Travel like the wind : Suchart Choolee
“May this certificate be a mark of our unending gratitude for the virtuous deeds of your ancestor, and may it be a symbol of our warmth and friendship, which has grown ever since the war…”
These were the words from a speech by Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, on the opening day of the Hellfire Pass Museum, April 26, 1998 (B.E. 2541). He proclaimed the courage of Mr. Boonpong Sirivejjabhandu, who is hailed as the hero of the Death Railway.
A record of historical events during World War II:
In 1942 (B.E. 2485), the Imperial Japanese Army decided to construct a railway line from Ban Pong (Thailand) to Thanbyuzayat in Burma, a distance of approximately 415 kilometers. The purpose was to transport troops and armaments, aiming to swiftly conquer Burma and India.
Over two hundred thousand Asian civilian laborers and more than sixty thousand Allied prisoners of war (POWs)—British and Australian, mostly captured in Singapore and Malaysia—were brought in to build the railway.
People naturally love and cherish their own lives above all else. The difference was that the lives of these POWs came from many nationalities. They were tortured, forced to work all day. Their sustenance was merely rice, vegetables, and dried fish to alleviate hunger. When injured or ill, medicine and medical equipment were scarce. Furthermore, they were subjected to atrocities by Japanese soldiers, resulting in the deaths of a great number of these POWs.
Mr. Boonpong witnessed and experienced the immense suffering of the POWs in the camps through his trade dealings, supplying goods to the Japanese army. The sight that became familiar to him day after day was of lifeless bodies, corpse after corpse, being thrown into watery graves.
This awakened Mr. Boonpong’s conscience, and he decided to risk his life smuggling quinine for Dr. Weary (POW surgeon Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop) to treat POW patients suffering from malaria. Many times, he had to hang medical supplies around his neck and swim into the internment camp in the dead of night. Sometimes, his ten-year-old daughter also had to take risks by secretly delivering medicine to the POWs to avoid Japanese suspicion.
Every night in the jungle, the sound of steel striking rock at Hellfire Pass (Chong Khao Khad) drowned out the silent atmosphere. Flickering light from fires illuminated the emaciated bodies of POWs and laborers forced into hard work. This heart-wrenching tragedy, of man’s inhumanity to man, is the origin of the name “Hellfire Pass”—the events that took place at this mountain pass in Kanchanaburi province.
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 (B.E. 2484), “Zenji Abe” witnessed the dawn over Pearl Harbor from the cockpit window of his bomber. Meanwhile, “Dick Fisk,” a Marine bugler stationed on the USS West Virginia, was responsible for sounding reveille at 05:30 hrs. and again for breakfast at 06:30 hrs.
Suddenly, a bomb fell on the USS Arizona, only 15 meters from the USS West Virginia. After that, torpedo bombs rained down, causing the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS Maryland, USS Tennessee, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Vestal (repair ship), USS Nevada, and USS Utah to be damaged by the explosions.
“The USS Arizona bounced about 6 meters above the water,” confirmed a sailor who witnessed the event from the USS Nevada. The attack on Pearl Harbor inflicted severe damage on the US Navy. Brave soldiers and American civilians, 2,403 in total, lost their lives; 1,178 were injured or disabled. This was what awakened a sleeping giant… to retaliate… leading to tragedy.
On a summer Monday, August 6, 1945 (B.E. 2488).
“Little Boy,” the nickname for the first atomic (nuclear) bomb, tore through the skies of Hiroshima, followed by “Fat Man” over Nagasaki. Just two bombs, their destructive power claimed nearly two hundred thousand lives, not including the many more injured by radiation… How many lives were lost? How many families had to endure the suffering of loss?
If the thousand paper cranes that little Sadako diligently folded could fly into the hearts of those thirsty for power, making them see the value of peaceful coexistence, perhaps such profound tragedies would not occur.
To this day, oil still seeps from fuel tank No. 6 of the battleship USS Arizona, as if to remind us that this place is the tomb of American soldiers and civilians. Some say it’s tears; others say the last drop of oil will stop flowing only when the last survivor from this ship… has passed away.
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These are individual interpretations. However, one phrase that “Zenji Abe,” a former Japanese bomber pilot, has always held onto is, “Yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s true friend.” Indeed, in the present reality, Abe places two roses on the plaque listing the names of the deceased soldiers, while Dick Fisk continues to play his bugle in tribute to his friends who sleep eternally at the USS Arizona Memorial.
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After World War II ended, Mr. Boonpong Sirivejjabhandu received royal decorations from the governments of Australia, Great Britain, and the Netherlands in 1948 (B.E. 2491). He and his wife received numerous letters, gifts, and Christmas cards from former POWs.
When Queen Elizabeth II and her husband visited Thailand in 1972 (B.E. 2515), they requested an audience with Boonpong and his wife, and they dined together. Few may know that he was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by Britain and the Netherlands.
On January 29, 1982 (B.E. 2525), “The Thai Hero of World War II died of a heart aneurysm.” News of his death was published in British, Dutch, and Australian newspapers.
Every year on April 25th, Anzac Day, former soldiers from the Greater East Asia War, or World War II, as well as their relatives, young Australians, representatives from various countries including government officials like ambassadors, high-ranking military officers, senior civil servants, and tourists from different nations, gather to commemorate and lay wreaths for the souls of the brave soldiers who died during the construction of the Thai-Burma Railway in Kanchanaburi province at Hellfire Pass (Chong Khao Khad), which is considered a museum of remembrance.
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References:
- From the book: รำลึก ๖๐ เพิร์ลฮาร์เบอร์ National Geographic ฉบับภาษาไทย (Translated as: Remembering 60 Years of Pearl Harbor, National Geographic Thai Edition, or more likely, Pearl Harbor 60th Anniversary Commemoration, National Geographic Thai Edition).
- Website: พิพิธภัณฑ์ช่องเขาขาด (Hellfire Pass Museum).
- Video Credit: • Title: Boonpong – Legend of the River Kwai • Director/Producer: Matt Routledge • Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ixrls3s58 • YouTube Channel: @mrout76
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