WAR CRIMES
TRIALS

JAPS ATE MY GALL BLADDER;

or,

THE INDESTRUCTIBLE WITNESS

By Carlos Porter

What follows are some of the entries from that "competition".

I WAS BAYONETTED FIVE TIMES

"I fell down with five bayonet wounds, three in the neck and chest and did not move again..." (p. 15,415).

I WAS BAYONETTED FIVE TIMES TOO

"I got five bayonet wounds - one on the upper part of my right arm, another on the upper right of my chest passing through my breast, another on my waist again passing through my right side, and another on my right shoulder. Because of the force of the bayonets that passed through my body..." (pp. 12,442-3).

I WAS BAYONETTED SEVEN TIMES AND BURNED

"All were bayonetted and stabbed, thrown into a pile, saturated with gasoline, and then set on fire. The only survivor of this group described how she was bayonetted four times in the back and three times in the front..." (p. 12,444).

I WAS BAYONETTED FIVE TIMES, NO, ELEVEN TIMES

"I received five stabs. I pretended death and held my breath... when I breathed, he heard it and stabbed me another six times. The last thrust went through my ear, face, and into my mouth, severing an artery... I lay there for approximately one hour... I managed to get my leg between my two hands and I chewed at the knob until it became undone" (pp. 14,107-8).

I WAS BAYONETTED THIRTY EIGHT TIMES

"Q: Now, you say that you have sustained 38 bayonet wounds. On what part of your body were you wounded?

A: In different parts of my body" (answer continues for two pages) (pp. 12,430-2).

I WAS BEHEADED

"There was a Japanese sword sticking into the earth close to the grave... My head was bent forward, and after a few seconds I felt a dull blow sensation on the back of my neck... I had a large wound on the back of my neck..." (pp. 12,885-6).

I WAS BEHEADED TOO

"Four natives were put to death by beheading, without trial. One of them, Mairuhu, however, was not killed and has reported this crime in his statement, prosecution document 5530, with a photograph showing the scar in his neck" (p. 13,927).

SO WAS I

"The officer took out his sword, and I saw him hand it to one of the soldiers and point to me. Japanese soldiers approached me from behind and suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck, also I felt the blood running over my face... The following sunrise I came to my senses and found that I was soaked in blood. I looked around and found that my five comrades were all dead with their heads partly severed from their bodies" (pp. 12,984-5).

ME TOO BUT I FELL OFF A CLIFF

"Two Japanese attempted to behead them, one of the soldiers striking the victims across the neck with a sabre while the other pushed the decapitated bodies over the cliff. Apparently all of this group were killed except two. The bodies of four were later identified. One man survived the attempted beheading..." (pp. 12,457-8).

I WAS BEHEADED BUT CARRIED SOMEONE ON MY BACK

"They made us stand at the edge of a trench and began to massacre us by sword strokes on the back of the neck. When this was finished they went away. I understood later that they had gone to fetch gasoline. I fled with the two sharp-shooters - one of whom had untied my hands and then run off - and I carried one of them on my back" (p. 15,417).

I SURVIVED SHOOTING, BAYONET WOUNDS AND A 750-FOOT FALL

"At the moment when the Japanese took aim at us the condemned struck up the "Marseillaise"... many of us were wounded... during the two hours which followed, scenes of unparelled savagery took place, beginning with the Japanese throwing themselves upon us, yelling and using our bodies as fencing targets for the bayonet. Then they amused themselves by firing rifle or revolver shots in the ear of those who did not appear quite dead. The least tremble called forth roars of laughter and loud shouts of joy and marked a new victim whom they immediately set upon with the bayonet. I myself was wounded four times, in the arm, in the chest, and in the right buttlock.

When the Japanese considered that not a single one more remained alive they had us removed by Anmanites (our irregulars) and thrown into a ravine. The bodies thus thrown rolled for 200 to 250 meters. I came to myself, lying head downwards..." (p. 15,420-1).

I WAS SHOT, BAYONETTED, AND BURNED ALIVE

"Finally, they were all herded into a group and shot with rifles and machine guns. The Japanese removed the bodies, but not the witness, who feigned death... The Japanese brought tins of petrol and poured it over the prostrate prisoners, other than the witness... they then set fire to the petrol amidst the screams and yells of pain and the prisoners were burnt to death. The witness could smell the burning flesh. He lay still until the Japanese departed. Many Japanese passed him and kicked him and some pricked him with their bayonets. One actually drove a bayonet into his side..." (pp. 12,951-2).

