Forgotten History of Pacific Asia War Pacific Atrocities Education

Meet Wang Xuan, a woman who is working tirelessly to seek justice for victims of biological weapons of Unit 731.  

Born in 1952 in Shanghai,   China,   Wang Xuan graduated from a university in China and worked as an English teacher for over ten years.    In 1993 she received a Master's Degree in Education with distinction from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.    In 1995,   she discovered by chance what would turn out to be the cause to which she would dedicate her life's work.    From a news article in an English newspaper about the First International Symposium on Unit 731 held in Harbin,   China,   she learned that Japanese peace activists had been reported going to Chongshan Village,   Yiwu,   Zhejiang Province,   China,   to investigate the plague epidemic caused by Unit seven three one's bacterial warfare in World War II.   This cause had been special in Wang Xuan's heart as her family was from Zhejiang.   During WWII,   Zhejiang was of strategic importance,   as several airfields in the area were used as Allied bases.   The Zhejiang Jiangxi Railway also was viewed as an important supply line.   The Imperial Japanese Army then launched strategic attacks on the railway from May to September of 1942.    This was also directed at the allies in retaliation for the "Doolittle" air raids on Tokyo by the U.S. bombers.    Due to the number of ground troops in the area,   the Japanese Imperial Army considered it considerably more cost effective to use biological weapons than any other method.

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Pearl Harbor was a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, located west of Honolulu. On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in a surprise attack. ​

Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy came to the conclusion that for the Japanese to be victorious in the pacific, they had to destroy the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.  Pearl Harbor was considered to be geographically perfect for the United States to have their Pacific fleet based there. The island had a narrow entrance and shallow water which made it an ideal and impenetrable fort. An attack by enemy forces was thought to have been impossible.  Prior to the attack, Japanese Naval forces practiced the attack at Kagoshima Bay, a Japanese base. It was described as the “twin sister” of Pearl Harbor for its near-identical structure.

References


World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor Documentary. Date Accessed September 19, 2017.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnQ_6h3VtRo
Pearl Harbor Naval Base. Date Accessed September 22,2017.https://www.pinterest.com/dmschaffner/world-war-ii-and-pearl-harbor/
USS Arizona Memorial. Date Accessed September 19,2017.https://visitpearlharbor.org/history-of-the-uss-arizona-memorial/
USS Oklahoma. Pearl Harbor-USS Oklahoma: The Final Story. Date Accessed October 3,2017.http://www.pbs.org/program/pearl-harbor-uss-oklahoma-final-story/


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Burma was a mountainous country nestled between British India and Japan occupied China. Prior to 1941, Burma was of little importance to countries such as Great Britain and the United States. The mountainous region of Burma discouraged any type of trade or travel. Only once did the campaign of the Japanese to control Southeast Asia began, did Great Britain and the United States realize the value of Burma.

From the beginning, Great Britain and the United States agreed that Burma was strategic in defeating Japan. Interestingly enough, Great Britain and the United States differed in their motives for protecting Burma. First, Great Britain viewed Burma as a barrier between British India and Japan occupied China. The barrier between these two countries would secure the safety of the “Crown Jewel of the British Empire”. In contrast, the United States saw Burma as a lifeline for China, which was under occupation by Japan. The United States believed that if they were to hold Burma, the Chinese could overthrow Japan and take back their country. The continued support of the Chinese was an effort by Franklin D. Roosevelt to gain a potential ally in China.

