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Show KELSON AND MiELSOH RETURN HOME WITH HORROR REPORTS OF JAPANESE IMPRISONMENT EXPERIENCES JAMES M. NELSON IS HOME FROM JAP PRISON Mr. and Mrs. Claybourne Nelson, Nel-son, formerly of St. George and now of Las Vegas, have their son, SSgt. James M. Nelson home once more, after long months in a Jap prison camp. Somehow the report reached him that memorial rites had been held for him in St. George and Kanab, and it made him feel plenty queer. However, How-ever, the services were really for his cousin, Pfc. Heber Nelson, who was killed on Luzon. In reality, he came close to losing his life, being the only one of 20 to escape alive from a direct dir-ect bomb hit on a shelter alongside along-side his prison. This escape came last July 5, when 50 B-29's were raiding the industrial center between be-tween Yokahama and Tokyo, where they were at enforced employment. em-ployment. Sgt. Nelson suffered a compound com-pound complete fracture of his right leg 4 inches above the ankle. An English surgeon in the camp gave him a little morphine and he was removed to another camp where a spike was put through his heel. Three days later he was sent to "a rat hole called a prison hospital," where his leg was put in a cast. Jap prisoners had to work if they ate and sick men's rations were cut to one-third. Somehow he survived and is glad to be back in the U S. He plans to come to St. George when he can walk better, and expects his discharge dis-charge from the Birmingham general hospital about Jan. 1. Sgt. Nelson was living in Ord-erville Ord-erville when he enlisted on May 27, 1941. He went to the Philippines Philip-pines in ' October, 1941, and was assigned to chemical .warfare at Del Monte Air Field, Mindanao, where the Japs attacked Dec. 19, 1941. They played hide and seek with the Japs till the field was taken May 10, 1942. The guards at Mindanao were more considerate consider-ate than those in Japan, where they were sent in September. Their prison was at Kawasaki, a two-story barn-like building sheltering the 315 Americans. Later English, Dutch, Australian, Canadian, Italian and Chinese prisoners were added. The group lived agreeably though fearful of their captors. The building was without heat or furniture and their four thin blankets were insufficient in-sufficient for beds on the floor when the temperature dipped below be-low zero, as happened frequently. The Japs took all the candy and cigarettes sent the men in Rex Cross packages, worked the men unmercifully, filling in time with brutal punishments, especially especi-ally when word came of American victories in the Pacific. He plans to tell us more later. |