This is sad, I know the Indian put up a very brave resistance against the Japanese landing at Kota Bahru.
At least 1/3 of the first wave was wipe out.
At Slim River, the British lost around 4000 mens and alot of heavy equipment.
Battlefield Tour
- Thread starter King Tiger
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This is sad, I know the Indian put up a very brave resistance against the Japanese landing at Kota Bahru.
At least 1/3 of the first wave was wipe out.
At Slim River, the British lost around 4000 mens and alot of heavy equipment.
Might be going off on a tangent here but I always think that if you are lucky enough, nothing beats the first hand experience of a survivor. I was lucky enough to talk to a Japanese friend of an auntie during the 70s who was a survivor of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb. His graphic stories of how the bomb fell and how he survived its aftermath made for a gripping story.
In the 80s, whilst studying in England, I became friends with a British nurse who was a German Jew. She told me how as a child, she and her father were the only surviving members of her extended family who managed to escape from Nazi Germany. When I ask what did she mean, she said that all her siblings, mother, uncle, aunties and cousins were all caught by the Nazis and gassed. Apart from her father who had died by then, she had no brothers/sisters/uncle/aunties/cousins. An orphan in fact!
That brought the horror of the Holocaust to me more than any visit to the Dachau concentration camp ever did.
In the 80s, whilst studying in England, I became friends with a British nurse who was a German Jew. She told me how as a child, she and her father were the only surviving members of her extended family who managed to escape from Nazi Germany. When I ask what did she mean, she said that all her siblings, mother, uncle, aunties and cousins were all caught by the Nazis and gassed. Apart from her father who had died by then, she had no brothers/sisters/uncle/aunties/cousins. An orphan in fact!
That brought the horror of the Holocaust to me more than any visit to the Dachau concentration camp ever did.
I'm going to okinawa soon. I bought the air tix about SGD600 durng a promotion. Stop by taiwan as well. So its 2 places for SGD600. Hopefully can take some memorable pics.
Just saw this thread
I ... visit the Battle at Green Ridge very often ;p
My uncle loves reading about the WW2 in Msia, and I remember going to his house and re-reading Ma-rai-ee many times over when as a child
Picked up The Jungle is Neutral by Spencer Chapman a few years back, good read as well
It's a pity that most of the books on my list are oop, guess there's little interest for the publishers to reprint
Went to Okinawa in 2008 to visit a friend and give a short talk in his hospital
It's a nice place, relaxed, it's Japan yet it's not
Wandered around many museums, there are peace memorials too, chanced upon a ceremony then. I don't think I took many if any pictures though
Well I came back and immediately tracked down Eastwood's double feature and scoured wiki for info on the Pacific Theatre ;p
The year before, I also went to Chiran when the same friend was posted in Kagoshima
That was a solemn and distinctly unsettling experience
The Peace Museum was filled with the last relics of kamikaze pilots, writings and letters to their families, some lengthy multipage affairs, and some hastily scribbled notes on whatever paper they can find, unfolded matchbox or ripped out cloth, using blood or dirt; handmade dolls from the mothers to their sons. They were so young, some barely 17.
There was also a survivor giving a talk then; my friend's wife, who was my guide for that day, wasn't particularly fluent in English but she tried, and I understood. Still, language wasn't really necessary
Chiran Peace Museum
I ... visit the Battle at Green Ridge very often ;p
My uncle loves reading about the WW2 in Msia, and I remember going to his house and re-reading Ma-rai-ee many times over when as a child
Picked up The Jungle is Neutral by Spencer Chapman a few years back, good read as well
It's a pity that most of the books on my list are oop, guess there's little interest for the publishers to reprint
Went to Okinawa in 2008 to visit a friend and give a short talk in his hospital
It's a nice place, relaxed, it's Japan yet it's not
Wandered around many museums, there are peace memorials too, chanced upon a ceremony then. I don't think I took many if any pictures though
Well I came back and immediately tracked down Eastwood's double feature and scoured wiki for info on the Pacific Theatre ;p
The year before, I also went to Chiran when the same friend was posted in Kagoshima
That was a solemn and distinctly unsettling experience
The Peace Museum was filled with the last relics of kamikaze pilots, writings and letters to their families, some lengthy multipage affairs, and some hastily scribbled notes on whatever paper they can find, unfolded matchbox or ripped out cloth, using blood or dirt; handmade dolls from the mothers to their sons. They were so young, some barely 17.
There was also a survivor giving a talk then; my friend's wife, who was my guide for that day, wasn't particularly fluent in English but she tried, and I understood. Still, language wasn't really necessary
Chiran Peace Museum
I had some pictures, but they were very lousy. I was just starting out with underwater photography then.
about somewhere near the bottom of the page (or do ctrl+F "repulse") --> http://colouredshots.com/site/underwater.htm
The battleship was so huge, it was impossible to see the entire ship at once. We did 2 dives there, and still did not manage to cover the entire length. We could only spend 20 minutes max at the wreck for each dive, and spent about 30 minutes doing deco-stops.
The Prince of Wales was a little too far for our itinerary, and way beyond recreational limits, but technical divers go there regularly.
There's also the Varella Wreck (gyoshin maru) off Tioman, you can still see the twin AA guns distinctly on the reef. But the whole ship has pretty much disintegrated into scrap metal..
http://malaysia.greatestdivesites.com/other/gyoshin_maru_varella_wreck
Also dived the USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben in Bali. Huge transport that grounded itself after it was badly damaged, and its now one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
about somewhere near the bottom of the page (or do ctrl+F "repulse") --> http://colouredshots.com/site/underwater.htm
The battleship was so huge, it was impossible to see the entire ship at once. We did 2 dives there, and still did not manage to cover the entire length. We could only spend 20 minutes max at the wreck for each dive, and spent about 30 minutes doing deco-stops.
The Prince of Wales was a little too far for our itinerary, and way beyond recreational limits, but technical divers go there regularly.
There's also the Varella Wreck (gyoshin maru) off Tioman, you can still see the twin AA guns distinctly on the reef. But the whole ship has pretty much disintegrated into scrap metal..
http://malaysia.greatestdivesites.com/other/gyoshin_maru_varella_wreck
Also dived the USAT Liberty wreck at Tulamben in Bali. Huge transport that grounded itself after it was badly damaged, and its now one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
My grandmother (90+ years old and still around) survived both the 2nd Sino-Japanese war in China and WW2 after migrating to Kuala Krai, Kelantan (another battle site).
Heard stories from her on how my grandfather was mistakenly suspected to be an anti-Japanese insurgent and almost lost his head in China, and how the "han jian" (traitors) fooled everyone into giving up their hard-earned gold to the Japanese in Kuala Krai.
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