Sally Meadows will present a talk, “Former civilian POWs and their internment by the Japanese during Japan’s Occupation of the Philippines in World War II,” noon Friday, Jan. 19 in the Apricot Room of the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave.
Meadows, a Los Altos resident and member of the city council, leads Civilian Prisoners of War (CPOW), a national organization dedicated to supporting and telling the story of the Allied civilians held captive by the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II.
Meadow’s grandparents and father, who was 11 years old when the family was first interned, are also part of the group.
Hosted by the Los Altos Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the presentation will explore a largely unknown facet of World War II in the Pacific: the fact that thousands of civilians, including Americans and citizens of other Allied nations, were held captive by the Imperial Japanese military in internment camps throughout Asia – specifically, those who were interned in the Philippines and how they survived over three years of captivity. The stories include why these people were in the Philippines when the war started, how the internment happened, life in camp, and the eventual liberation by General MacArthur’s forces.
During World War II, nearly 150,000 Allied civilians were held in approximately 100 prison camps throughout the areas of East Asia occupied by the Japanese. This included a swath from New Guinea, to the Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Malaya, and China. Roughly 14,000 American civilians were among these prisoners.
For more information and to register for the event, visit bit.ly/POW-19.
Meadows is a retired pharmaceutical/biotechnology marketing executive with a MBA from San José State University and a BS in Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park.
The Los Altos Chapter DAR focuses on local historic preservation projects, genealogy research, fundraising for a Foothill College scholarship fund, environmental conservation, service to veterans, and other community projects.
To learn more, visit losaltos.californiadar.org or email [email protected].
