Caution: The Gibbs reports were prepared post-war based upon assorted prisoner affidavits and, apparently, on the reports of the International Red Cross representatives in Japan who were notorious for their bias in favor of the Japanese.

1. LOCATION:

This camp, on the crest of an ancient slag and rock pile, was located between the villages of Futase & Iizuka, approximately 50 miles from Moji on the north and 45 miles from Fukuoka on the west. Nakatsu, on the Inland Sea, was approximately 35 miles northeast of Futase. The coordinates of the latter are 33º26'N., 131º05'E.

Size of compound was 300' x 300' and was surrounded by a 10' wood fence. Bamboo pilings, sharp ends up and pointing inward, had been fastened into the barricade at the top. An alarm system had been fastened in the fence.

The project was mining coal in the mines of Honko & Shinko Mining Company. It was a typical mining town. The power plant of the Mining Co. was located here and was topped by 4 smoke stacks said to be about 100 feet high.

2. PRISONER PERSONNEL:

A detail of 200 American prisoners from the Philippines reached this camp on 4 August 1944, the Senior Officer being Capt. (now Lt. Colonel) Roscoe Price. A Capt. Corrigan was of the officer detail, and Capt. Barshop, Army Medical Corps was the Camp Surgeon whose associate was Capt. Sidney Vernon, Army Med. Corps. The American personnel was divided among the service groups as follows: Army 75; Navy 65 and Marines 60.

This installation was first occupied by 350 Dutch and 2 British prisoners in 1942. The total of 552 reached after the arrival of the American contingent remained about the came until the camp was liberated.

3. GUARD PERSONNEL:

The first commandant was 1st Lt. Seijiro Yashitsugu who was succeeded by Tsuyoshi Sakai. Camp doctor was Yoshiwaka Suenaga whose assistant was Sugi Horibumu. Two guards merely indicated by nicknames as "Gorilla" and "Blackjack", along with the medical assistant, were extremely cruel in their beatings of the prisoners, and in the most of the cases the prisoners themselves did not know the cause. See further under the sub-heading of "Treatment".

4. GENERAL CONDITIONS:

(a) HOUSING FACILITIES: there were 2 barracks, light frame structures, unheated and very poor lighting. One barracks, rectangular in shape, was 120' long by 40' wide. The camp hospital and a latrine were located in this building, which also contained prisoner sleeping quarters divided into 3 rooms with double deck bays for sleeping. The larger barracks, divided into 14 rooms, was built in the shape of the letter "U". Each wing was 120' x 40'. The enclosed end of this building also was 120' x 40'. This structure was divided into 15 rooms, each holding from 20 to 40 prisoners and was equipped with 2 elevated sleeping platforms, one being 8" from the floor and the other at an elevation of about 6'. Neither of these barracks was insulated. The floor in the larger building was concrete. The smaller building was floored with wood. The roofs were of leaky tile. The barracks were filthy and infested with vermin of every kind. The other buildings for the prisoners in addition to the barracks were 3 for storage; 1 bath house; 1 combined mess hall and kitchen and 1 carpenter shop. A covered outside latrine had been erected.

(b) LATRINES: A single latrine was in the smaller barracks and at the end thereof. Two were in the larger building and a separate latrine had been provided in a disconnected structure. Holes were cut into and flush with the floors with receiving pits underneath. Straddle type. The latrines were emptied by the prisoners, equipped with buckets, at least twice weekly. Concrete urinals had been installed in the latrines.

(c) BATHING: A separate bath building had been erected and it was entirely inadequate. The bath was equipped with 3 concrete tubs, 2 of which were 7' x 10' x 4' and one was 4' x 7' x 4'. The water was heated by steam but the building was not heated.

(d) MESS HALL: A rectangular building with 2 ells making out from one corner and one end. It was equipped with tables, benches and dishes for feeding the prisoners. The size and equipment of this structure enabled the seating of 400 prisoners at a time. The two ells evidently contained the kitchen and a store room. The building was constantly filthy, and was unheated and unlighted. Because of leaky roof the building could not be used when it was raining.

