second time it countered my insistence! No, I didn’t mount my medieval charger but I nearly did weaken to begin a nasty exchange of words just checking myself with the reminder that it was only “a mindless thing”….But what do some people say…that behind every computer programme there is “ a right twit “ of a human being! Here’s hoping you will excuse my “wordiness” on the boring topic and agree with me and the Bard that “that’s the ‘umour of it!”. Wishing you good continuation!

[@mr.objective6936]

There Japanese army did FAR worse things to Indian soldiers fighting for the British during WW2. They would cannibalize them. But to keep their meat fresh, they would cut off body parts while keeping them alive. Every day they would cut off a body part while they were still alive.

[@JB-zs1oq]

My aunt was one of the nurses on the Vyner Brooke when it was bombed, but she and a number of the nurses landed on a different beach. They were reunited with Vivian Bullwinkle when they were sent to a Prisoner of War Camp. The Bruce Beresford movie Paradise Road is based on the story of a choir formed by the prisoners in one of the camps. One of the nurses wrote of the lives of the nurses which was published as a book named "White Coolies". The nurses who survived the years of imprisonment remained in regular contact with each other for the rest of their lives.

[@katie195]

An amazing story.

[@susanclark8578]

It was an amazing movie!

[@susanclark8578]

Thank you for sharing

[@thomasgross8289]

You know they had to have endured some bad shit

[@youngbess1]

I have a copy of white Cooies, it’s a very moving book.

[@c17360]

The Japanese brutality in the war was rarely publicized. They were acts of pure evil.

[@neiladlington912]

Just remember this, the Americans used flame-throwers, nuclear weapons and who knows what other atrocities that we don't hear about because it's the winners who write the history books. No one was innocent in that war and all the wars since.

[@c17360]

@@neiladlington912 Agree, but when you cut a baby out of the pregnant woman while she’s alive; you’ve crossed the line. Then, you put that baby at the end of a bayonet, you’ve crossed the line. When you put a man in a cube, and you sucked the air out of the cube and watch how this man dies, you’ve crossed the line. When you line up a row of men, then you fire your rifle through them to how many you can kill, you’ve crossed the line. It goes on and on…….we don’t hear them. The losers write history books too, albeit……….

[@tomsherer6950]

You declare war on the US you get war. Japan could have surrendered but chose not to. Japan did not recognize Geniva Convention and felt it was a dishonor and showed weakness to surrender.

[@summersojourner]

@Ivan Schlotzky war is hell, no one argues that. But the Japanese could have surrendered prior to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Papers, fliers, were dropped prior to the bombings giving warning but the Japanese government chose to ignore that. As for Germany and Hitler, come on. It’s barbaric and I hope we never have to face war again. But sitting back and doing nothing is not the answer.

[@TruckieLooks4Aliens]

Didn’t the US literally kill innocent millions - kids, women, doctors, nurses with both atomic bombs? My mother is a product of rape by a Us soldier. Every country committed atrocious war crimes esp back then. There’s an entire list of American war crimes that we like to cover up. War rape. Secret wartime files made public only in 2006 reveal that American GIs committed more than 400 sexual offenses in Europe, including 126 rapes in England, between 1942 and 1945

[@LRBerry]

Another story from WW2 I didn't know. Thank you.

[@stevenhershman2660]

Most people have never heard of this (including me).

[@allangibson2408]

@Douglas Yoole What most Australians aren’t aware of was the Japanese soldiers raped all the nurses first. That bit was left out of the Tokyo war crimes trials evidence on direct orders from Douglas MacArthur. All rapes by Japanese forces were suppressed from evidence to avoid the risk of reprisals.

[@Grimmarox]

When I read about something new WW2 it makes me at first sad then angry. For me that war was a tragic tragedy 😔 😢 😞

[@cplcabs]

There are millions upon millions upon millions of stories you don't know and we will never know.

[@lorraiinemartiinezz1402]

Heartbreaking 💔😢

[@paulkeys175]

Nurse Bullwinkle's uniform is displayed prominently near the entrance to our Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the bullet hole visible and her story displayed beside it. My paternal grandmother came from a large family and had SIX brothers who fought in WW2, one was captured in Singapore and murdered on the Burma death railway, the other five fought in New Guinea after the middle east, Greece and Crete. My generation grew up despising the Japanese race. My great uncles took no prisoners, they knew how our nurses and POW's were treated!!!

[@timengineman2nd714]

Basically, most Allied soldiers, sailors, marines, and aircrews felt that since the Japanese didn't honor the Geneva Convention/The Hague Articles, then they would reap what they sowed! (Curious note: The newer revisions of the Geneva Conventions were based on the exemplarily treatment of POWs by one country during WW1! In fact several things, including living accommodations, type & amount of food, etc. were literally translated, word by word, from this country's manual for treatment of POWs!! The nation? Believe it or not it was JAPAN!!!!!!! But this was before they started following a somewhat twisted version of the Code of Bushido!!!)

[@daddybob6096]

@Paul Keys. 'They shall grow not old'. "Lest We Forget'. Robert. NZ.

[@louisewalker9074]

Sadly Paul, I’m in England and I’ve watched video of Australian police firing on innocent civilian anti-lockdown protestors in front of that very war memorial only a few weeks ago. The same police who’ve also used banned sonic weapons against innocent unarmed protestors. Your family sacrificed their lives in vain, Australia is now worse than WW2 Japan.

[@lemmdus2119]

Many times no Allied army too Japanese prisoners. They wouldn’t take the chance. I know US soldiers and Marines would shot or bayonet bodies lying on the ground when passing.

[@lemmdus2119]

@@timengineman2nd714 I believe there a book about German POWS in WWI captured by Japan. They were put in a hotel as a prison. I believe it’s called the “The Golden (or Gilded) Cage”.

[@soniasawyer477]

I'm not sure if I missed it and you mentioned it or whether it wasn't on here but after the war Vivian Bullwinkle was also gagged by the Australian Government and wasn't allowed to tell anyone about how the nurses were all sexually assualted before being shot. Yet another reason why this going unpunished is beyond disgusting.

[@tiggercampbell6198]

I wouldn't have believed it if uou hadn't mentioned the Japanese..

[@crisj45]

How would you able to massacre them nurses with machinegun if you rape them 1st? Theyll fight back or run. Plus im sure the japanese soldiers are disgusted with caucasian woman.

[@rosezingleman5007]

*Bullwinkel

[@krdiaz8026]

In Japan, you have to hide what is shameful. For example, in schools the teachers don't report bullying because they don't want outsiders to know that their school is less than perfect, yet ironically everybody knows what is going on, but nobody can do anything about it since there are no official complaints/reports of bullying. Personally I think once the generation of the Showa era dies out, things will start to change more rapidly. Already you can see some changes, like young fathers being more active in childrearing, when in the 80s-90s a man would be ridiculed for doing that.

[@YortOK]

Horrendous

[@javierarreaza5601]

It’s incredible that Japan has never really owned up the atrocities it committed during World War II.

