GOING HOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25396, 28 December 1945, Page 4

GOING HOME

JAPANESE PRISONERS

SPECIALLY-FITTED SHIPS (P.A.) WELLINGTON ThuW Eight hundred Japanese prisoners 5 of war from tne Featherston camp J go home within a few days in f American L.S.T.'s now in port in \S ington. Eighty to 90 New "Zealand Ca * ponters worked through last week-e j building five and three-tier narrow wooden bunks into the tank deck of each ship. In theso quarters the Inn at.esc will make the 30-day j ourn ?' tlioir homeland after i spending tin years in New Zealand. Four hundred military prisoners will travel one ship and 400 Japanese labourers, also captured in the island will travej in the other. '' The New Zealand authorities, a f ter inspecting the ships, decided in favour of installing bunks in the tank decks This proposal was accepted by the America a officials and carpenters w ero immediately switched to the rush job of setting up these bunks in long and very high tiers. The Americans call then, boxes. There are 250 of them in each ship, each about six feet long and two leet six inches wide. Some of the Japanese will climb fi V 0 tiers above their fellows to get to their boxes. The more fortunate prisoners will be the 150 on each ship who will sleep on American cots or camp stretchers placed m the middle of the tank decks between the tiers of bunks. A special compartment will be provided for 27 Japanese suffering with tuberculosis and a, doctor and nine pharmacist mates will be in attendance An officer said eight American guards and eight New Zealand Army guards would be stationed around the tank deck on each ship. There would be two Bren guns at each end of these decks. Officers or men going down to the Japanese quarters would be strongly armed. There would be tommy gunr ready to cover the prisoners while they were on the upper .deck, too, although no trouble was anticipated and it was not considered likely they would hare to be used. The rations to be fed to the Japanese during the voyage are scientifically prepared "K" rations, similar to those given to American and Allied soldiers when they served in the front line. '