Remembering V-J Day and the Release of POWs

North of Asakusa, where the Sumida River makes a hairpin turn before flowing south to Tokyo Bay was Tokyo POW Camp 10-B. This is where VT-5 pilot James Willoughby “Pop” Condit found out the war had ended. Pop, radioman Gordon H. Marshal, and gunner Kenneth O. Kalberg had been shot down and captured during the attack on Marcus Island in 1943. Until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, they labored in camps with fellow POWs from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Holland, and other allied nations. Throughout the war, the main thing they wanted from new POWs coming into camp was news of what was happening in the war. Meanwhile, for two years their families had hoped and prayed for any news that their loved ones were still alive.
News was the first thing Condit and the other POWs asked for from Yorktown pilots dropping barrels of supplies at the end of the war. One POW camp posted a sign on the roof, “Enough, thanks. Any news?” The photo above shows the building Condit climbed onto to paint his sign.
At 1045 on August 30, 1945 Admiral William F. Halsey hoisted his 4-star flag at his headquarters in Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan (the location of the first POW camp Condit, Marshall and Kalberg were taken to). On September 2nd, USS Yorktown launched 79 aircraft as part of the force that paraded over the USS Missouri (BB-63) following the signing of the peace treaty. A horrific and brutal war had finally ended. After two years of no one knowing for sure what had happened to them or if they were alive, Condit, Marshal and Kalberg came home at last.
For more information on POW camps in Japan, click here.