Reports of the War Being Over

Now “jotoni” in Japanese is no good. And we’d hear this a dozen times a day; “American jotoni, jotoni, jotoni!” And we could assume from that, that something could have been going on because they weren’t telling us there was something going on, but we could read between the lines by saying that you know, “American jotoni!” Interviewer: Were you men ever told by the Japanese that when the war was over that you’d be released and allowed to go home? No... let me say this to you. The Japanese, according to reports, were suppose to exterminate us on the 9th day of August, and they’d never made any indication in this world, they never showed any respect for us anymore than the last day until the bomb was dropped. After the bomb was dropped, on Nagasaki, they kept us a week and I got a copy of the report or the order given out by the Japanese commander telling us that they were negotiating for peace and the war is not yet over. And until such time as they get the peace signed, you are expected to stay here and to live orderly lives and obey the Japanese guards. Now that was on the 9th of August they dropped that bomb, we got until the 15th. Now from the 9th to the 15th we worked at the dockyard, but while working at the dockyard there were many workmen making caskets, little wooden caskets, for the Japanese that were burned in Nagasaki. Now in case you don’t know it, they told us at that time when the bomb was dropped there were 73,000 people killed in Nagasaki and there was another thousands who were suffering from radiation burns. Now we worked there for a week and we came back to the camp one day after the week they said, “All men Yasumi!”; now Yasumi in Japanese, of course, is rest. Came back to the camp this day and they said, “All men Yasumi!” And we said well now what, there’s something going on. If we’re going to have a holiday what in the name of good is going on, the Japanese don’t give you holidays for nothing. And sometime during that day someone said, “We got bully beef tonight!" just like I’m telling yah. Bully beef, half a tin of bully beef a man! Well he said, “if that is the case then the war must be over, if the Japanese are going to give us half a tin of bully beef a man there’s something transpired that we’re not aware of!” Sure enough we got the half a tin of bully beef a man and then from then on they still said, “we’d like for you to stay in the camp and we’d also ask you would you like us to stay with you to protect you?” And of course our reply to that was, “No, you may leave the camp as soon as you like, providing you give us your arms.” They did that, they left the camp and there was no animosity between us and them when they left the camp, not one bit, they passed over their arms to us, their rifles and their bayonets, and left the camp quite quietly. We didn’t know the war was over. So we saw this plane! American markings on her, flying about less than a thousand feet, oh my god we said, “there’s something going on here!” So we got our blankets out and we wrote on the ground, “NEWS” and the pilot saw this on the ground and he dipped his wings made a circle around then he dropped this food package. Anyhow, he dropped it in the water, of course it wasn’t in the water very long and we saw the American plane, we went and dived in the water and got the package. In that package it said, “The Japanese had surrendered unconditionally.” From then on it was all our way!

Mr. Ford shares his story about their final realization that the war was over and actions leading up to the surrender of the Japanese.

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.