Nov 9/25-Talk about “The Real Bridge over the River Kwai”

The movie was based on the fictional story by a French prisoner of war. It’s the story of the POWs sabotaging the building of the bridge.

It all started in Feb 1942 with the fall of Singapore. The Japanese goal was to take British India by going overland through Siam and Burma…250 miles through jungle, mountains and rivers. Japan needed manpower…. because they themselves were stretched thin. There were 140,000 of all different nationality POWs. They had to build their own accommodation. Before that they had to walk to where they were to build the railroad/bridges, through hot steamy jungle with mosquitos that caused dengue, malaria and dysentery was rampant. Their diet consisted of only 1/2 cup of rice or soup a day. They endured brutal treatment by Japanese and Korean soldiers. It took 60,000 allied prisoners of war to build plus 200,000 south Asian workers. No one tried to escape because of the thick jungle. They wouldn’t have a chance of survival. They felt that the only way to escape was to complete the railway. Only 4 workers worked together at a time….. one to chip away at the dirt or rock, one ti put it into containers and 2 to haul it away. The Japanese disregarded Geneva Convention on ethical treatment of prisoners. Elephants were also used and were also treated poorly, consequently dying. 1+ deaths of allies POWs plus many more SEAsians for each 2 sleepers. It was also called the Death Railway. There were over 100,000 deaths. The bridge was not blown up as in movie. The allies attempted to blow it up from air finally bombing 2 of spans of River Kwai bridge. The nuclear bombing of Japan brought about the release of ally POWs of as well as SE Asian POWs but many never recovered….. suffering from modern day PTSD. There is 80 miles in Thailand that remains even if the rest has been dismantled. The bodies of those that died were never repatriated. 1 person died for each 2 sleepers. The British military was not happy with the movie because it implied that the British helped the Japanese.