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Trip to Niigata

Heroes Remember

Trip to Niigata

Transcript
We went on a coal boat from Hong Kong to Japan that were loaded with boats and everybody was crowded onto the hold, the black hole. And it took about 17 days to go to Japan. We stopped in well, today’s Taiwan, it was Formosa at that time. We stayed there for I don’t know how many days, four or five days and they didn’t let us out or nothing, just starving and hot and then we kept on going from there and I ended up in Niigata prison camp working in the foundry for the next two years. But the last year I made out okay because I kind of fooled them. I don’t know, I had a bad heart and I just passed out. I didn’t really pass out I just let on that I passed out. So the doctor told them I had a bad heart so they sent me to camp and I stayed there for the last six months of the war so I kind of fooled them for some time.
Description

Mr. Leblanc tells about his journey across the ocean to a Japanese prison camp.

Jean Leblanc

Jean Leblanc was born in New Richmond, Quebec in 1932. His mother died when he was only three years old and he lived with his father and brother until he joined the army in 1940 at 16 years of age. Mr. Leblanc admits that he really didn't know what the army was all about at the time of enlistment.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:
February 2, 1999
Duration:
1:30
Person Interviewed:
Jean Leblanc
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
Hong Kong
Battle/Campaign:
Hong Kong
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Royal Rifles of Canada

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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