[@tibzig1]

Yes, you are correct. But in reality no government ever fully acknowledges the horror and carnage it causes. No exceptions. The US invaded Iraq under false pretenses; the Western interest in the Middle East has never been "freedom" or "democracy." It has always been oil. A country was completely destroyed giving rise to all manner of horrific groups and no central control. What happened at Abu Gharab prison? Nobody in the US military establishment ever answered for it. The Soviets murdered millions of their own and the Turks the Armenians. They all deny it or attempt to "soften" the impact. The British committed horrible atrocities every now and then in their colonies. The Arabs were no less nor the Chinese. The list goes on.

[@tomfrazier1103]

Incredible, but not unbelievable. As a kid in California, the internment of A.J..A. civilians was widely taught. These people's descendants were my schoolmates. In happier news, the local big rancher Warden bought the Eto farm for a Dollar in 1941, and sold it back to Mr. Eto for a Dollar in 1945. The farm was well maintained during the War, and it still belonged to the Etos in the 1980s.

[@murraystewartj]

@@tomfrazier1103 Well there is hope.

[@cubicinches18]

I knew a guy who was a survivor of the Burma railway. He refused to have anything in the house made in Japan and wouldn't even get into a car made in Japan. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he went through that created so much hate in him.

[@tomfrazier1103]

@@cubicinches18 I think the development of hate in a person has to do with one's own character. I am surprised how little active hate I have in me, given my experience, which doesn't come to what FEPOWs experienced, but is unusual for contemporary Americans.

[@globalchaos1984]

I can only imagine what the surviving Nurse felt as she saw all those bodies floating around her God bless her soul.

[@smurfiennes]

My friend’s mom survived the Japanese camp in Java island and swore to never buy any Japanese products all her life. She died at 94 years old. She said that the Japanese were so cruel that people were starving to death in the camp for 3.5 years. They ate egg shells, banana peels or anything to survive.

[@itscalledlogic7]

Yes, my grandparents were POWs captured in Java. Grandmother sent to a refugee camp and Grandfather labored on the Burma railroad during that time. He was one of eight men to survive out of a company of 400.

[@sarahsue4065]

My Grandfather said the ‘nips’ - Japanese were the most evil , he wouldn’t tell me what they did because is barbaric

[@sarahsue4065]

**so barbaric

[@Aeybiseediy]

My country malaysia had been invaded by the British, dutch, portugese..and japanese. But out of all these, the japanese regime were the most brutal and exceptionally cruel.. the locals were beheaded and raped, mass murders were rampant in villages. They intruded our homes and commit all imaginable crimes just for their own amusement.. what's sickening is many people forget what the Japanese did to our country here and they got away unscathed. They are even being looked up to as a model nation..

[@MariaAbrams]

The Japanese even did horrific things to their own people super sad. I am sorry for what your relatives had to endure...

[@DeidreL9]

I can’t believe you covered this, thank you!!! My late mother Shirley worked as a nurse and Vivian Bullwinkle, one of the nurses who survived this, addressed the nurses in her training year, telling her story. Mum never ever forgot her. Nurses are our heroines!

[@dianedunshea3949]

Nurse Bullwinkle is a hero here in Australia. She is always remembered like many others on ANZAC day. Lest we forget My grandfathers had two brothers in Changi. One was killed the other survived. They were treated terribly.

[@cubicinches18]

Matron Bullwinkle saved many lives and was a very humble woman

[@georgedonaldson6252]

Its such a cruel heartbreaking story. Cowardly cruelty like this beggars belief. The spirit of these women is truly inspirational.

[@iriscollins7583]

I had a great uncle who worked on the Burma Rail Road. He was like a walking skeleton on his return, I was about 15 years old when he returned home. He never put weight on when he returned home. He was a Welshman serving in the British Army.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@georgedonaldson6252]

That's heartbreaking. Back in the 1980's my uncle owned a bar in Edinburgh. He was always complaining about this one particular very old man who would come in on a Thursday. He would get very drunk on whisky and proceed to sing both loudly and out of tune. My uncle gave some thought to barring him as many customers had complained about him. Then one day he came in with a book about the construction of the Burma railway. The old man's name was Michael and he had survived at the hands of the Japanese for four years. He let my uncle read the book. My uncle was a very tough individual some would say heard hearted. However from then on, not only did old Michael continue to get drunk every Thursday he did it for free. Any cystomer who elected to complain about his awful singing was soon scolded. When he died his family saw to it that he was buried with all his medals and a bottle to take to the after life.

[@cubicinches18]

@@georgedonaldson6252 And I bet it wasn't Saki

[@Swellington_]

The Japanese were real big on honor but in the end they have zero honor in my opinion

[@TheWolfsnack]

It is the same as thug "respect"....

[@letoubib21]

@@TheWolfsnack _Two words I really do love, especially when coming from certain mouths *. . .*

[@spaniardsrmoors6817]

They have mafia's and have a young girl fetish culture among other stuff yet are considered "cultured honorable people" They're great actors.

[@billrussell7672]

Lt. Calle comes to mind

[@texasred2702]

@@billrussell7672 one isolated example vs....how many raped and murdered at Nanking?

[@georgedonaldson6252]

I sincerely hope these gallant brave women are at least remembered somewhere. Absolutely heartbreaking story.

[@cubicinches18]

They are in the Australian War Memorial Canberra I recommend every Australian and every visitor to Australia to visit once because you will see once is never enough

[@georgedonaldson6252]

@@cubicinches18 Thank you for your reply and of course for the information.

[@desertdaisymarie6951]

There's a memorial in Broken Hill..

[@e.conboy4286]

Such a tragedy. These nurses VOLUNTEERED to serve and were murdered.

[@arisa6061]

Thank you. I am Indonesian and I find this information is very useful. There were many people died during this period but with no record. Usually they are prisoners or forced labor, taken to other cities or island, and never to be heard again.

[@Cromwelldunbar]

You make it all sound of little consequence because no records were kept. Don’t they teach any of this in Indonesian schools or universities? Or did you like the idea of the Japanese Asian Co Prosperity anti European movement?

[@jennifercarne6025]

@@Cromwelldunbar pp

[@JediJan]

@@Cromwelldunbar He did not suggest the deaths were of little consequence at all. Please reassess your comment.

[@nyomanraiartaguna5030]

@@Cromwelldunbar 1. Yes 2. No 3. Yes

[@archiebellega956]

@@Cromwelldunbar Generally, Indonesia's history lesson is mostly about Indonesia and Indonesian. So western POW like these nurses were mostly written in lines like 'and Japan sent the POW to [insert random town name]'. So the only thing that got taught is the battle of xxx causes Japan to takeover city yy, and unless the POW is Indonesian the lesson doesn't really delve into them.

[@jrt818]

Nurse Bullwinkle had to give a censored version of the massacre; it was worse.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yes . I read up more about the story . I wish I hadn't . My advice to others : unless you can cope with images of cruelty beyond anything you've ever read about then for your own peace of mind it's best not to go looking.

