PRISONER OF THE RISING SUN TEX1AS A&0MUN3IVERSITY ✩ ✩ MILITARYHISTORYSERIES joseph g. dawson iii, general editor editorial board: robert doughty brian linn craig symonds robert wooster PRISONER OF THE RISING SUN - the lost diary of brig. gen. lewis beebe edited by john m. beebe introduction by stanley l. falk texas a&m university press college station Copyright © 2006by John M. Beebe Introduction copyright © 2006by Stanley L. Falk Manufactured in the United States of America All rights reserved First edition The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48–1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. o Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beebe, Lewis, 1891-1951. Prisoner of the rising sun : the lost diary of Brig. Gen. Lewis Beebe / edited by John M. Beebe ; introduction by Stanley L. Falk.—1st ed. p. cm. — (Texas A&M military history series ; no. 103) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58544-481-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Beebe, Lewis, 1891-1951—Diaries. 2. World War, 1939-1945—Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 3. World War, 1939-1945—Personal narrarives, American. 4. Concentration camps—Philippines. 5. Concentration camps—Taiwan. 6. Concentration camps— China—Manchuria. 7. Prisoners of war—Japan—Diaries. 8. Prisoners of war—United States—Diaries. I. Beebe, John M., 1928- . II. Title. III. Series: Texas A & M University military history series ; 103. D805.P6B442006 940.54’7252’092—dc22[B] 2005021941 This book is dedicated to the memory of Brig. Gen. Lewis Charles Beebe, my father, who was both a gallant soldier and a great dad, and also to my mother, Dorothy McRae Beebe, wife, daughter, and granddaughter of Regular Army officers, who knew all there was to know about being an army daughter, wife, and mother. -CONTENTS List of Illustrations ix Preface xi part i background for the diary Introduction, by Stanley L. Falk 3 A Short Biography of Lewis Charles Beebe 13 Timeline of Brigadier General Beebe’s POW Experience 17 List of Abbreviations Used in the Diary 18 part ii the diary 1941 21 1942 33 1943 128 1944 192 Epilogue 222 Notes 225 Index 237 -ILLUSTRATIONS following page 16 Surrender meeting Cartoon of General Beebe General Beebe at Shirakawa POW camp POW canteen ticket Meeting with Red Cross representative Signed Wainwright photo Beebe, Wainwright, and Hennesey after release from prison camp Beebe, King, Wainwright, and Hennesey after release from Mukden prison camp Japanese superintendent’s office Cemetery for POWs at Mukden Prison camp at Mukden Japanese surrender Brig. Gen. Lewis C. Beebe, 1947 Brig. Gen. and Mrs. Lewis C. Beebe, 1949 maps following page 32 Disposition of U.S. Army Forces, Far East Corregidor Island Advance Japanese landings Delaying position and date reached