Word: zamperini
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Dates: during 1945-1945
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Such is the condition of treatment of the Japanese by the occupation forces in Japan. After reading your articles on treatment of Runner Zamperini, Lieut. Colonel Boyington, and other American P.O.W.s, we of the occupation forces are thoroughly disgusted with the way our superiors want this mess handled. We predict another war against the conquerors of the American occupation force within 30 years...
...Bird." The man Zamperini will never forget was Sergeant Watanabe, who made prisoners do "pushups" over latrine troughs until they collapsed with their faces in the excrement, who beat Zamperini on the head until he bled, gave him bits of paper to staunch the wounds and when the blood stopped, said "Oh, it stop, eh?" and beat him again. Watanabe had a head like a frog's. The prisoners called him "The Bird...
...Zamperini was shifted to Naoetsu and to Naoetsu went The Bird, still practising his cruelties and abominations. When prisoners came out of the glutted, maggoty toilets, he forced them to lick clean their fouled shoe soles. At other times he lined up a handful of U.S. officers, ordered U.S. enlisted men to go down the line, punching each officer in the face, while he stood there crying, "Next, next" until it became a chant that haunted prisoners' dreams...
...Naoetsu that Zamperini finally heard the news that Japan had surrendered. The Bird had already flown. Solicitous guards bowed Zamperini and Philips to freedom...
Last week, almost 28 months after he had crashed, Zamperini was headed home. If he knew he had to go through it again, he said bitterly, "I would kill myself...