Thread: Former POW pays respect to Japan

BBC NEWS | England | Somerset | Former POW pays respect to Japan

A former prisoner of war from Somerset whose life was saved by a Japanese Navy captain in World War II has been to Japan to pay his respects.

Sir Sam Falle, from Frome, was among 400 men pulled to safety from the Java Sea by a Japanese warship after their destroyer HMS Encounter was torpedoed.

Sir Sam, 89, was invited to a special service in Japan to honour Shunsaku Kudo - the captain who saved him.

Capt Shunsaku Kudo died in 1975 (kyt: other sources say 1979) and is a recognised national hero in Japan.

'Saved many lives'

Sir Sam, speaking from his home in Somerset, said: "He was putting his ship in great danger. There were certainly allied submarines in the Java Sea.

"He could have been bombed. This was a Japanese individual who was gallant and who saved not only my life but the lives of many of my comrades."

"I can remember Capt Shunsaku Kudo telling us that we were the honoured guests of the Imperial Japanese Navy."

Sir Sam's son-in-law Des Harris, who accompanied him to Japan earlier in December, said: "The way in which I admire my father-in-law so much is because he has said - let's look at the positive, let's try to forget the brutality.

"Let's try to reconcile the Japanese and the British and he has played his part in that and it can only be a good thing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Encounter_(H10)
Shunsaku Kud� - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An interesting story I had not been aware of. Thanks Kyt. The other side of the coin as it were.