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A-Bomb Aftermath

Mr. Billson describes viewing the devastation after the bombing of Nagasaki. The only intact things he sees are few porcelain toilets. He also describes how the blast had rolled all the sod up the surrounding hills.

A Dangerous Food Drop

Mr. Billson describes a terrible irony of being liberated. Two POWs are killed when pallets parachuted in by the Americans strike them.

The War Ends

Mr. Billson discusses how work in the mine suddenly ended, signaling Japanese capitulation, and how the guards were all gone the following day.

Crude Medicine

Mr. Billson describes two incidents where he received crude medical treatment. One was having a gash above his eye doused in alcohol and stitched without freezing, and the other was an aching tooth that was packed with cotton and soaked with carbolic acid.

Measures of Japanese Successes

Mr. Billson describes how the POW’s treatment by the guards generally mirrored Japan's successes and setbacks in the war.

I was put on a drill.

Mr. Billson describes his duties in the coal mine as a drill operator, the extraction procedure, and the potential risks of working in the mine.

Japanese Hierarchy Of Discipline

Mr. Billson describes the Japanese habit of slapping prisoners as a disciplinary measure, but explains that it is merely an extension of the Japanese military culture.

No Place To Hide

Mr. Billson describes feeling threatened by the Japanese no matter where he was on the island. He recalls feeling particularly vulnerable at Stanley Fort.

Taking A Life

Mr. Billson discusses the fact that despite overwhelming odds, he found that shooting a man for the first time was “hard to take”. After that, however, he didn't care.

I Had Never Handled A Bren Gun

Mr. Billson describes being placed in charge of a Bren gun, a weapon he had never handled. His unit is sent to protect a pillbox at Tai Tam Gap without being issued any ammunition. When the ammo arrives, it isn't Bren cartridges, it is hand grenades. Eventually a few cartridges arrive.

I Tell Them the Horrors of War.

Mr. Buote discusses how a chance school visitation and the ensuing letters from those children inspired him to continue taking his message to Moncton schools.

Digging trenches

Mr. Buote discusses the trench as protection from shell explosions, how a trench was laid out, and the (illegal) use of grenades in the excavation.

Date modified:: 2019-02-19