WWII Japanese aircrew laid to rest in Cowra

[kurohinge1]

WWII Japanese aircrew laid to rest in Cowra

(ABC TV PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT)
Broadcast: 29/05/2006[Floatr][/Floatr]

KERRY O'BRIEN: It may have ended more than 60 years ago, but the echoes of World War II still occasionally reverberate. Last August, the remains of 28 Australian servicemen and an army nurse were finally laid to rest after the wreckage of their crashed aircraft was recovered from the highlands of New Guinea. Now, the remains of more than 30 Japanese aircrew, killed when their aircraft were shot down over Northern Australia, have been identified and laid to rest in the NSW town of Cowra, which has the only official Japanese war cemetery outside Japan. It's a tale of historical detective work, reconciliation and one family's journey of discovery . . . more

[GomiGirl]

Cowra - OMG really? I have picked fruit near there. It is really in the middle of rural NSW.

[kurohinge1]

Cowra - OMG really? I have picked fruit near there. It is really in the middle of rural NSW.

Cowra makes sense because of the Japanese graves already there following the "Cowra Breakout" in August 1944 ...

. . . The actions of the Japanese POWs in storming machine gun posts, armed only with improvised weapons, showed what Australian Prime Minister John Curtin later described as a "suicidal disregard of life". Nevertheless, 359 POWs escaped. Some prisoners, rather than escaping, attempted or committed suicide, or were killed by their countrymen. Some of those who did escape committed suicide, or were killed, to avoid recapture. All those still alive were recaptured within 10 days of the breakout.

. . . During the breakout and subsequent rounding up of POWs, four Australian soldiers and 234 Japanese (some sources say 231) died and 108 prisoners were wounded. The leaders of the breakout commanded their escapees not to attack Australian civilians, and none were killed or injured.

. . . Cowra maintains a significant Japanese war cemetery, and a Japanese garden was later built in the town to commemorate these events. The garden was designed by Ken Nakajima in the style of the Edo period . . .more