Beijing Press Conference of American WW II POWs Memorial Visiting Group
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Organized by the Truth Council for WWII in Asia, a 10-member delegation of American WWII POWs and their relatives visited China, during which they gave a press conference at the CPAFFC on May 25. The American veterans spread friendship between the American and Chinese people, and the love of world peace by reviewing history and sharing their experience during WWII. Journalists and photographers from dozens of news agencies, namely Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, CCTV, beijing Youth Daily, Reuters, etc. attended the conference.
The Veterans told the journalists that they were sent to Shenyang POW camp by Japanese forces in 1942. 65 years later, they returned to the site of the POW camp and donated valuable personal artifacts such as the uniforms they wore in those years, dog tags, etc. to the exhibition hall of the WWII Shenyang Allied POW Camp. During WWII, Americans fought shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people against the Japanese aggressors till the final victory. The veterans also expressed their love for the hard-fought peace and their sincere friendship with the people of China, both of which came at the cost of great sacrifice of both nations.
At the press conference, though some of the veterans spoke with a mumble, the three and a half years' miserable experience as POWs was lucid in their minds. Roy Weaver, camp number 610, recalled, “It was extremely cold, several dozens degrees below zero when we arrived in Shenyang. We were starving. Troopers fell one by one… We were weak, ailing and without any medical care. We lost more than 200 people in that single winter.”
Among all the veterans, Harald Leith is very special. He was a U.S. paratrooper sent to rescue the POWs. He said, “As soon as Japan surrendered in August 1945, we arrived in Shenyang. But the Japanese soldier had not yet learned the news of surrender. We were only able to meet all the american POWs on the next day when the Japanese forces in Shenyang finally received the surrender order from Tokyo.”
Mr. K. L. Wang, president of the Truth Council for wwii in Asia, introduced the organization as a non-governmental academic group, with a task to unveil the atrocities committed by the Japanese troops during WWII. Over the past 60 years, there was no compensation received by the pows from the Japanese government. The Truth Council will continue urging a formal apology from the Japanese authorities. At present, the organization is seeking support from the U.S. Congress, demanding the U.S. government to raise the compensation issue with their Japanese counterpart through formal diplomatic channels. President Wang extended sincere gratitude to the Chinese leaders and people who demonstrated a great respect for history by erecting a museum on top of the cluster of brick buildings of POWs Camp.
After the press conference, Mr. Wang Hongqiang, deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC, entertained the veteran group. He spoke highly of the veterans who left home and fought for justice at the risk of life and expressed gratitude for their great contributions to fighting against the Japanese aggression. Their visit to China no doubt demonstrated the everlasting friendship between the American and the Chinese people.