The Death Railway - Bridge on the River Kwai

SooNews Staff for SooNews.ca
Saturday, February 16, 2008, 3:45PM

Sault Ste. Marie art instructor and owner of SaultSeller.com continues on his visit to Thailand and files this latest report:

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

In Kanchanaburi, Thailand exists an astounding reminder of a reality of war. The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don-Rak War Cemetery) contains the remains of 6,982 allied POW's and the Chonk-Kai War Cemetery contains another 1,740.
In 1943, during World War II, the Japanese Army intended to move men and supplies to the Burmese front with the construction of the "Death Railway". The railway measured 415 km in length, which linked Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), also included the construction of a bridge over the Mae Klong River.



It is a bridge well known to the classic moviegoers who are quite familiar with the film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). Unlike the memorable, epic World War II drama, the prisoners lived in far more grim and unsanitary conditions with little to eat, which resulted in death by injury and disease. The movie primarily focused on the POW's however over 100,000 conscripted Asian labourers also perished during the eight-month brutal and tragic ordeal

For more on Mancuso's fascinating trip to Thailand go to SaultSeller.com

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