Hubert Knoxville
The Man Behind the Legend
By John Daugulis
• December 7, 1941 Japan declares war on
the Philippians
• December 7, 1941 Japan declares war on
America.
• December 8, 1941 America declares war
on Japan.
• May 4, 1942 Japan captures the city of
Corregidor
• September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders
This letter was sent from me, Hubert Knoxville to my beloved wife just
after I was sent off to Japan to fight. Many Americans signed up for war
right after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor because they thought it
was the noble thing to do. This letter was sent on December 9, 1941.
Dear Margery,
I am writing to you as I am being shipped off to
Japan. There are so many Americans going off to war with
me. I believe that most of them have singed up for the
same reason I have. Those damn Japs bombing Pearl
Harbor, we will show them just what it means to be
American. I am a little scared though, for I do not wish to be
captured by the Japanese because I have heard that they
are ruthless. Do not worry for me though I will be fine.
Goodbye for now from Hubert.
March 15, 1942
These are some pictures that show the camp where I
was held and how skinny the men were. The
Japanese were known to have some of the worst
prisoner of war camps. The inmates would be beaten
and starved if they did something wrong or went out
of line. The prisoners were also not fed very much to
begin with.
March 25, 1942- The inmates of this Japanese POW
camp wave at a plane flying overhead.
This is a newspaper article that I found that was printed
while I was in captivity. This article is from March 15, 1942.
It depicts how tiny the cabins were. It also shows how
skinny some of the prisoners were because of starvation.
This was another letter I sent to my loved one back in the
United States of America. In this letter I described the place
I had been taken to by the Japanese. I also told her how
the inmates in the camp with me were treated
Dear Margery, May 4, 1942
The Japanese have captured our battalion while we
were fighting in Corregidor in the Philippians. They are
taking us to a camp just outside of the city. The
conditions here are very harsh. If you step out of line or
challenge the guards in any way you will either be
beaten severly, put into a small dark room or even
killed. I do not know how long they will keep us here our
captains are saying not for too long but I do not believe
that. Please do not worry about me thought, I shall be
fine.
Goodbye my love for now, Hubert.
This is a photo I pulled out of a newspaper printed on May 4, 1942. Its
shows how terrible we were treated. We would be punished for many
different things. Sometimes they would punish us when we did nothing
at all. This was the punishment for trying to escape. In Japanese POW
camps Americans were dying at a rate of 37% while in captivity.
This is a photo of what the Japanese call a katana.
Katanas are long swords that are extremely sharp. They
were used by the Samurai in ancient times in battles. In
World War 2 the Japanese sometimes used them as
weapons of punishment for prisoners that disobeyed the
law.
This is a photo that I found in a newspaper printed on
February 19, 1943. It shows some of the people that were
imprisoned in the camp with me. By this time most of us
had been in this camp for almost two years. The
Japanese running the place would rarely feed us so we
would become very skinny.
This poster is from the United States trying to get people to
sign up for the navy. So many of these propaganda posters
were printed after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
This poster was printed on December 10, 1941.
This is another poster from World War 2. This
one was one of the many printed at the time .
Many of my fellow Americans that were on the
boat with me were convinced to enlist in the
war because of these propaganda posters.
This poster was printed on January 8, 1941.
I was stationed in a city in the Philippians
called Corregidor. This photo was taken on
the day we were overtaken by the Japanese
and were forced to surrender on May 4,
1942.
This photo shows us marching into the camp we are going
to be prisoners in. The camp was in terrible shape, the
bunks were full of bugs and the roofs had holes in them.
This photo was taken in May 1942.
This was the last letter I sent to my wife during
WW2. I sent it on September 2, 1945. This was the
day that Japan surrendered and we were released
from the POW camps.
Dear Margery, Sept 2, 1945
I am writing to you on the happiest day of my life. Japan
has surrendered and we are being freed. I am also sad
though because many of my friends did not live to see
this day but there memory will live on forever. I shall be
home soon.
From yours truly Hubert.
This a drawing by a famous artiste during WW2. It
depicts the way that the inmates of these camps
were treated. They are being beaten while there
hands are tied behind there backs with pieces of
wood. This was a daily site for us inmates. This
drawing was drawn around July 1943.
Some of the men in the camp were forced to work
in mines. Almost all of the mines were very poorly
built and would collapse with men inside. Also they
were terribly ventilated so even if the did survive
they would get many diseases from the toxic
fumes. This photo was taken on April 26, 1943.
This photo was taken on September 2, 1945 after the Japanese
surrendered because of the two nuclear bombs that the United
States dropped on the two Japanese cities Nagasaki and
Hiroshima.
This was a newsletter sent out to all of the
POW’s in Japan telling them that the war is
over. It was sent out on September 2, 1945.
• http://www.worldwar2database.com
• http://www.vahistory.org
• http://galleries.hkvca.ca
• www.warmuseum.com