Dear Yuichi:
　
I was amazed to receive your very long letter of July 31st because you gave me much more details about the questions I had asked than I had expected to be answered. I appreciate the detailed answers because they gave me a better insight and understanding about the people and the questions I had in my mind. The information about the payments to the POWs was of special importance. None of the books that I have read mention anything about these payments. I will tabulate the information you have given me and I will give it to the Nimits Museum in order that it will be preserved for future generations.

I had two of the photographs ( Numbers 2 and 4 ) computer enhanced in an attempt to get some better details.Unfortunately, the photographs were of such poor quality that that(?) there was not very much improvement. I have sent you copies. Copies were also sent to Mrs.Sasamoto,Nagasawa and Nansai.

The Kempei in No.1 is familiar because I saw him a number of times in Omori; especially, when Kano was there. He was a nice person. It is Private Ito in No.2 Watanabe took an identical picture of me and me and Ito at that time. I can only guess that it is Ito in No.5 because of the similar stance ( the way he was standing ). I am sure that it is Capt. James in No.4. because he was the only POW in camp with white hair. I am reasonably sure the other person is Lt.Rees; but not positive. Both men are wearing the blue coats which the British medical personal had worn in either Singapore or Hong Kong. Watanabe has issued the coats to each of the POWs who serve as administrative officers in Omori. I have written Tom Wade in England to help in the identifications, but I have not yet received a reply from him. You have been of great assistance in helping to identify the people in the photographs. I am only in the No.1 picture. It could be Kano in No.3 and the Kempei, who is in No.1. I am sure that Watanabe could not be in any of the pictures because he was not in Omori at that time.

I am very glad to have your detailed account about the salaries which were paid to the POWs. I consider it to be very valuable information. The various stories you told were interesting and worthy of recording. I am sorry that I did not have this much information about the payments in time to include it in my book.

I still enjoy your account about taking Parker to the bank. I can see in my mind how the girls ( tellers ) reacted to his appearance because there was similar propaganda in the States about the Japanese. Parker was a good person. I can understand why it would have been a shock to you when McGraw suddenly said in front of a large crowd- "Hatto did not pay me."

There were a large number of civilians, who were held as POWs, in Omori at various times. There was one Estonian, the Norwegian merchantmen from some ships and a considerable number of Americans captured on Wake Island. The Americans were employees of the Knutsen Construction Company ( in Utah ) which had a contract to build airfields on some of the islands in the Pacifi for the U.S government before the war. The workers received a very high salary for their work and while they were held prisoners. They must have received a very large check from the company after they got home. I do not know how they were paid or if they were paid by the Japanese while they were in Omori.

I was surprised to learn that you had contacted the bank in Tokyo and alson in London after the war about the POW accounts. We did not receive any of this money; except for the Y10 a month credit in the canteen. We were no longer interested or concerned about the monies(monys?) at the endo of war because we were more interestd in going home and we considered the money worhless to us at that time. Altough it would be interesting to know what happened to the monies in the POWs accounts, we will never be able to find out anything about them at this late date. I may have some other questions for you about this subject after I have been able to tabulate all of the information you have given me.

I believe that Mrs.Sasamoto and Nagasawa have made the right decision about coming to the States in May and attending the ADBC meeting. It will be much more interesting there and they will meet more X-POWs at one place. I had mentioned only the names of Joe A. and B.J.Martin because they are the only ones whom I thought would be interesting enough to warrant ( worthy of ) the long drive to visit them. Butterworth was a possibility, but he is not in good condition and his memory is limited. Some of the people in my Texas list were B-29ers, who were only in Omori for a short time, and the others remember very little. For instance, Sedgie Hinson in Victoria could tell me very little about Omori the last time I saw him about four years ago. It seemed like he had washed or blanked his experiences from his mind. I will keep the two ladies informed about the ADBC meeting.

I will be glad to hear about Joe's trip to Japan and I will try to contact him after his return home.

I know how happy you must be in anticipating the Fulbright reunion in 2002. That would be a big event to look forward to in the future. You certainly have a good background in American history. The 1953 trip with the other students was a good adventure. You were fortunate in being able to cover so much ground ( go a long distance ). It is nice to have memories like this one. That is one reason why I enjoy traveling.

It was a disappointment to learn that your interview was not shown on U.S. television. I watched for it, but I never saw anything about the slave labor question. It must have been shown just before I received your letter.

I am looking forward to seeing Mrs.Sasamoto and Nagasawa in Hampton in May. I have been very impressed by their letters and by what you have told me about them. They must be very nice ladies.

My health is slowly improving. The surgeon said it would be about a year before recovery is complete. I still need to build up my strength, especially in my legs, before I make any long trips. I do have several short trips planned. I will attend a symposium at the Nimitz om(n?) September 31(30?) and October 1 ( Saturday and Sunday ). I am not sure if I will go to the annual reunion of my old Bomb Group which is in Las Vegas on October 1-4. I am not excited about Las Vegas, because I am not a gambler and the weather is too hot for me. There would only be several other former pilot(s?) whomI would know. I am still trying to decide if I want to go to a high school reunion in Brownsville, Texas, on October 20-24. I have never been to one of their reunions. Although it would be nice to see some of my former class-mates again, I keep thinking that perhaps it is better to remember them as they were in their younger days rather than to see how they have aged. I do not think the girls would be as pretty as they seemed to be when I was young.

It is still very hot there. We are having a very hot and dry summer in Austin. Usually, we may have only a few days in the 100 degrees range, but now it is weeks. It was 103 twice this week. We can water the lawns only on every fifth day and in the evening. The grades in many yards have turned brown. Dallas, and especially Houston, have had a lot of rain. The western part of Texas is very dry. We are hoping that several weather disturbances in the Gulf of Mexico may bring us some relief.

I thank you for all of the detailed information. I know and appreciate the long time it took to provide me with it. My best wishes to you and your family.


Sincerely
Bob
Robert R. Martindale