I SURVIVED BEATING AND DROWNING WITH MY HANDS TIED

"The submarine made its appearance in the near vicinity... orders were given to come aboard the submarine... after all the survivors had gained the deck of the submarine, the Japanese proceeded to fire upon the life boat...

"I learned then that the Japanese crew were employing a tactic somewhat similar to the old Indian practice of running the gauntlet wherein they forced survivors to pass between two lines of men armed with clubs, bars and other blunt objects and, when reaching the end, being either shoved or knocked into the sea to drown... I was struck a terrific blow at the base of my head... I was shoved down through the two lines of Japanese who rained blows upon my body and head with various objects which I was too stunned and dazed to identify, although I was later advised by my doctor that I had been cut with a bayonet or sword in the process.

When I reached the end of the gauntlet, I fell into what appeared to me to be a white foamy sea".

(Note: this is from an "affidavit" which is being "quoted" by the prosecutor).

"THE PRESIDENT: Lord Patrick has pointed out to me you have not read that part where this witness or this deponent explains how he kept afloat although his hands were tied... You stopped at the words "foamy sea"... it is desirable that you should read on and explain how this man, according to his testimony, kept afloat although his hands were tied... You need not worry. He says that he kept afloat by treading the water" (p. 15,144-5).

ME TOO BUT I WAS SHOT

"The sub came closer and closer... they told the Europeans to board the sub... two Japs were making us stand by in front of us, one with a revolver and one with a coil of rope... one was preparing himself to tie us up... when I arrived at the very end of the deck, above the propellers I heard a bang and felt a terrific shock on my head and I toppled over into the water. The Japs tried to make a good job of it indeed, as they did it above the propellers. How I missed them I do not know. I must have been unconscious for a little while. When I came to I was in the water, with plenty of blood around me... I spotted the sub now about a mile distant... I inspected my head with my hand and found no hole in the bone..." (pp. 15,170-4).

I WAS TORTURED ON A SUBMARINE DECK FOR FOUR HOURS

"The Japanese officer then came out on deck. He had a sword... they marched them down the port side of the sub... another one ran him through once or twice with a bayonet. Then they pushed him over the side.

Q: How long were you a prisoner on board the submarine?

A: Approximately four hours" (pp. 15,116-9).

(Note: For a submarine to sink a merchant vessel and then surface is extremely dangerous. A surfaced submarine is defenseless against aircraft called on ship's radio, to say nothing of radar and sonar. Procedure after sinking is to submerge and leave the area immediately. If it does not do so, it must be prepared to submerge in less than one minute, meaning that the crew cannot be on deck. For these reasons, the above atrocities can only be perjured: referred to are the sinkings of the Jean Nicolet, S.S. Ascot, and other ships. The Japanese government, in response to wartime protests, conducted an investigation and concluded "there are no facts that correspond to such attacks").

I ESCAPED LIVE CREMATION BY CRAWLING THROUGH A DOUBLE BARBED-WIRE FENCE WITH A BULLET IN MY LEG, AFTER WHICH I JUMPED OFF A 50-FOOT CLIFF, KILLED THREE JAPS IN HAND-TO-HAND UNDERWATER COMBAT, SWAM A BAY, WANDERED IN THE JUNGLE FOR FIVE DAYS WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER, THEN JOINED UP WITH GUERRILLA FORCES.

"Q: On this document what does the 'X' line stand for?

A: It represents a double barbed wire fence which encircled the complete compound, which is approximately seven feet high, and the two fences were about two feet apart.

Q: On the left, or southeasterly side of the fence, what is indicated?

A: A sharp cliff, with some underbrush, bordering Puerto Princesa Bay. This cliff is approximately fifty to sixty feet high... these buckets of gasoline, they were thrown into the entrance of A Company shelter, then a lighted torch was thrown in to ignite the gasoline; and as the men were forced to come out on fire, they were bayonetted or shot or clubbed or stabbed. I saw several of these men tumbling about, still on fire, and falling from being shot... I quickly emerged from the entrance of my shelter and somehow scrambled through the double barbed wire fence... in the few seconds that I was exposed I was hit by a bullet in the right leg... I then let go of the bluff and scrambled down the cliff... after proceeding fifty to a hundred feet, the rocks ended and I stumbled upon three Japanese sailors... attempting to set up a Lewis gun... I had no alternative but to jump these three Japanese sailors in an attempt to get this machine gun away from them.

