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POWs of Japanese, Rescued! - General J. M. Wainwright

by Hal Leith

129 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); black and white photographs; catalogue #03-1612; ISBN 1-4120-1234-1; US$22.50, C$26.50, EUR18.50, £12.50

Book is written to show present day students, history buffs what was necessary to safely rescue POWs from the Japanese. What did the OSS do back in 1945?

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about the book      about the author      excerpts and table of contents      catalogue info

About the Book The material in this book, originally titled What the OSS did for Hal Leith and What Hal did for the OSS was extracted from my personal diary. I kept this diary during an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) special mission, the Cardinal Mission. Our mission/goal was to extract high-ranking officers and all allied POWs from remote POW camps situated in Mukden and Hsian, Manchuria. Due to repeated urgings of many still-surviving former POWs and attendees at periodic POW Reunions, I have written this story to the best of my memory and from written records and photographs.

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About the Author What kind of career did Hal Leith have, mostly as a result of WWII which took him from his music career, used his knowledge of languages (Russian, French and German) and added Chinese and then sent him to China with OSS? A wonderful career!

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Excerpts and Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter 1

My Life Before Going to Manchuria

Chapter 2

The beginning of My First OSS Operation

Chapter 3

Mukden-Cardinal Mission / POW Pictures & Diary

Chapter 4

The Rescue Mission in Hsian, Manchuria, General Wainwright's POW Camp

Chapter 5

Pictures of the Wainwright Portion of teh Mission through Departure, My Muckden Diary Until Endo of August

Chapter 6

Diary & Pictures of Mukden/ Peiping/ Hsian/ Kunming

Chapter 7

Index of POWs and People I Worked with

Chapter 8

My Career After I left Mukden the First Time, Diary and Pictures Kunming, Shanghai, Tienching, Chinchou, Mukden, to Home in D.C.

Chapter 9

Back to Washington, D.C./ Family life/ Retirement POW Reunion Pictures

Photographs

Old Mukden, Fengtien, Hoten, New Shenyang

Final Chapter

Shenyang/with some Recent Pictures

• September 13^th to September 22
• Final Results of Trip

16 Aug, 15th in the US 0430 AM -- We took off from Hsian in NW China and headed for Mukden (Feng Tien in 1945 and ShenYang now). We were prepared to parachute into Mukden. There were six of us in a B-24 besides the crew. We were: Maj. James T. Hennessy, Maj. Robert F. Lamar (doctor), Sgt Edward A. Starz, Sgt. Fumio Kido, Cheng Shih-wu and myself (S. Sgt. Hal Leith). Sgt Fumio Kido was from Hawaii, a "nisei" (second-generation American born from Japanese parents) and Cheng Shih-wu was a Nationalist Chinese officer. Our pilot was Lt. Paul Hallberg. This was called the CARDINALL MISSION.

Scenery out the windows was beautiful, the plains of north China were very fertile. We crossed the Gulf of Pohai, and we had our first glimpse of Manchuria. In my quiet time I prayed quietly for our success for the POWs and ourselves! We put on our chutes. At 10:45 AM the pilot told us we had 20 mph winds (This could cause parachute landing problems.) but we decided our first priority was to rescue the POWs so we decided to jump anyway. The jump master shouted "GO!" and I was fourth one out. We had to go out through the jump hole in the bottom of the plane. I had the feeling of floating rather than falling. Then, I heard the big bang and felt the opening shock. "Happy Day!" The next sound I heard was applause and happy yelling from below. I looked down and saw a bunch of Chinese farmers who had been working in fields where we were landing. They seemed to be enjoying the "air show"! It was quite a lot of fun floating down. I hit the dirt fast, tumbled, spilled the chute and got rid of it fast.

Our B-24 made a circle, came back and dropped our supply chutes with food, medicines and communications equipment. As the B-24 left the area I saw a Japanese Zerp head for it. Many Japanese pilots were "kamikaze" pilots and had become famous for making suicidal crashes with their airplanes. Our pilot, Lt. Paul Hallberg, told me later that he saw the Zero coming, pulled back on the control wheel and the Zero missed and went underneath. Paul looked down and the Japanese pilot was looking back and scowling at Paul. He was angry that he had missed. Paul was quite happy!

17 August 1945 We had breakfast at 8:30 AM and were driven immediately to Kempeitai Headquarters located across the center of town traffic circle from the Yamato Hotel. The Kempetai Colonel in Charge, as we entered his office, bowed deeply to us and then said he now was surrendering to us and, using his hands graphically he offered to commit hara kiri. He asked us if we would like to watch him. We declined and asked him just to remain and keep order with the Japanese troops in Mukden. He told the Japanese soldiers who were chosen to take us out to the POW. camp to protect us. The soldier who has been telling us in English "No talk" walked up to me as we were getting out of the truck and said, "Hey! I have a brother in L.A! I wonder if you know him?" I didn't! We were back at the POW camp at 9:30 and everything went well. Col Matsuda came out to the front entrance and invited us to come into his office. We sat down in chairs in his office and he sort of flinched and agonized some as we sat but then, when we asked to talk with the senior POW he said all right and sent for him. Major General M. Parker, the highest ranking American in the Hoten (Mukden) POW camp, was called into the CO's office. He knocked and immediately bowed to Col. Matsuda as he entered--then he saw us. We told him "no more bowing, the war is over", The Japanese have surrendered to us. We told him that we were there to get all the POWs back home. He was very thin and undernourished but perked up a good deal with everything we told him. His arms and legs showed little flesh, mostly just skin and bones.

Then I reminded everyone that there were hundreds of prisoners out in the courtyard that needed to know that the Japanese had surrendered to us and that they would all be going home soon. I ran outside into the courtyard where the prisoners were and, at first, the prisoners were almost afraid to speak. I was the first free American they had seen in 3 years and 4 months--ever since Bataan. They later referred to me as the "big redhead" As a paratrooper I weighed 172 lbs! None of the POWs weighed more than about 98 lbs! Compared to the POWs I was huge! I waved at them and told them the war was over. In a few moments, I was surrounded by a crowd of the happiest guys I have ever seen in my life and they asked me dozens of questions!

How did the 1943 & 44 Rose Bowl games end? Who won the last three Word Series? Is Shirley Temple dead? Was Roosevelt really dead and from what? Who was the President? When was the war actually over? Who was Prime Minister of England? Was Queen Wilhelmina of Holland still alive? How much pay did the different grades get now?" Many dozens of questions!

In this POW camp there were about 1600 American, English, Australian & Dutch prisoners, all scrawny. No foolin', it was one of the happiest days of my life, even though all the POWs looked so bad. I made a tour of the camp, talking and taking pictures-the Japanese said this camp was the main one and "one of the best--as best goes". Conditions were crowded, fleas were prevalent, beds were straw mattresses on long flat boards. Later in the day I found out that there was one American POW in the hospital and he died that very day!

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Catalogue Information

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