[Dixielandjazz] Re: Prisoners of War
JimDBB@aol.com
JimDBB@aol.com
Wed, 21 Aug 2002 21:27:59 EDT
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In a message dated 8/21/02 3:22:07 PM Central Daylight Time,
barbonestreet@earthlink.net writes:
> Agree with Dixie on "Ghost Soldiers". Hope they make a movie out of it to
> reach
> the rest of the people in this great country.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> Ghost Soldiers is a great book. The story of the rescue of American
> prisoners who were about to be executed by the Japs.
Donald Versaw is an avid Traditional jazz fan in So. Cal. Don was with
the 4th Marines Regimental Band in world War II who, serving as infantry,
were captured on Corrigedor. He was written a little book on what happened
to the 50 Bandsmen and Field Musics that were prisoners in Japan and other
places much of the war. Don has remarked that the taller you were the more
you got beat up. The Drum Major was the tallest and got dumped on the most.
Some of them did not survive. One that survived, John Latham, stayed in the
Corps after the War. He was a fine flutist and I served with him in the 3rd.
Marine Division Band. We were in Japan in 1954 and our Division was split up
all over Japan. The Band was with Headquarters and in a camp out in the
boondocks called Camp Gifu. John Latham had been a prisoner in this same
damn camp. He was a very senior non-com and I got up my nerve one day and
asked him how he could stand to be there. He certainly could have gotten
transferred. He shrugged.
Of many horrors perpetrated by the Japs the Versaw told me about, the one
that stands out is the 'Palawan Massacre.' This was in the Philippines and
the Japs took 200 prisoners and put them in a deep trench. They threw
gasoline over them and lit it on fire. After the war they tried to claim that
the trench was an air raid shelter and they were in it during an air raid and
got bombed. As it turned out one of the prisoners escaped into the
countryside and lived to tell the story.
Lat year I wrote to Col. Tim Foley, the director of the U.s. Marine Band in
Washington. D.C. I sent him a copy of Versaw's book, "the last China Band"
and aksed if they had ever done a concert commemorating those guys in the 4th
Marines Band. I said that many have passed on recently and only a handful are
left. He replied at once and said, no, they had not and that it should be
done. In the letter I told him how to get in touch with Versaw. But neither
Don nor I have heard any more word on this.
Footnote, Fred Stumpges, a Field Music with the 4th Marines Band also stayed
in the Corps after World War II and was captured again in Korea. He died not
long after
release.
I told Don Versaw that he had to write up Fred Stumpges's story. I said that
no one knows that these guys ever existed or that musicians also served in
combat. He did write it up and it was published in a Military Magazine.
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated 8/21/02 3:22:07 PM Central Daylight Time, barbonestreet@earthlink.net writes:<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Agree with Dixie on "Ghost Soldiers". Hope they make a movie out of it to reach<BR>
the rest of the people in this great country.<BR>
<BR>
Cheers,<BR>
Steve Barbone<BR>
<BR>
Ghost Soldiers is a great book. The story of the rescue of American prisoners who were about to be executed by the Japs. </BLOCKQUOTE> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"> Donald Versaw is an avid Traditional jazz fan in So. Cal. Don was with the 4th Marines Regimental Band in world War II who, serving as infantry, were captured on Corrigedor. He was written a little book on what happened to the 50 Bandsmen and Field Musics that were prisoners in Japan and other places much of the war. Don has remarked that the taller you were the more you got beat up. The Drum Major was the tallest and got dumped on the most. Some of them did not survive. One that survived, John Latham, stayed in the Corps after the War. He was a fine flutist and I served with him in the 3rd. Marine Division Band. We were in Japan in 1954 and our Division was split up all over Japan. The Band was with Headquarters and in a camp out in the boondocks called Camp Gifu. John Latham had been a prisoner in this same damn camp. He was a very senior non-com and I got up my nerve one day and asked him how he could stand to be there. He certainly could have gotten transferred. He shrugged.<BR>
<BR>
Of many horrors perpetrated by the Japs the Versaw told me about, the one that stands out is the 'Palawan Massacre.' This was in the Philippines and the Japs took 200 prisoners and put them in a deep trench. They threw gasoline over them and lit it on fire. After the war they tried to claim that the trench was an air raid shelter and they were in it during an air raid and got bombed. As it turned out one of the prisoners escaped into the countryside and lived to tell the story.</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BR>
Lat year I wrote to Col. Tim Foley, the director of the U.s. Marine Band in Washington. D.C. I sent him a copy of Versaw's book, "the last China Band" and aksed if they had ever done a concert commemorating those guys in the 4th Marines Band. I said that many have passed on recently and only a handful are left. He replied at once and said, no, they had not and that it should be done. In the letter I told him how to get in touch with Versaw. But neither Don nor I have heard any more word on this.<BR>
<BR>
Footnote, Fred Stumpges, a Field Music with the 4th Marines Band also stayed in the Corps after World War II and was captured again in Korea. He died not long after<BR>
release.<BR>
<BR>
I told Don Versaw that he had to write up Fred Stumpges's story. I said that no one knows that these guys ever existed or that musicians also served in combat. He did write it up and it was published in a Military Magazine.<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>
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