HKVA
President Report – Phil Doddridge
Greetings from a soggy Gaspe Coast.
Summer went by almost unnoticed, but we were fortunate to have escaped the full wrath of Hurricane Irene.
The National Convention was a huge success, thanks to Lucette and her team. Eight of us HK Vets showed up: Allison Pollock, Gerry Gerard, Bill Doull, Ken Pifher, Paul Dallain, Dempsey Syvret, Eric Batley and I. Each of us was presented with a beautiful plaque engraved with a message of thanks for serving during World War II. Very much appreciated.
I have three books to mention in this newsletter. The first is “Uncle Mac’s Diary”. It is a printing of Phil Gallie’s diary that he wrote while a POW in Hong Kong and Japan. Phil has long since departed, but I remember him well as a humourous and fun-loving fellow, a pleasure to be with. The book was prepared from his diary by his niece, Betsy (Cook) Dickie. It traces his experiences from embarkation leave to repatriation, with his good nature and optimism in evidence on every page.
The second book is “The Forces and the Faces” by Duane Duff with a foreword by Desmond Morton, historian and McGill professor. Duff records interviews with World War Veterans from all the service and gives a short biographical note on each one. The interviews of three HK Vets are recorded, namely Gerry Gerard, John Hoosha and myself. I found it interesting from a personal point of view, having become acquainted with Gerry in recent years and having known John Hoosha in prison camp all those years ago.
The third book, “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of Louie Zamperini, a bomb aimer in a B24 that crashed in the Pacific in 1943. Louie and the pilot survived 47 days drifting in a life raft, living on birds and fish they caught and rainwater they collected, only to be captured by the Japanese and spending the rest of the war in POW camps in the South Pacific and in Japan.
The stories of the beatings and indignities suffered by the POWs are described in graphic detail, and the details of prison life are meticulously researched and documented, mentioning such famous ex-POWs as Leonard Birchall and his wife, Kathleen.
After reading it, it now becomes clear to me, more than ever why we dug the tunnels in the hillsides of Kowloon. I have no doubt that in order for the Jap guards to carry out the order to kill all prisoners in the event of an allied invasion of the Japanese homeland; we would have been herded into those tunnels. A small detonation at the mouth of the tunnel would have caused the hillside to come tumbling down and entombed us, probably never to be discovered.
And finally, since I have used up probably more than my share of space I’ll say, that’s all for this time, and may God Bless
Philip