[@pablohammerly448]

@@2msvalkyrie529 In the late 1980s, I was a typesetter -- one of the things I typeset was part of a book in Spanish about atrocities committed earlier that decade in Central America. I remember being horrified by the graphic nature of what I had to typeset. Fortunately, I can't remember the details now as 34 years have passed since I saw that information. 😫 Edit: Man's inhumanity to man hasn't changed -- now the Russians are committing atrocities on Ukrainians. History is repeating itself yet again! 😵

[@lynnflynn5591]

@@pablohammerly448 Putin is another Hitler.

[@GasPipeJimmy]

@@pablohammerly448 Even worse were the atrocities practiced by the Central American Indians on each other. At least the Spanish were an improvement

[@pablohammerly448]

@@GasPipeJimmy The atrocities I mentioned took place in the 1980s during the wars in Central America between Communists and their enemies. 🤔

[@tomjustis7237]

And as an American I am supposed to feel ashamed about Hiroshima and Nagasaki because the poor Japanese suffered after committing some of the most heinous atrocities in the history of mankind? In a pigs eye! Those two bombs ended the war without an invasion that would have cost an estimated 500,000 American casualties, not to mention the vast number of Japanese who would have died. Consider this; If Truman had NOT used those bombs and allowed the invasion to occur, what would the American people have said when it was finally revealed that we had weapons that could have avoided the slaughter and didn't use them? As Commander in Chief of the U.S. military, Truman's duty was to protect the lives of American servicemen, NOT the lives of the enemy. If you don't want a bloody nose, don't start the fight!

[@tomfrazier1103]

And Japan detonated their nuke 3 days before Hiroshima was lit up. A Japanese language teacher of mine was there & survived, having been in Japan to receive higher education at the point the war was unleashed. She said she was abused for being an American, but not imprisoned. She was in a railway co. archive at the detonation, and protected by racks of ledgers falling on her, escaping with light injury. She returned home & taught on Oahu thereafter.

[@richardhodgson6711]

As horrific as this atrocity was, I would be careful about thinking that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were any better. Together, those two nukes killed the thick end of 300, 000 Japanese, most of whom were non combatant civilians, and not all of them were lucky enough to be vapourised in the initial blast, many suffered the terrible effects of radiation poisoning for decades afterwards.

[@EnDB]

I'd feel better about those bombs if they hit those committing the atrocities, not every day people just trying to get by in life.

[@johnindo6771]

You ain’t just a whistling Dixie, Brother!! You are 1000 % correct!

[@genwoolfe]

They got what they deserved cira 1945 and only had themselves to blame.

[@davidlittlewood8850]

This was and still is unforgivable, totally unnecessary and a terrible brutal murder 🌹

[@stumpedii8639]

all war is.. damn them who instigate wage or tolerate it.

[@itscalledlogic7]

My grandfather was a Dutch POW who labored on the Burma railroad under the Japanese. He was one of eight men to survive out of 400. Meanwhile, my grandmother survived refugee camp on Java and birthed her first daughter there. My aunt was a tiny woman due to being so malnourished as an infant.

[@shirleysmith8072]

Our Dad was stationed in the Philippines during WW2 and he had nightmares of the Japanese soldiers and their cruelty to their prisoners of war! They were never punished for their crimes! Evil!

[@stealths15]

Most Japanese soldiers died coz they never surrendered. It's impossible to punish a dead person.

[@vickitavana3944]

Many of the people who perpetrated the atrocities were not punished; this is a shameful fact. The scientists and doctors who experimented on living human beings were, in fact, given leave to continue their experimentation (not to the same extent) on the condition they shared their findings and documentation with the allies. I read this in a documentary/ podcast on Unit 731, as well as several articles written about this subject. Japan as a whole, however, suffered horribly from the effects of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The immediate deaths were immeasurable, the slow agonizing deaths by radiation poisoning and the ones years later by infections and side effects of the poisoning as well as cancers caused by the radiation exposure have been in the hundreds of thousands. Remember, this country as a whole was almost completely shut off from outside contact before the war, so the people had no knowledge of the outside world except what they were told. So if they were told that the Americans were two headed freaks who wanted to destroy their country, they would have believed it and fought with everything they had. Wouldn't we, in the same circumstance? Interning Japanese American citizens and treating German or anyone who had an accent who might be German or who might be Japanese like dirt, attacking, beating, even killing them because of who they were out how they looked??

[@ronphilbargayo9610]

🇵🇭🇺🇸

[@johnbowkett80]

Shirley Smith . Only Brummies say "Our Dad" ..... It is a unique Brummie term . I'm a fellow Brummie . 👍

[@klackon1]

My dad's best mate (I knew him as Uncle Bert when I was a young lad), was one of Orde Wingate's Chindit's. The action he saw against the Japanese still gave him nightmares in the 1970's. But at no time did he ever regret the number of Japanese soldiers he killed.

[@dunruden9720]

Chindits (plural), NOT Chindit IS!

[@elainebines6803]

@@dunruden9720 it is of no consequence in the bigger scheme. The attrotcities were terrible

[@EchoValley_____]

@@dunruden9720 And your correction is fucked up in itself. Dumbass. He wasn't using the verb 'to be'. He was using the ' in possessive case.

[@danielponiatowski7368]

back in the early 80s i got talking to an old digger on the bus. i was 21 or 22, he said i looked like an arsehole with teeth because i hadnt shaved which got us introduced. he said that when they rounded up a group of japanese soldiers, after the surrender obviously, they got the locals who would then point out the ones which had raped or murdered etc and shot them on the spot.

[@Kasey1208]

My mom’s side is Filipino. I have heard stories from my Lola and titas about the Japanese taking over the Philippines. From hiding in caves to death marches. Truly horrific

[@winchesterwings8795]

It’s hard to believe these soldiers never faced a trial. Surely senior officers who ordered the massacres could be traced

[@zbaby82]

God sees everything. They won't get away with it forever.

[@TSideWes805]

@zack the Japanese don't believe in any gods of the abrahamic religion. They're pagans.

[@bobhughes9628]

In Japan it is a crime to tarnish another person's or business's reputation in any way, even if the smear is 100% accurate. Makes it seem as if no crime can be prosecuted there, but at the same time they're strict as hell about every little thing.

[@Xtopher822]

If it makes you feel any better, most of these Japanese garrisons were driven into caves and holes and then exterminated to a man. They refused to surrender and they were shown no mercy.

[@joywebster2678]

Because of the ending of the war via the Bombs, there was less scrutiny on individuals, and a feeling of the bombs were punishment, vs a necessity to end a war where it would have kept on going and going. Yet those who experienced the pacific war and the brutality and cruelty deserved more justice than was seen.

[@christinemareeyoung]

Sister Vivienne Bullwinkle disclosed that each of the 22 nurses was raped prior to the massacre on the beach. The Australian government allegedly pressured Sister Bullwinkle not to discuss rapes at war crimes tribunals (Silver, "Angels of Mercy"). Bullwinkle told Silver, her biographer, that the most senior instructed the nurses as they were being prodded by bayonets, while marched from the beach into the water, knowing their deaths were imminent. The instruction was to hold their heads high, and together, they would die with dignity.

