WWII Christmas Letter From Grateful POW

MAY GOD BLESS YOU, YOUR AIR FORCE, AND YOUR COUNTRY, NOT ONLY IN 1946 BUT FOR EVER AFTER!

As a member of the Vander Schans crew my most enjoyable experience as far as missions go was to drop supplies to the POW camps. We were assigned to fly over to Saipan where our aircraft was loaded with pallets for the camps. A couple of us thought we should enclose a note and a news magazine that we had. I found some paper that I had in my navigator’s briefcase and we agreed that we should address the note with “Gentlemen”. The gist of the message was that, “After having flown a number of bombing missions a flight to a POW camp would be enjoyable”; and, “We wish you freedom, good health, and a return home as soon as possible;” plus, “would like to hear from you whenever convenient.” I signed the note.

Lt. Alex N. Beichek
18 High Street
Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Manila, 17th December 1945

In just a few lines I want to wish you and your family a merry and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 1946. I hope that the New Year will bring you much happiness and that your dearest wishes may be realized.

But before I write further, let me introduce myself: I am one of the 500 (now ex) P.O.Ws who stood cheering themselves a sore throat on that unforgettable 8th September 1945 at the P.O.W. Camp Fukuoka No.2 on Kayagijima (an island) near what was left of Nagasaki, when your plane roared as low over our camp as you dared to risk, and who stood with tears in their eyes when reading that sympathetic little note you had dropped, telling us in a few well-chosen words that this was a mission you enjoyed going on and that you just wanted us to know that you were behind us.

No other words could have gone more direct to our hearts than those of these few simple sentences, and the man of your crew who drafted them must be a psychologist because it said just what all of us needed so badly – a little bit of cheering up and the proof that there were still people who cared for us and “stood behind us.”

No other thing could have given us back our self-confidence so quickly as those constant visits by your planes, which came again and again circling around and diving at our camp as if they wanted to show the Japs that in a civilized country people do not consider a P.O.W. as an inferior sort of being.

The first time you came over most of us stood crying especially when you waved with your wings at us. And this time none of us grown-up men felt ashamed of his tears.

And after this those supplies!! For years we had been talking and dreaming about good food and the things we were going to eat after we had won the war. (Amongst the papers of nearly all the poor fellows who died in our camp we found some written recipes.) And suddenly a rain of the best food we could imagine made those dreams come true. It was like in a fairy tale!

And please never forget that by that fine job you did that day you created more happiness in a few hours than most people are able to create in a life time. I hope that this knowledge will repay you just a little bit for all your efforts.

Million, million thanks! I pray that once in my life I’ll get an opportunity to do something nice in return to some of you!

May God bless you, your Air Force, and your country, not only in 1946 but for ever after!

Gratefully yours,
I. I.  Budding, Lt. Royal Netherlands
East India Army