References


Xu, Guangqiu. War Wings: The United States and Chinese Military Aviation 1929-1949. Greenwood Press (2001).
American Office of War Information. The Stilwell Road.1945. Narrated by Ronald Reagan.
BBC Worldwide, Nugus/Martin Productions Ltd. Gladiators of World War II: The Chindits. Narrated by Robert Powell.2002. British Broadcasting Casting.TV
Burma Star Association. Burma Campaign: Diary 1942-1945. Date Accessed September 15,2017.https://www.burmastar.org.uk/burma-campaign/diary-1941-45/1945/


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The Imperial Japanese Forces attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippine Islands simultaneously. This planned attack on these two specific areas was a strategic attack that meant American control in the Pacific and expand Japan’s territory. Following the surrender of the Allies at the Battle of Corregidor, all radio connections and communications ceased as the Japanese military invaded the Philippine Islands. Despite the lack of communication, some American and Filipino soldiers were able to evade the Japanese and go into hiding. One of those soldiers who was able to escape was Ramon Magsaysay Sr. who would become a prominent leader in the Western Luzon Guerrilla Force.

References


Xu, Klytie; Salinas, Baterina Anne Stacey. Philippines’ Resistance: The Last Allied Stronghold in the Pacific. Pacific Atrocities Education.2017
Encyclopedia Britannica.Hukbalahap Rebellion. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://www.britannica.com/event/Hukbalahap-Rebellion
Britannica Encyclopedia.Hukbalahap Rebellion. Date Accessed October 6,2017.https://www.britannica.com/event/Hukbalahap-Rebellion.
Wikipedia. Ramon Magsaysay Sr. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Magsaysay
Pinterest.Child soldier. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238550111491419417/?lp=true
https://www.tumblr.com/search/philippine%20world%20war%20ii
Villasanta, Art. The Filipino Nation-in-Arms and its defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II. Date Accessed October 6,2017.http://filipinonationinarms.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-philippines-was-grave-of-dai-nippon.html


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There is no person more important to Singapore’s modern history than Lee Kuan Yew. He led Singapore into the modern age, guiding Singapore from a devastated British colony to a thriving and prosperous independent city-state. His determination to reshape Singapore was shaped in part by his experiences during the brutal Japanese occupation.

References


Lee, Kuan Yew. From Third World to First: the Singapore Story, 1965-2000: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew p. 502
Chew, Cassandra. “The Rickshaw Puller Who Saved Lee Kuan Yew.” The Straits Times
Josey, Alex. Lee Kuan Yew. p. 41
Bowring, Philip. “Lee Kuan Yew Obituary.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/22/lee-kuan-yew.
Chew, Cassandra. “The Rickshaw Puller Who Saved Lee Kuan Yew.” The Straits Times, The Straits Times, 19 Jan. 2016, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-rickshaw-puller-who-saved-lee-kuan-yew.
Chng, Henedick. “4 Intriguing Stories of How 4 of S’Pore’s Founding Fathers Survive the Japanese Occupation.” Mothership.SG , Mothership, 15 Feb. 2017, mothership.sg/2017/02/4-intriguing-stories-of-how-4-of-spores-founding-fathers-survive-the-japanese-occupation/.
Josey, Alex. Lee Kuan Yew. Time Books Internaitonal Times Centre, 1980.
“Lee Kuan Yew.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 22 Mar. 2015, www.economist.com/news/asia/leekuanyew.
Lee, Kuan Yew. From Third World to First: the Singapore Story, 1965-2000: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew. Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2015.


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During World War 2, there were non-Filipinos soldiers who decided not to surrender with some running off to safety and others being cut off in their location at the time of surrender behind the Imperial Japanese Army's line. ​These men chose to serve along the side of their Filipino allies during World War II in the resistance against the Japanese thus becoming guerrillas. This list of men also includes those who were inserted through submarines on various Philippine islands. These men were sent there to conduct different intelligent functions most commonly radio operators or coastwatchers, but they fought with guerrillas and served beside them as well. These Filipino and American soldiers went through inhumanity and deprivation at the hands of the Japanese who were responsible for transporting them. The Guerrillas also fell subject to horrible torture by the Japanese followed by beheading usually after being forced to dig their own graves.

References


http://www.west-point.org/family/japanese-pow/Guerrillas/Guerrillas-Main.htm
https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/ch10.htm
http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/guerrilla-war-on-luzon-during-world-war-ii/


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