Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ARTelevision
My uncle was there then and during the entire Pacific Campaign.
It affected his personality for the rest of his life.
Until the day he died his emotional aspect was unavailable to even his family. He was the most tightly wound and emotionally unavailable person I've ever known. The entire family knew why yet we never spoke of it - except to let each other know for the first time that we knew it and that we knew why. Unimaginable Horror is something that does occur on this earth.
|
My uncle was a Marine in the Pacific Campaign as well. He was captured and spent 9 months in a Japanese prison compound where he was tortured repeatedly on one of the islands. He was never the same and spent a great deal of the time he got back sitting at the kitchen table drinking beer and staring at the wall. He died in his late 40's. I remember as a boy I bumped into his shin once and he almost doubled over in pain. They apparently used to beat them there over and over to try to get them to talk.
My father took me aside and explained the situation and told me never to ask my uncle about it.