US POW’s Memorial Plaque Dedication Ceremony at Hellfire Pass
A new memorial was unveiled at Hellfire Pass on 25th October 2023 to honour American POW’s who died building the Thai-Burma Railway during the Second World War. In attendance was the US ambassador. The following are the words on the plaque.
American Prisoner of War Memorial.
This memorial honours the approximately 690 American prisoners of war who laboured for their Japanese captors under horrific conditions on the Burma-Thai Railway and the Thais who risked their lives to support them.
Most of the American prisoners of war were captured on Java in the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia). They were primarily Soldiers along with Sailors and Marines from the USS Houston, a United States Navy heavy cruiser sunk in the Sunda Strait in the early hours of March 1, 1942.
Before sinking, the USS Houston’s crew rescued Merchant Marines and Soldiers of the 2-131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, Texas National Guard, from a torpedoed troop transport ship which had been sent to assist with the defence of the Dutch East Indies. As their fate remained unknown until the end of the war, the 2-131st became known as “The Lost Battalion.”
Aside from United States service members, several American civilians captured by Japanese on Java were sent to work on the railway. Approximately 134 Americans died on the Burma-Thai Railway and all were repatriated to American soil following the war.
The section of the railway, known as Hellfire Pass, is a stark reminder of the gruelling conditions experienced by allied prisoners of war and the thousands of Asian civilians forced to labour for the Japanese.
