Liberated Prisoners from Bilibid
FREMONT, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year marks the 65th anniversary of liberation for U.S. civilians imprisoned by Japan during WWII in the Philippines. For the national organization, Bay Area Civilian Ex-POWs (BACEPOW), the anniversary has special meaning and is being celebrated with reunions and other events, which provide a forum for survivors to tell their stories of imprisonment, survival and liberation. It's a time for continued healing and reconciliation.
Few know that 14,000 American civilians were held as prisoners by Japan during WWII, 11% of them dying or disappearing from inhumane camps. Half were in the Philippines, a US Commonwealth where large numbers of Americans lived and worked, some second and third generation families. Their lives changed forever when Japan invaded in 1941.
"Many of us were children", says Sascha Jansen, who now leads tours to the sites of the POW camps. "We didn't understand why we were imprisoned, had to live in unbearable conditions, were poorly fed, and watched as many parents and friends starved to death".
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