Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

Naoetsu was filthy and frigid. In the barracks, boxes of spilled ashes were stacked containing the remains of cremated Naoetsu prisoners. Food was meager, and the Japanese guards smoked American cigarettes from the Red Cross boxes intended for the prisoners. The Bird began to treat Louie as abusively as he had done at Omori. Many of the POWs were used as slave laborers in a nearby village. The Bird did not handpick Louie for this kind of work.

In the spring, Louie began working on a crew of “farm laborers” and planted potatoes. The work was relatively easy, and they had full access to clean well water and regular rations of food. On April 13, an American B-29 flew over Naoetsu. The POWs were jubilant, but not the Japanese. The Bird relished telling the men that Roosevelt was dead, and after being teased for having a “lazy” crew, the Bird ordered all of the men in Naoetsu to perform hard labor hauling coal.

After sustaining an injury, Louie was unable to work, so his rations were halved. Louie begged the Bird for work, and he was given a position looking after the camp pig. He had to clean out the pig’s sty with his bare hands.