[@sueyoung1385]

that is not true. Don't spread scandalous lies that are media beat ups. This stuff is only getting traction now because they are all dead and cannot defend the lies. I met Viv, Jeff, Woodie, Willie, Mavis, Jennie, Clancy and many of the others. They lived their post-war lives with dignity, laughter, integrity, love and honesty. They were not afraid to talk. They didn't bend to pressure.

[@helenedwards4841]

This is horrifying! I didn’t even know of this story, I’m ashamed to admit. Should be made far more public. So frightening for those poor souls.. So basically if you was not Japanese. You got Executed ( even if you were helping people ) Wow (IMorals)

[@marklutz95]

Why was the Australian government covering for the Japanese?

[@christinemareeyoung]

I haven’t researched this topic; but recall (rightly or wrongly) hearing interviews on radio about rape being a taboo subject. I had read first-person accounts of rape in the context of WWII war, which wasn’t discussed amongst family members and therefore not reported as war crimes. More recently in Australia, Korean-Australian women have spoken about their use as “comfort woman” by Japanese soldiers. Their silence until recently suggests that open acknowledgement of rape was also taboo at that time in the Korean culture.

[@ronasaurus74]

Vivian Bullwinkel.......and nothing alleged about the gag order, totally fact, though she didn't speak of it to anyone, until quite recently, shortly before she passed, in an interview.

[@dianejohnson9904]

The Japanese committed many atrocities during WW2, including rounding up many thousands of Asian women to serve in their brothels. To this day, there has never been an official acknowledgment and apology for this from the Japanese government. It has left me with a bad impression of the Japanese as a whole, unfortunately.

[@gregmichael8473]

Thoroughly concur with the other commnets here. I'd point out that the graphic at 8:01 relates to another Japanese War Crime in which a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank a clearly marked, as per Red Cross conventions, Hospital Ship, AHS Centaur, off the coast of Queensland in May 1943 which also cost the lives of a number of nurses, other medical staff and ship's crew. Yet another atrocity

[@wolfgangemmerich7552]

Who cares? Nobody blames the soviets submarine commander to sank the german Hospitalship ,, Wilhelm Gustlof" in the Baltic Sea and killing 10 000 Wounded , Medical Personel and Civilian refugees. A simpel Answer is : If someone wears a military Uniform and a Gun on Board the Ship was a legal enemy target. Remember the sinking of the ,, Lusitania" in front of the british coast by a german submarine. The Whole allied western world called this a horribel warcrime by the ,, Hunns" and the US declared : We are in war with Germany! Germany have to live with this blame until a british diver team made very surprising found in the 1970/ 80s : 4 Million Rounds . 303 Cal. British Rifel Ammo made in the US by Remington. In this case the sinking of the ,, Lusitania " was a a legal akt of war too. The Load of Ammo on a civilian Ship was the real crime. Sad is also: The german foreign authoritys in the States made a clear public warning long befor the Lusitania left the amerikan harbour!

[@pameladowe2492]

I attended boarding school in Queensland and the doctor who treated me at school was travelling as a fellow plane passenger when we next met. I was returning to the Airforce in Adelaide and we had quite a few hours together in the air. He was on board the Centaur when it was sunk, but survived, but it was a harrowing tale that he told!

[@marisbaysacque5973]

The Japanese government still has to tell the honest truth about Japan’s role in the 2nd world war to its current generation. I have Japanese students stay at my house through the years as exchange students and they all were clueless of their country’s cruelty as Hitler’s ally. They would never admit to their war crimes.

[@ngoddess9684]

Just like our schools never teach about the Holodomor and other atrocities. Indoctrination centers pick and choose what they want people to know. And not know.

[@joseph3036]

That's East Asian culture, save face at all cost, hide anything you're ashamed of, censor the truth.

[@Dr._Frat_Bruh]

Oh, they know!

[@johnnyfrisco5354]

Hard to find words to express my feelings and emotions over this film..... Tragic, heart breaking

[@garyradley5694]

I grew up with this story as my mother had trained as a nurse with Vivian Bullwinkle at the Hamilton Base Hospital in Western Victoria in the 1930's. They used to meet up at nurses reunions from time to time. I think Bullwinkle ended up nursing in Melbourne.

[@cubicinches18]

She became the matron of Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital where she worked until her retirement

[@ronasaurus74]

Matron at Fairfield Hospital, the only specialist infectious diseases hospital in Australia, for many years. My Dad was Medical Director there through the 80's, into the 90's. I met her when I was little, several times.

[@aubreypenrose2766]

The Japanese government has still not apologised for the systematic sexual slavery of Korean women, who were tricked into thinking they were going to work on the front line as nurses.

[@aliciachristopher6506]

I don't think they ever will because they don't think they did anything wrong.

[@jamesdoust6975]

You are incorrect. Japan apologised in 2015 by both Japan's Foreign Minister and Prime Minister.

[@Cromwelldunbar]

@@jamesdoust6975 No more than seventy years after the uncalled horrors, bereavement, misery even disbelief that any civilised culture could ever wish to act in such an uncivilised way. I believe it was Jack London who witnessing the plight of Russian prisoners of the Japanese-Russian war of 1905 was one the first war correspondents to observe the ways of Japanese. But are there no Japanese women of sufficient education and reflection to give their own thoughts on the men who fathered them, that they were brothers to, or their own sons they nurtured and saw through their education? Are they so witless or just just dedicated to their ideal of becoming a Geisha hostess? But then, I don’t suppose poor John Lennon got past the gate of Nippon distraction to matters that desperately need a good airing or do we have to follow fears that they might opt for the other side? Iow it is expecting too much of them to manifest the error of their ways and deep honest respect for the gut reaching acts their forefathers have been guilty of, and that they are no more worthy of being more to us than our jail-keeper servants?

[@donamariya6877]

Nor to Indonesia…yet theyre getting f35 fighters..lol

[@shirleylake7738]

Thank you for bringing to our attention this part of history.

[@peterjones4180]

Vivian Bullwinkle came from my home town, Broken Hill, when i was small my parents explained what the memorial to her in town was all about. Broken Hill people have a bond, things like this get passed down the generations and not forgotten.

[@iriscollins7583]

And should never be. Now there are many more can remember these wonderful people who made the supreme sacrifice.🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@lhillenburg]

You didn't mention that Vivian Bullwinkle and the other nurses were raped prior to being shot/killed but wasn't allowed to talk about the rapes at the Tokyo war crimes trial.

[@megancooper859]

This is the first report of Australians being in the war that I have seen outside of documentaries. Even the beach has been called the English bay. Thank you.

[@davidleonard1813]

This was common knowledge in Australia taught in schools, the story of Vivian Bullwinkle would be in the historical feature in the newspaper every 2 yrs or so. This was in the 80s. Then it was oh Japan will be our trading partner we should start teaching Japanese in schools phase. Died off pretty quick. I was doing apprenticeship at an RSL club back then. We did NOT serve rice with any meal. There were men, or hulks of, still alive who had been POWs. It wasn't a racist thing. It was simply some of these men just could not see rice without it putting them in a state for weeks on end. Sad really men going through that, and a simple thing like rice, and the next generation wanting curry n rice in the bistro labelling them racist

[@cubicinches18]

@@davidleonard1813 I have a friend who in 1978 was sitting quietly on the morning train to Melbourne when it stopped at Springvale and a whole number of new refugees from the migrant hostel got on board. My friend screamed "Contact" dived under the seat and was yelling at the other passengers to all the way into the city. It took two police men to get him off the train at Spencer Street. The Magistrate vilified him as being a White Anglo Saxon Protestant Racist.

[@megancooper859]

@@cubicinches18 that is so sad.

[@megancooper859]

@@davidleonard1813 yeah I know the story, just have not seen any channel mention Australians in war. Funny you say that about the rice. I always remember my Grandmother being a great cook, but when we ate anything with rice my Grandfather always had potato or nothing, when I asked him once why he didnt have rice, he simply said 'we won the war'. Now as an adult I realise what he meant.

[@davidleonard1813]

@@megancooper859 yeah was very like that 70s into 80s less so in 90s. Funny I never saw the compromise potato lol. It was either no rice families or the wonder of families who served rice 😱 lol.

[@BrianWMay]

"There WAS only three survivors . . . " These ladies deserve to be remembered by people who bother to do the best job they can . . .

[@wendyb6446]

WERE Survivors is the subject... therefore requires a plural verb.

[@karenlasslett5731]

@@wendyb6446 Stop, You're the reason people hate each other.

[@judyc9380]

@@wendyb6446 are you sure? There were 3 survivors, you can correct man's grammar, but did you know what this story was about? Subject, object, was, were, NOBODY CARES.

[@vawest2052]

@@wendyb6446 that so smrt you Goode at---@ word

[@Darrell1019]

Please, please don't let them be forgotten!

[@ronasaurus74]

There is going to be a Statue at the Australian War Memorial in Vivian Bullwinkel's honour, and thus, to honour all the nurses. Just announced.

[@ChrissyBear99]

My Grandfather’s cousin was one of the nurses shot in the sea she was from Adelaide, South Australia

[@nadyarossi5102]

God Bless her and all the other heroines.

[@blueindigo1000]

My question is: why were the Japanese so brutal to the civilians? Why did they deliberately attack Red Cross sites?

[@Rhyno9750]

Because they were gutless cowards who saw innocent women as a threat

[@james1537]

they had a very ultra-nationalistic view. they were trained by their commanders even rewarded for their acts of brutality to desensitized them to not view the enemy as human and if you were not Japanese you were the enemy. of course this is just putting things in simple terms as their was much more at play during ww2.

[@jamestyrrell4632]

Japan as a special culture even today...far from being cowards they were willing to die for their honour and did so...as far as the Japanese was concerned war is war...whether that is right or wrong that is the way it was for them

[@gc4644]

Because the Japanese government and military leaders lied to them with massive propaganda campaigns about how evil and horrible the west was, so any non-Japanese should be treated with contempt and as harshly as possible. Ironically it was actually the Japanese government and military leaders whom were the real evil ones manipulating the soldiers and ppl of Japan. Sadly Japan got off lightly in all the war crimes they committed..

[@Dingo3039]

They believed in their Bushido bullshit thats why, many atrocities went undocumented and many a phillipino were butchered during occupation

[@richrcwx1685]

I hope the people who did this are rotting in hell, the lowest of the low

[@apr8189]

Absolutely! The Imperial Japanese forces of World War II made the SS look like boy scouts compared to what they did in the Pacific

[@TSideWes805]

Don't be fooled by the anime and waifu culture of present day Japan. This happened less than a century ago, and you best believe that they support this atrocity deep within.

[@TSideWes805]

@John Grigg true true..

[@iriscollins7583]

@@apr8189 Sorry I can't agree, they were as bad as each other. Evil personified.😠

[@chrisleach8009]

The fact that the rapes whenever mentioned in the trials had more to do with Australian sensibilities as the idea that our women could have been raped by these little yellow monsters was not to be born. I believe Vivian Bullwinkle‘s uniform is in the The Australian War Memorial and shows not only holes from being shot but also previous damage from being ripped and shredded forcibly off the body.

[@nadineb168]

Ummmm yea, let's not resort to racist comments because of past atrocities.

[@nadineb168]

@@milotura6828 ppl used to refer to blacks as n**** but it doesn't mean we use it when explaining mindset of ppl back then.. smh

[@STUDlOIC]

People eventually forget these things, paving the way for it to happen again.

[@PaperMario64]

Your comment deserves more attention.

[@WaynesWorldGarage]

Can you spell Ukraine.....

[@dolphineachonga555]

Things seem to be shaping up that way.

[@geoffbrown1518]

Those nurses were not executed - they were murdered - there is a memorial in my local town to one of those nurses, Sister Alma Beard.

[@krisushi1]

What made this crime even more sadistic was that each of the nurses were raped before being forced into the water and murdered! I hate that so many Japanese got away with their horrific crimes without any punishment at all. I hope they rot in hell.🇦🇺🕊

[@TUDGAF]

Didn't a number of Australian women were also forced into prostitution in their comfort stations?

[@krisushi1]

@@TUDGAF Yes they were, yet it's nothing new for the Japanese to do. They still won't officially recognise them and the hell they went through. It's one of those apologies they make yet mean absolutely nothing.

[@TUDGAF]

@@krisushi1 As for comfort women issue, the wikipedia simply stated the presence of Australian women but nothing more specific, such as digit or stuff. The record on Dutch were more clear due to larger numbers I'd assume.

[@krisushi1]

@@TUDGAF I'd need to do much more research to get the more precise figures of Australian women used as 'comfort woman' during WWII. The number of woman forced into sexual slavery are said to be as high as 400,000 woman. This did begin prior to the war when Japan invaded many countries during the 1930's and used the women from these countries, which included the despicable time called The Rape of Nanking where their soldiers went on rampages raping not only woman but children of both genders and adults of both genders too. There were also British woman forced into slavery who had been in Singapore when it fell. You'd have to do much more research to see all the nationalities who were forced into slavery. What infuriates me is the apologies Japan put out without any meaning behind them nor any compensation for these horrific crimes. I would highly recommend you watch the movie called Paradise Road which deals with this issue. It's made up from a variety of true stories that occurred during the war but all added to this one movie. It also shows the vile torture that these women were put through with many dying. The horrific behaviour of the Japanese was well known during the war and Australian Soldiers were even given orders to shoot our own Australian nurses if a hospital they were working in was to fall to the Japanese. Such was the brutality of these sadists, it was better for the nurses to be killed by their own soldiers than to be taken by these sadistic Japanese and be raped, tortured and possibly murdered. The cruelty that ran through this race of the most vile will never be forgiven by myself.😪

[@TUDGAF]

@@krisushi1 One of the 400 Dutch comfort women, think her name is O'Herne or something, who died in 2019, was still running around, raising voices of those surviving victims from Asia-Pacific. I know it is a new era of time and new allies form for different reasons (like Japan and AU is pretty close now in terms of military cooperation), but proper compensation shouldn't hamper such ally status. And I truly don't get why tha feg does Aus authority censor that surviving nurse's testimony

[@patriciayoung569]

This is one American expressing gratitude to Australia and the Australian army. Australia has always been there to help us, especially during war times. They are known to be expert soldiers and especially brave.

[@catherinelw9365]

Yeah, that's why they all went home and refused to fight Japan after their time in Africa. Look it up.

[@patriciayoung569]

@@catherinelw9365 I suggest you read Wikipedia “military history of Australia during world war 2”

[@patriciayoung569]

My family owes Australia an enormous debt. My brother in law was a fighter pilot and was was shot down by the japanese. An Australian coast watcher notified a U. S sub and he was picked up and delivered to Australia. He said the aussies treated him so well until he could be sent back to the U S navy. The only complaint he had was the mutton but he said it was far better than rice we would have been fed by the Japanese. So to all you Australians THANK YOU!

[@catherinelw9365]

@@patriciayoung569 I suggest you read Max Hastings' Retribution. I don't get my history from the internet. That's lazy. Hastings gives a lengthy account of why Australia did not participate in D-Day, nor in any land battle with Japan.

[@elliesings9508]

Once again, a part of WW II history that I knew nothing about. Thank you!!

[@juniorlopes9822]

Today and age Japan tends to keep a big secret about the horrific murders they committed till their grave

[@pimpompoom93726]

This is true, the Japanese are not taught in school very much about these sort of things-if anything at all. I've been to Japan many times on business, I like the Japanese people a great deal-they're friendly and good people. But they don't know very much about their history during WW2.

[@isabellrc]

Great piece. I wasn’t aware of this particular horror!

[@weskerlin8566]

Just when I think I have heard the worst of the Japanese atrocities, I am proven wrong.

[@simonshiels1]

Not to denigrate the suffering of the people in this piece but am assuming you haven't heard of Camp 731.......and if you do google it look for the backstory when the camp was captured by the Americans.....harrowing in the extreme esp considering the perpetrators where principally medical personnel......

[@weskerlin8566]

@@simonshiels1 Yes, I have. Wow, I can't believe that slipped my mind.

[@HobbyOrganist]

Just read about the Mai Lai massacre of women, elders and children and animals in a village in Vietnam that was wiped out

[@catherinelw9365]

@@HobbyOrganist Wrong war. Also, learn the difference between POLICY and individual crimes. Moral imbecility...

[@zephsmith3499]

@@HobbyOrganist If you read a thorough account, you will see that Mai Lai was a horrible event where some overstressed soldiers went crazy bad, but it was treated as such by the Army, by some of the soldiers, by the press, and by the US public - not praised as good soldiering to be emulated. The surrounding context is dramatically different. And read up on Camp 731. Not a one day crazy outburst by out of control soldiers, but a deliberate and official multi-year torture and death camp where death was a blessing - created and sanctioned from the top.

[@tinastitzer6200]

It's infuriating that noone was tried for this atrocity.

[@afterraincomessun]

they will be

[@tomfrazier1103]

In life, the bad guys (or gals) often get away with it "Lock her up", not gonna happen this side of Paradise.

[@judygilleland9384]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki punished the entire country.

[@wanderer3004]

Japanese soldiers were pretty all a bunch of criminals.

[@rsacchi100]

Thanks for informing me of this horrific incident.

[@obisan666]

This was terrible, the rape of nanking was similarly brutal on a massive scale.

[@lexb1075]

When I read that book, I was in complete shock. 😔

[@obisan666]

@@lexb1075 yup, got to have a strong constitution to read some of the horrors

[@foreveryoung6797]

I had an elderly friend who was stationed on an island in the pacific, he told me the Japanese were awful, they raped all the women. He got shot in the hip the minute he landed on Iwo Jima. The initial island he was first stationed on had almost a American sounding name, I can’t remember. Him and they boys pissed on their graves. War, good God. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again! Happy Easter.

[@catherinelw9365]

That's such a stupid song. Ask any person whose country is occupied by a tyrannical regime, or being held in a concentration camp...

[@Z020852]

"...Barbarism of some elements of the Japanese army..." Dude that was the norm in the Japanese military. The good ones were the exception.

[@version736ha2]

Exactly my thought

[@jd3jefferson556]

The good ones were likely murdered for treason.

[@Z020852]

@@jd3jefferson556 Nah. Most of them still chose to die with their comrades. There are too many stories in the Philippines where people were telling the younger, nicer Japanese soldiers to not stick their necks out, it's fine, nothing to fear from the American and Philippine armies closing in, the people will vouch for them. But they still ran out to fight, because for the Emperor.

[@vanessajazp6341]

The unimaginable brutality and atrocities the Japanese perpetrated against Chinese civilians and all of their other enemies in WWII has always made it impossible for me to feel sorry for them after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@ThePlataf]

Totally 100% agree.

[@jerryferko8309]

@@ThePlataf aGREE 1000 percent !

[@user-rb3pk2bx7f]

Agree!

[@ronnieverhagi5607]

So you think it's good and proper to incinerated 200,000 Japanese civilians? You are part of the problem in your sick twisted mindset.

[@garywilson1785]

Should have dropped one over the emperor's head. He knew what was going on.

[@zibabird]

Thank you and as always, shared.

[@jensenwilliam5434]

Thank you!!

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up as a support

[@corriehordyk3342]

There were so many atrocities that many many were never recognized.

[@pimpompoom93726]

True story: I have been to Japan many times on business, I like and admire modern Japanese-they're a good people. But they have almost no knowledge about their nation's actions during WW2. One time I was sitting in a meeting and noted I'd be traveling by train past Hiroshima the next days and wanted to visit the Peace Memorial someday. A Japanese lady in the meeting weighed in on how terrible the A-bombing of Hiroshima was (I agreed) and how she couldn't comprehend how it could have been ordered by Truman. Her stridency in a business setting was very unusual for Japanese and everyone seemed uncomfortable. At any rate the amazing thing for me was during her comments I looked down at my Franklin Planner and noted the date-December 7, 2005, Pearl Harbor Day. That date had no significance for her, she didn't have a clue about it. Japanese students are given a sanitized version of their nation's own WW2 history, the worse aspects of it are either ignored or glossed over. POW atrocities and murder, comfort women, attacks on civilians, racist actions against Chinese-most Japanese have little to no knowledge of this. Not good.

[@elaineforan4751]

I remember seeing an interview with an old Japanese veteran and his attitude really shocked me. He acknowledged the deaths that happened but just couldn't see that killing POWs or using slave labour was wrong. He still believed that Japanese troops were right to use such brutality as a weapon. He believed they shouldn't have surrendered. I was completely bowled over by this attitude.

[@elaineforan4751]

Genuine question. Do you think the Allies are at fault for not going hard after the Japanese war criminals like they did in Nuremberg? Germans are well aware of the horrors of the Holocaust, yet many Japanese are not aware of the Rape of Nanking or the Death marches in Burma. It is against the law to defame anyone's name in Japan, even with the truth, is this a cop out? In Germany, and other states, denying the Holocaust was made illegal. As far as I know, Japan have only recently made any apology to some of the 'comfort women' that were abused, and I believe have not compensated or acknowledged those people who were used as forced labour (correct me if I'm wrong). What do you think?

[@pimpompoom93726]

@@elaineforan4751 Great point. The Japanese people have never really confronted their role in the war as well as the racist mentality promoted by the militarists who ran Japan from the 1920's onward. Historically Japan was more pro-western, during WW1 they treated captured German POW's from China very well and in accordance with enlightened standards. But when the militarists came to power they promoted Bushido and antipathy towards the 'decadent west' and racist attitude towards China in particular. In war on every side the brutes often rise to the surface, that happened even in western armies on occasion. But maltreatment of POW's and captured civilians by the Japanese military was systemic, tolerated by upper echelons and even advocated in some cases. The leadership knew what was going on, they chose to ignore it and let it happen. I have read reports that the Japanese planned on executing all captured Americans on Wake Island but somehow the American leadership was informed and let it be known to the Japanese through Red Cross channels that if any US troops were killed the Emperor would be held personally responsible-none were killed. But civilians captured on Wake Island were killed, over a hundred were beheaded on the island during the war and their bodies buried-but some Japanese troops didn't want to be part of the criminal-coverup and they came forward after the war and identified those who were guilty. Japan needs to confront it's past to learn from it, just as the USA needs to confront it's past regarding racism so we can learn from it. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[@pimpompoom93726]

@@elaineforan4751 Yes, no question the US Foreign Policy establishment in particular pushed to end Japanese war crimes trials early because they were more focused on the loss of China to the Communists and they wanted a reliable, pro-western nation in Japan to offset it. The Japanese people as a whole have never confronted their nation's history during that war, it gets only brief mention during their schooling and then does not delve into the details. Japanese education promotes technical learning a great deal and things like recent history are not really covered in detail, they are trying to turn out workers to support their manufacturing and technical industries-and that's not all bad, they have to do it as a nation of limited raw materials who need to produce things to earn money. But real study of recent history is just not done. Talk to young Japanese about WW2 and they know next to nothing, believe me I have tried. There is no question that MANY high ranking Japanese military officers and political officials got off without punishment for war crimes they committed by their orders or by failing to stop actions they could have which were criminal.

[@elaineforan4751]

@@pimpompoom93726 Thanks for taking the time to reply so thoroughly. I think i will do some more reading about this. My knowledge of Asian colonial history is sketchy at best.

[@tnh723]

May they never be forgotten. I love modern Japan but they aren't doing enough to remember and teach their war crimes to their younger generations. That will help protect the future by illuminating history with truth. Filipino grandson of veterans here

[@royjohnson465]

~Queen Elizabeth II's family changed their German name to Windsor because of anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War-1 in 1917. There was a radical change when George V specifically "adopted the name Windsor", not only as the name of their House or dynasty, but also as the surname of his family. Their German family name (House of) Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was changed, as a result of anti-German feeling during the 1st World War, "to" the name (House of) Windsor which was adopted after the Castle of the same name. The reason for this name change was because England had major feelings of discontent against Germany due to World War-1. ~Then future Queen Elizabeth II married her second cousin once removed, being her husband Prince Philip who also changed his German name (House of) Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg "to" Mountbatten in 1947 because of anti-German sentiment from World War-2. ~Shortly before her 19th birthday in 1945, the future Queen Elizabeth II joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) to help in the war effort. Elizabeth began training >>March of 1945

[@oldgeezer7484]

My father in law was a gunner in a Douglas dive bomber stationed on the Lexington and later on the Saratoga. He said that the horror brought on by the Japanese was eventually softened in the memories of his generation. The next generation was less forgiving. He machinegunned a lot of the enemy but it never bothered him.

[@beavercleaver7848]

They needed killin'.

[@GasPipeJimmy]

That’s good he didn’t feel any PTSD

[@calvinmcfarlandsr.707]

The Japanese just like the Germans escaped true justice for that war completely. Herohito should have paid with his life. Period. The a bomb saved Japan. Had the invasion happened. We would have suffered dearly. But Japan would have been justly destroyed 🤔.

[@peterjones4180]

Agreed only two nuclear strikes seems like hundreds too few.

[@scooterbob4432]

Not in the Philippines. Japanese Gen. Yamashita, known as the Tiger of Malaya, was hanged there for the war crimes committed by his soldiers.

[@kfeltenberger]

Based on all the war crimes committed by the Japanese military, the ancient Roman practice of decimation should have been applied to the personnel that surrendered.

[@timonsolus]

That would have made us just as bad as them.

[@kfeltenberger]

@@timonsolus Having had a parent who spent most of WW2 in the South Pacific dealing with the IJN and IJA...no...we would never have been as bad as they were had we done this. They got off very, very easy given what they did. I will not apply 2022 views to 1945.

[@timonsolus]

@@kfeltenberger : Killing POWs is against the Geneva Convention. And it was something the Japanese did. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m sorry you can’t see that.

[@kfeltenberger]

@@timonsolus So the executions from the war crimes trials were wrong. Got it. Now I know all I need to know about you.

[@timonsolus]

@@kfeltenberger : Strawman. I didn't say anything of the kind. Your suggestion was to execute 1 out of every 10 Japanese POWs. That's at least 600,000 men, as the Japanese had at least 6 million servicemen in August 1945. Killing them, at random, without trial, for no other reason than because they served in the Japanese armed forces would not be justice - it would be genocide. It would have made the Allied powers no better than Nazi Germany, which murdered 2.8 million Soviet POWs during WW2, by execution and by deliberate starvation. In total, worldwide, by all Allied nations, 991 Japanese were sentenced to death for war crimes committed from 1937-45. I think that's enough to say justice was served.

[@davehales2249]

Great documentary, I was wondering if these events were portrayed in the 1950s movie,A town called Alice, japanese brutality during the second world war was horrendous , I've watched documentaries which explain it through japanese culture off the time,, I still find it disturbing that a nation could have such little empathy for all other races

[@pimpompoom93726]

In war, the brutes among us often rise to the surface. That's why nations try and abide by rules like the Geneva Convention, to try and maintain order in situations where order is difficult. Prior to the 1920's when the militarists came to power in Japan the Japanese military abided by international conventions for the most part, POW's during WW1 were treated largely well. That was thrown out the door when the militarists came to power and mistreatment of POW's and civilian noncombatants became appalling in many cases. Unfortunately, many of those responsible were not held accountable after the war-unlike in Germany. It was allowed to be swept under the rug by western powers who were more focused on the threat of Chinese communism. Today, many Japanese do not know the extent to which their military violated international norms and rules of decency during WW2, it isn't taught in their schools. That is regrettable, a nation which doesn't confront it's crimes can repeat them. And that goes for all nations, not just Japan.

[@hubertmantz1516]

An horrific story! I had absolutely no knowledge of this slaughter. Thanks!

[@irenejennings3747]

I will be laying a wreath for these ladies on Anzac Day. Lest we forget.

[@stephanietorres5679]

Thank you for sharing another truthful ww2 atrocities.

[@rafaelramirez1507]

This is unbelievable, so unbelievably senseless ... may these angels of life R.I.P 😇😇😇😇🙏

[@BertieWooster7137]

Superb narration. My absolute respects!

[@RobB-vz2vo]

Atrocities followed the Japanese from the air to the land, and sea. The one that my mother barely missed being a victim of was the AHS Centaur atrocity. On 14 May 1943, the well lit and marked Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia. 268 people died out of the 332 medical and civilian crew members on board, including 63 of the 65 army personnel.

[@brianbgood]

Wow! I have never heard of this heinous incident. I’ve been reading about WWII all my life. Thanks for making this video!

[@WhoDaresWins-B20]

My cousin Ralph Armstrong, his mother Tressie (An Austrian by birth) and her two daughters and her grandson Mark Pryce were put on board the ss "Vyner Brooke" by their husband and father to travel to Australia with the nurses and Sister Bullwinkle. The Vyner Brooke was torpedoed in the Banka Straits. Ralph, his nephew Mark, his mother and two sisters were interned by the Japanese. The two boys were separated from their mother/grandmother and sisters. At the conclusion of the war; Ralph discovered his mother and two sisters died in captivity. Mark was sent on to the United Kingdom, whilst Ralph was sent to Singapore where he found his father alive and well. Ralph and his family emigrated to Australia and lived in Brisbane until recently, dying in circa 2018.

[@MrTrenttness]

Thank you.

[@archlich4489]

Never Forget

[@UKsoldier45]

For many years I played club cricket here in England and our club scorer Tom, a truly wonderful man was a former prisoner of the Japanese and was a forced labourer on the Burma railway. He was captured at Singapore. He saw many friends die from starvation and ill treatment. He vowed never ever to possess any Japanese appliance or ride in a Japanese built car, such was his utter hatred of what they did. He kept his word!! Considering the hundreds of Nazi war criminals who were executed by the Allies it is a disgrace that so many hundreds of guilty Japanese war criminals walked free. We all know why the Americans wanted to cosy up to the Japanese but that is no excuse for turning a blind eye to the dreadful events that happened from Manchuria, Nanking, the Burma railway and hundreds of other places. RIP to all who those wonderful, innocent, decent, caring people who lost their lives in this dreadful conflict.

[@walkonhotcoals1277]

My Grandfather was taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore 15th Feb 1942 coincidentally my grandmother’s birthday. He never spoke about it but did fall out with my mother when she bought a Datsun car. It took weeks before they worked things out. He was in several camps mainly working on the Burma road. We only knew what he suffered from the stories of his fellow survivors and my grandmother. Pretty disgusting what he witnessed and suffered. The family were at his side on his death bed and the last word he uttered was the name of one of the most feared guards. He fought him til his last breath.

[@eleanorkett1129]

I've heard of this terrible atrocity before. And to think the culprits died in bed of old age. How horrible.

[@helenpaton4245]

My Aunt's maternal Aunt, Elaine Balfour-Ogilvy was one of those so dreadfully murdered. She was young, beautiful, talented, brave and had her whole life ahead of her. My Aunt's younger sister was named in her honour.

[@christianmadsen7997]

🥺😢

[@justpossum9679]

My father served in WW2. He always told only humorous stories about him and his mates, never-ending about the horrible things he must have experienced in Borneo and PNG. However he told us in detail about Sister Bulwinkle and what happened on Bangka Island. He also told the story of the Hospital Ship Centaur which was torpedoed off the coast of Caloundra, even though it was clearly marked with the huge red crosses to identify it as a Hospital ship and was travelling close to shore. These acts were barbaric and inexcusable to Aussies and were never forgotten.

[@sheilakirby5616]

MAY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TRULY BLESS THESE BRAVE WOMEN !!!

[@anthonycowles3153]

What's the matter with people , doing such atrocities to men is bad enough but to the women too ! So many of these crimes are never followed up ...that's a crime ! Rip .

[@alioncom1026]

i was born in Bangka island -South Sumatra too but since years 1988 i become an Australian Resident until now , i have plan to Visit Bangka island on this June 2022 and I will try to find the scene of the brutal massacre around Muntok Bangka island South Sumatra. Lest we forget ....shall remember the fallen like many others on ANZAC day.

[@Paratrooper23]

Japanese Unit 731 based in Manchuria. Research it !!

[@nursedaniel72]

I trained as a nurse in a General Repatriation Hospital for Veterans and Defence patients in Sydney Australia in the 1980s and I have heard so many stories of atrocities from the patients I looked after. Some begged belief. But as the vets from that war die out , history goes too. I believe it's our generations responsibility to keep these stories alive. It won't stop wars altogether but will make ppl aware of the reality of war.

[@Geekino]

The Japanese were very brutal and cruel in WWll as they believed all non-Japanese were sub-human. Actually, they still do....

[@fortodaymark]

They sure don’t like foreigners in their country many times. But, there are some friendly ones.

[@ライト亜美]

As someone who is japanese, I assure you many people, especially younger people are being more aware of japanese war crime than older people. We don't think others are sub-human either.

[@zephsmith3499]

@@ライト亜美 Thanks for the update.

[@dirkvisser3882]

No, they don't

[@mikecain6947]

A great video.

[@johnpauljones9310]

Keep this in mind the next time someone calls Hiroshima and Nagasaki "war crimes".

[@rickw6065]

I had no knowledge of this event. Thanks for the history lesson. (I do wish the delivery sounded a bit more "natural" rather than read from a script. However, VERY informative. Thanks again!)

[@bobcosmic]

In the building to hear about the untold past !

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks!

[@co2addicted788]

Love you and your videos brother ❤

[@brothermaynard3200]

Murder, not execution.

[@Dingo3039]

What a story Vivian Bullwinkle should be a movie,

[@Smileythesilent]

My family still refuse to tell me where we fit into it, but as soon as we turned 18 they sat us down and told us this story, and then we had to write an essay about it. It's weird seeing it acknowledged by the wider world. Not bad weird, just odd.

[@crystalwilson7007]

This is just absolutely heartbreaking....

[@laurencetilley9194]

Lest We Forget.

[@beckyparker1532]

I worked with a Japanese woman who complained of racism and discrimination if anyone mentioned WW2 or the whaling practises of her country. My dad was an Army Sergeant during WW2, but nowadays if I mention this, people make disparaging remarks and demonize the army and our country but no one would dare say anything about the Japanese.PS: "our country" wasn't intended to be discriminatory.

[@harukrentz435]

in modern america FDR putting all japanese descendants into camps is bigger issue than the pearl harbour's attack itself LOL