Bushido Treatment

"American prisoners from Wake Island arrived in Yokohama yesterday. They had a very sad expression on their faces, but they are admiring the Bushido treatment* they received on the boat from the Japanese. They are grateful for the accommodations given to them in the way of hospitalization. At the beginning they could not eat Japanese pickles, but after trying a few they have taken a liking to them. . . . During their voyage they displayed their typical American individualism, but the Japanese trained them to be more cooperative. ... On the boat, the Japanese exerted every effort to thrash out American individualism. Now they are very cooperative with the Japanese. . . ."

This was what the Tokyo radio on Jan. 18 sent out, in Japanese, for the gratification of Jap listeners in the Southwest Pacific. Although not beamed eastward, it was picked up and translated by attentive FCC monitors on the U.S. Pacific Coast.

In his broadcasts to the U.S. (TIME, Jan. 26), the Jap knew better than to take the delicately sadistic Oriental line. For short wave to the U.S., Radio Tokyo put Wake Island prisoners on the air by means of recordings, some apparently made on shipboard. The messages, as heard by NBC and U.P. listening posts, indicated that the men had been treated with the respect they deserved. Examples:

"Since capture at Wake the prisoners, including myself, have been very fairly treated and are all in good health and are looking forward to getting back to their homes" (Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, U.S.N.).

"When we arrived here, we were given good beds to sleep in and are well fed. . . . I am sending this message to my wife and friends. So long, Joe. I am alive and well and I am as happy as I can be, without you" (Major Paul A. Putnam, Marines).

In Coronado, Calif., Major Putnam's wife, Virginia, guessed that if the message were authentic the listening post had mis-caught "Joe" for "Ginna."

*I.e., according to the Japanese warrior code.

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