Larry Martin: In Their Own Words

Join Jackson District Library and the First United Methodist Church of Jackson as the two host another installment of Larry Martin’s In Their Own Words!

Come to the First United Methodist Church of Jackson, across from the Carnegie Library, to hear Dr. Eugene Bleil continue presenting Larry Martin’s World War II series In Their Own Words. Listen as Dr. Bleil tells of his three and a half years as a POW of the Japanese. He will tell about his captivity at infamous prisons in the Philippine Islands such as Cabanatuan, Bilibid and Camp O’Donnell.

He also talks about the Hell Ships that took him from the Philippines to Japan to be used as slave labor. There were about 700 men who had every kind of condition you could imagine, including starvation. They were crammed into the holds of these ships, many of which were sunk by American submarines. There was no fresh air at all, very little water, and only a five-gallon pail for a toilet that served the 700 sick men. The stench and the heat were nearly unbearable. Bleil also describes working on the shipping docks as well as in the steel plants under horrible conditions.

Becoming a physician following the war, Bleil will provide expert explanations for diseases such as BeriBeri, Pelagra, scurvy, and many more.

Intended for adults.