In this moving memoir a young man comes of age in an age of violence, brutality, and war. Recounting his experiences during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, this account brings to life the shocking day-to-day conditions in a Japanese labor camp and provides an intimate look at the collapse of Dutch colonial rule.As a boy growing up on the island of Java, John Stutterheim spent hours exploring his exotic surroundings, taking walks with his younger brother and dachshund along winding jungle roads. His father, a government accountant, would grumble at the pro-German newspaper and from time to time entertain the family with his singing. It was a fairly typical life for a colonial family in the Dutch East Indies, and a peaceful and happy childhood for young John. But at the age of 14 it would all be irrevocably shattered by the Japanese invasion.With the surrender of Java in 1942, John's father was taken prisoner. For over three years the family would not know if he was alive or dead. Soon thereafter, John, his younger brother, and his mother were imprisoned. A year later he and his brother were moved to a forced labor camp for boys, where they toiled under the fierce sun while disease and starvation slowly took their toll, all the while suspecting they would soon be killed.Throughout all of these travails, John kept a secret diary hidden in his handmade mattress, and his memories now offer a unique perspective on an often overlooked episode of World War II. What emerges is a compelling story of a young man caught up in the machinations of a global war--struggling to survive in the face of horrible brutality, struggling to care for his disease-wracked brother, and struggling to put his family back together. It is a story that must not be forgotten.
Industry Reviews
"The story of a young man and his truly triumphant surmounting of a long and terrible trauma." -- -Mark R. Peattie Stanford University "Stutterheim, a retired physician living in Lakebay, was a child living in the Dutch East Indies when World War II broke out. His father was taken away by the Japanese and Stutterheim, his mother, and his brother were imprisoned. The boys eventually were consigned to a Japanese labor camp, where Stutterheim kept a secret diary." -The Seattle Times "The brutal, racist Japanese treatment of Dutch civilians in World War II is told here through the eyes of a young boy who somehow survived captivity, but found he couldn't go home again. This should be required reading for anyone who studies the Pacific War." -- -Linda Goetz Holmes author of 4000 Bowls of Rice and Unjust Enrichment "The tall gentleman beside me stiffened as the voices of Japanese tourists mingled with those of our own overseas tour group. "Can't help it," he said sheepishly. That's how I met Dr. John Stutterheim. It led to hearing John's inspirational story of surviving a brutal Japanese labor camp, reuniting with his family in volatile postwar Java, and overcoming enormous odds to become a medical doctor in the United States. I'm glad that he's now sharing it with a much wider audience. Prof. Mark Parillo has added an illuminating foreword that puts John's youthful experiences in historical context." -- -Durham J. Monsma Retired publisher, The (Stamford) Advocate & Greenwich Time and CAPT, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve (ret.) "At a time when the nation can't get enough of the bogus reality of self-centered narcissists surviving trivial trials and when the average teen's idea of a life crisis is no cell phone service The Diary of Prisoner 17326 quietly and straightforwardly tells us about real people living through unspeakable cruelty in a Japanese Labor Camp. This tale of ordinary, pampered middle class women and children surviving extraordinary treatment with courage, resourcefulness and dignity reminds us that the Greatest Generation was made of more than just the men who went to war." -- -Joe Daley Past President, Far East Department, Reserve Officers Association and Past Director of the Asian Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce
