Ex.20558-2057. Treatment of U.S. prisoners of war in the Pacific
data provider: AtoM
is part of: David Conde fonds
is part of: International Military Tribunal for the Far East
is part of: Prosecution documents and exhibits
creator: Conde, David W.
issued: 2015-03-25
description: 4 items
aggregated CHO: https://rbscarchives.library.ubc.ca/ex-20558-2057-treatment-of-u-s-prisoners-of-war-in-pacific
format: application/pdf
note: * 5 T - P <rv Dee. Ho. &u6 STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN OBARA When I held the nine American prisoners in my unit on September, 1942, I thought that they wore respectable and honorable soldiers who had fulfilled their duty, and since they had been captured by us, "/ere no longer but persons who did not differ from our neighbors and follow countrymen, and they were truly merely unhappy fellows with the status of prisoners0 Thus, since the tine that they were interned, I used nuch care to treat then well, and at the same tine I tried to send then bach to Japan as soon as possible from the dangerous front. Therefore, I an convinced that the treatment they received was excellent. But you. could hardly imagine my surprise when all of a sudden, I was ordered by the C.O,, Abe, who used to be always very prudent, to hill the prisoners in the middle of October.. Even when taking into consideration that it 'was issued so peremptorily and its nature was such that from the standpoint of my private feelings, I could not bear it. Moreover, from the standpoint of common sense, it could not be easily comprehended, since it ran utterly counter to my belief of the justice and humanity which I had firmly believed in all my lifec But now, the order was issued, and its solemnity could not bo offended, because it was based 011 the directive from the Central Headquarters, having the reasons behind it which we wore not in position to know. X as a military nan know well that orders must be obeyed absolutely. How I came to be in a quandary, for as an Obara, with all the feelings of a human being, I had not the heart to kill the prisoners, but as the C.O. of the Guard Hnit, I had to obey the order. Thus I, who had no authority to take the initiative, had no way to solve this difficulty except by recommending my opinions to the C«0», Abe, So I made up my mind, and expressed my opinions to the C.O,, Abe, to reconsider the matter, and make necessary arrangements to send them back to Japan, as had been de…
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0128889
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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source: University of British Columbia Library Rare Books and Special Collections
type: Text