(e) FOOD: Rice, as usual, was the staple item of diet ranging in amount per man per day of 260 to 350 grams. Soup made from vegetable tops and vines and sea weed, poorly prepared, was also served as well as small portions of fish, both of which were consistently putrid. The cooking was done by Dutch prisoners using steam heat. No meat was served. The rice was of good quality. The menu was varied from time to time but the quantity of food in these words: "hunger will drive one to eat most anything."

(f) MEDICAL FACILITIES: Capt. Barshop, Army Med. Corps, was the Camp Surgeon, but worked under the direction of a Japanese Army officer who willingly shifted his responsibility upon the shoulders of the American officer who by temperament and medical skill is credited with saving many lives and boosting morale under disheartening conditions. Little or no medicines could be obtained. There were no hospital facilities. Capt. Barshop also protected the prisoners against the imposition of work decrees issued by the Japanese camp physician when they were too weak to stand on their feet for even a brief period.

The sick prisoners were bedded on filthy bags in sick bays located in the smaller barracks. Proper food could not be obtained and no cooperation could be obtained from the Japanese officers.

(g) SUPPLIES:

(1) Red Cross - Y.M.C.A. - Other relief. Three 10-pound Red Cross food parcels were issued, one at Christmas 1944, one in Feb. 1945 and the third one after surrender. These parcels constituted the entire issue by the Japanese from Red Cross supplies.

(2) Japanese Issue: The Japanese issued to the American prisoners shortly after their arrival 1 cotton summer uniform, shorts and shirts made of flour sacks and one coverall suit. Canvas shoes were given to the prisoners. Winter clothing issued in Nov. 1944. After Nov. 1944, no further clothing was given out.

(h) MAIL: (1) Incoming: None. (2) Outgoing: On 2 occasions the prisoners were allowed to write 25-word cards. Letters varying in length was a privilege extended to a few of the prisoners.

(i) WORK: The job was mining coal in the mines of the Honko & Shinko Mining Co. From the time of leaving the barracks in the morning until the return of the enlisted prisoners at night, the working period was 11 to 14 hours. The officers were assigned to work in the camp such as mess detail, service in the library, morning muster and physical drill. Enlisted men too sick to work in the mines were assigned to emptying latrines and other menial forms of work. Working conditions were very bad. The mines were wet and the air was suffocating. One mine was 3,800 feet deep and the other had an inclined shaft 200 yards long set at an angle of 45 degrees. No safety measures had been installed. Inadequacy of food and frequency of mistreatment by Japanese soldiers and civilian mine workers impelled one prisoner to state that "this life is possible only with the knowledge that to tough it out would some day mean freedom."

(J) TREATMENT: Proclaimed to have been brutal with variation. While no charges of cruelty were lodged against the commandant, it is apparent that he condoned the constant beatings. The officer medical assistant is charged with doing the "dirty work" of the Japanese medical officer in engineering some of the punishments to which the prisoners were subjected. Reference is made to the medical assistant and 2 guards under the subheading "Guard Personnel". The testimony of 4 prisoners of the U.S.M.C., 2 of the Navy, and 1 of the Army declare that the beatings of the prisoners, frequently into insensibility, were administered for the slightest cause, generally unknown to the offender, and that they were so cruel and damaging as to require hospitalization.

(k) PAY: (1) Officers: From 20 to 50 yen per month.
                (2) Enlisted Men: 15 sen per day. Sergeants and Master Sergeants 20 and 25 sen per day respectively.

(1) RECREATION: None provided. Even had facilities been furnished the prisoners, by reason of their weakened condition, could not have indulged in any forms of physical exercise beyond that imposed by their work detail. Incidental mention is made to a library probably furnished by the Y.M.C.A.

(m) RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES: The first camp commandant would not permit religious services. As the time of American victory approached some limited religious services were conducted. There were no chaplains in the camp.

(n) MORALE: Fluctuating according to food and "grapevine" news.

5. MOVEMENTS:

This camp was liberated 16 September 1945. The prisoners in several groups were taken by train to Nagasaki from which port they embarked on American steamers via various routes to the United States.