Beatings endured by the Prisoners of War

I never witnessed anybody being killed, be honest with you. I’ve seen some fellows badly beaten that they had a job to survive. Interviewer: Why were they beaten? For very trivial things. If you didn’t give them a smile when you looked at them or you did smile they didn’t like it they'd beat you for that. Anything to indicate that you were contented and happy call for a beating. You could not put any particular finger on any reason that they’d want to beat ya. The atrocities in Japan was out of this world. I remember one day, old Bohogo, I said “Bohogo”, Sergeant Major; he got eight years after the war was over. He didn’t get enough to suit me. He beat an American civilian one day and I saw him beating him. And Red Sherren said to me, “Did you see him killed?”, and I said, “No I didn’t see him killed,” but the next morning he was dead. So that’s enough to say he was killed. He didn’t survive, couldn’t survive with the beating up that they gave these fellows and the tortures. You know the tortures they’d give us? Kneel on a broom handle and put a brick in each hand and every time the brick would go they’d whip you with a bamboo. Another one they use was dripping water. Pour salt water down your throat and beat your stomach while they’re doing it. They had all kinds of tortures. Flick your nose, flick your nose like that, stand to attention. Attention by the way in Japanese is “Kiotske”, they’d give you a Kiotske and flick your nose probably 15 or 20 times and that gets pretty aggravating, I can assure you that’s pretty aggravating when they do that you know. But basically, they were a rough crowd and sometimes I can’t visualize why they should treat individuals, of course, they didn’t treat us as individuals obviously. I can’t visualize why they’d treat people in such a manner. They didn’t like congregation of people. You can understand that too, but they wouldn’t let you get together any more than half a dozen at a time because it was dangerous to have a big congregation. Not that we could do anything because we were too weak to do anything anyway and we had no arms of any kind. So basically we were in pretty bad shape. I remember one night in the camp, a pair of shoes, somebody’s shoes was by my bed and old “Bohogo” came in and he stood me to attention and he beat the face off me. They weren’t mine, but they were somebody else’s, but I had to take it because I couldn’t say that’s buddies because he’d get the beating then. So I might as well take it anyhow , somebody had to take it... And I took it like a brave man.

Mr. Ford explains in graphic detail, the type of torture and beating endured by the POW, sometimes receiving punishment that he did not deserve

John Ford

Mr. John Ford was born March 25, 1919 in Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland. Both parents were previously married and Mr. Ford was raised in a family of 14 children, him being one of the younger children. As a child he attended school at the United School Academy graduating in Grade 11. After school he worked with the Newfoundland railway as a machinist for three years. In May of 1940, Mr. Ford decided to join the Royal Air Force. In August he went overseas onboard the Nova Scotia and landed in Liverpool, England. During his service, he was captured as a POW in Japan experiencing horrible conditions. He has dedicated much of his time to the Legion and volunteered as a board member for over 13 years. Mr. Ford is an active participant in visiting local schools and educating the youth of what life was really like as a solider and as a prisoner of war while serving with the Royal Air Force.