We finally fought out into the water, where, due to their weight, I fell under the water and remained under the water, holding them under with me, forcing them finally to release their hold on the gun and me, and they attempted to return to the beach.

Coming out of the water, I pulled the actuator on the Lewis gun and managed to kill these three Japanese sailors. But seeing another machine gun being set up a little further down the beach, I was forced to return the way I had come, in an effort to find a hiding place among the rocks. In order to get in a small crevice that I found, I was forced to throw the machine gun in the water... Patrols continued to patrol the rocks and beaches for the rest of the day... that night, myself, along with four others, swam the bay and managed, after a few days in the jungle, to join up with the Filipino guerillas" (pp. 15,229-240, testimony of Douglas William Bogue).

"For five days and nights, without food or water except rain, Bogue tramped through the jungle..." (statement of Philipine prosecutor, p. 12,671).

(This incident was also the subject of a wartime protest made for propaganda purposes).

I SURVIVED A THROUGH-AND-THROUGH MACHINE GUN WOUND RECEIVED IN THE OCEAN, AFTER WHICH I LOST CONSCIOUSNESS FOR TWO DAYS, ENGAGED IN HEAVY PHYSICAL EXERTION, AFTER WHICH MY WOUND HEALED WITHOUT A TRACE IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY MEDICAL TREATMENT

"The bullet that hit me struck me in the back about waist level and passed straight through. It knocked me over, and the waves brought me in to the edge of the water. I continued to lie there for ten or fifteen minutes, and then I sat up and looked around, and the Japanese party had disappeared. I then took myself up into the jungle and lost consciousness...

Q: You had been unconscious, then from Monday to Wednesday?

A: Yes... I managed to get him up into the jungle, then I went into the village...

Q: How many trips to the village did you make for food...?

A: On two or three occasions I went into the village.

Q: And how long was it after the shooting on the Monday that you and Kingsley decided to give yourselves up again?

A: About twelve days". (Note: they gave themselves up to the Japanese twice even though the Japanese were killing all prisoners).

"THE PRESIDENT: What attention did your wound get after you had given yourself up?

A: I did not get any.

THE PRESIDENT: Did the Japanese know about it?

A: No, I did not tell them about it". (pp. 13,457-76, testimony of Sister Vivien Bullwinkel).

I MARCHED SEVENTY-FIVE MILES IN NINE DAYS WITH A 105.6 FEVER AND NO FOOD OR WATER CARRYING A WOUNDED COMRADE ON MY BACK, AFTER WHICH MY FEVER DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TREATMENT

"I did have bronchial pneumonia and malaria. My temperature was 105.6...

Q: Despite the fact that you were sick you were forced to join the Death March?

A: Yes.

Q: How long did it take you to make it?

A: 9 days.

Q: During the march did you have food and water provided for you by the Japanese?

A: For the first five days not a drop of food or water or rest was given by any of the Japanese?

Q: Where did you get your water?

A: Well, there were many that didn't get any, many that died that tried to get water. All that was available was from an occasional artesian well along the side of the road or possibly a caribou well. That water in the ponds was so polluted that it was highly dangerous to drink and that which came from the artesian wells was of such small amount that when the great numbers of men tried to get it, well, the troops would simply raise their weapons and fire into the group...

Q: During the first five days how were you able to manage to get some food, if at all?

A: The Filipino civilians tried on many occasions to give food to the men that were marching. However, they done so at the risk of their lives and a lot of the civilians did lose their lives trying. Other than that, only an occasional sugar cane patch offered food... even the lack of food could have been stood and I suppose that going without water could have been taken, but a person must have rest. But the continued marching and sitting for hours in the hot sun...

Q: After the Chaplain was wounded did you aid him, Mr. Ingles?

A: I was one of several that helped to aid him. I personally helped to carry him until the next rest period and throughout the following days we took turns...

Q: I understand that when you were taken prisoner your temperature was 105.6... how many days did you help him?

A: That happened on the third or fourth day. We assisted him from then on until the ninth day which was the termination of our hike.

Q: Did your sickness become worse during this march?

A: I seemed to have sweated out a portion of the malaria and temporarily I felt somewhat better" (pp. 12,611-31), testimony of Donald F. Ingle).

Note: according to the prosecution, 53,000 captives at Bataan were forced to walk 75 miles in 9 days without food, water or medical supplies. Everyone who attempted to obtain water or food was shot or bayonetted; persons attempting to give them water or food were shot or bayonetted.

Obviously, if this were literally true, none of the men would have reached their destination: yet most of them got there. The death rate was about 10%, mostly from disease.

According to the defense, the march was dictated by absolute military necessity: the surrender was due to disease and lack of food; the Japanese had insufficient supplies; ammunition was plentiful. The surrender site was under artillery fire from Corregidor and Fort Drum; transport was needed for military purposes. Prisoners may be made to walk 20 kilometers per day under the terms of the Fourth Hague Convention on Land Warfare; nothing requires transport by vehicle, although some were so transported.

Under the Fourth Hague Convention, prisoners are subject to the same discipline as the troops capturing them; beating, slapping and kicking are methods of discipline in the Japanese army; thus, anything short of arbitrary execution or extreme torture was legal. Japan did not ratify the Geneva Prisoner of War Convention because it required a higher standard of living for prisoners than could be provided for Japanese soldiers and civilians; but it permitted less discipline. Hearsay about crimes committed by soldiers could be collected by anyone, even in post-war Japan; conspiracy was not proven; the defendants could not be linked with these events; the only function of this evidence was to prejudice the court.

The prosecution claimed that transport was available for all prisoners, but could not say how much there was. The quantity of vehicles and fuel was not known because the trucks and fuel were with the units; many had been destroyed. The officer who claimed that the transport was "enough" (Maj. King) did not appear in court; he "testified" by "affidavit". See pp. 12,592-5; see also testimony of Sgt. Moody, pp. 12,578-90; testimony of Col. Stubbs, pp. 12,736-75).

It was admitted by Col. Stubbs that the transport was "enough" only if each vehicle shuttled back and forth (pp. 12,762-3); (such as a Jeep making 27,000 round trips).

The defense summation on prisoners of war by Mr. Freeman (pp. 42,618-91) is quite impressive, but some of the evidence on which it is based seems rather poor (pp. 27,117-963). The National Archives do not reply to letters requesting photocopies of cannibalism confessions or Red Cross reports describing excellent conditions in Japanese prison camps.

I HUNG 24 HOURS BY MY WRISTS WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER

"This usually pulled both arms out of socket. While at this camp, I personally hung as long as twenty-four hours in that position. No food or water was given me..." (pp. 12,607-8).

I STOOD FOUR DAYS IN THE SUN WITHOUT WATER OR MAYBE IT WAS ONLY TWO DAYS

"On another occasion an Australian officer was ordered to stand for four days outside the guardhouse without food or water. He collapsed after two days and was released" (p. 13,040).

I HUNG BY MY WRISTS FOR TWO DAYS AFTER ELEVEN DAYS OF OTHER TORTURE, THEN LOST CONSCIOUSNESS

"For the next ten days I was beaten with a big stick... on the eleventh day water was forced into my stomach, and when my stomach was full, the Japs jumped on it and I became unconscious. I was brought around by two Jap soldiers who threw cold water over me. For the next two days I was suspended from a beam by the wrists, with my toes barely touching the ground. There was a wire tied to my wrists and a clamp fastened to my waist. Electricity was passed through these wires and my arms and body were burned. The pain made me cry out continually, and there seemed to be hooks plucking at my whole body. After two days of almost continual current being passed through me, during which time I was only given small quantities of water to drink, I became unconscious...

Before this, the Japs accused me of being a British spy... as I cannot even write my name, I tried to point out that this charge was ridiculous" (pp. 13,109-10).

(Note: this passage is taken from an "affidavit". Evidence is presented in the form of written statements in foreign languages signed by illiterates).

MORE "EVIDENCE"

"After an orgy of drinking, the Japs caught a pig and permitted it to lick the blood off the floor" (p. 12,409).

(Evidence is from "summary" of "war crimes report").

"When they saw the body of fourteen-year old Fortunata SALONGA lying in an exposed position, attempted to have intercourse with her although she had been dead from eight to ten hours and rigor mortis had set in" (p. 12,413).

("Summary" of "report" quoting Communist propaganda, hearsay, lies and other entries in the Tokyo "Suffering Contest").

Was the Holocaust in Europe "proven" in a similar manner?