On November 15, 1943, early in the afternoon, Lt. Kelley and his crew arrived at the Rangoon Central Jail in an old, five-ton truck. Under the direction of the Japanese guards, the seven heavily bandaged men exited the truck and were escorted or carried into the solitary block of the prison. These men were: Maj. Wesley Werner, 1st Lt. John C. Kelley, 2nd Lt. Thomas P. Hogan, S/Sgt. Thomas E. Hopes, S/Sgt. Francis B. Jordan, T/Sgt. Urvan A. Aubuchon and T/Sgt. Francis M. Daly.
All but one of the men had received burns covering most of their bodies. Major Werner was the only man relatively unhurt with the exception of a slight concussion. How Maj. Werner escaped being badly burned is a mystery, as he managed to pull six of his crew out of the burning wreckage.
All of these men were left in the solitary block for five days with no proper medical care and little to no food. On approximately the fifth day, fellow prisoner Col. K.P. Mackenzie (of the British Royal Army Medical Corps) was allowed to examine the men but not speak with them. Col. Mackenzie quickly realized that he would need another man to assist him. Fortunately the guards agreed to allow Major Raymond Ramsay (also of the R.A.M.C.) to come attend to the men as well. The two doctors discussed the deplorable condition of the men and came to a conclusion. Col. Mackenzie then sent a message, through an interpreter, to the camp commandant requesting that the men immediately be transferred to a Japanese hospital in Rangoon. In less than an hour the camp commandant responded with a “point blank refusal”. The doctors proceeded to treat the men with what little medical supplies they could find and then decided to put in a secondary request. This time the response was more favorable. The Japanese Commandant would allow Col. Mackenzie to take 3 of the men back to Cell Block #3 and Maj. Ramsay would take 2 men to Cell Block #6.
One man was in no condition to be moved and it was clear to Col. Mackenzie that he did not have long to live. Mackenzie decided that the “greatest kindness” he could do for this man was to “not disturb him further”. It is believed that this man was Lt. Thomas P. Hogan who died on or about the 20 Nov 1943.
The other five men were transferred out of solitary confinement and placed under the medical care of the two British doctors. Col. Mackenzie took Sgt. Hopes, Sgt. Jordan, and Sgt. Daly into his care in cell block 3 while Maj. Ramsey took Lt. Kelley and Sgt. Aubuchon to cell block 6.
Despite the best efforts of both Col. Mackenzie and Maj. Ramsey, four of the airmen died while in their charges. Sgt. Hopes died on 22 Nov 1943. Sgt. Aubuchon died on 26 Nov 1943. Sgt. Jordan died on 27 Nov 1943. Lt. Kelley died on 17 Dec 1943. All of the men were buried by fellow POW’s in the Rangoon Cantonment Cemetery approximately one mile from the jail.
In Tenko! Rangoon Jail by Sgt. John Boyd (from Mayfield, Kentucky) it says “At night the Japanese allowed no lights. At night we took turns sitting up with them. I was with one of the men the night he died. He had been the bombardier on Werner’s crew. ” That bombardier was 1st Lt. John C. Kelley. Sgt. Boyd made a personal visit with Lt. Kelley’s family after he returned to the states. The family was grateful to know that John did not die alone.
Sgt. Daly and Maj. Werner recovered from their injuries, endured the POW camp, and lived on to return to the U.S. after the end of the war.
Some of the above information was found in the book Operation Rangoon Jail by Col. K.P. Mackenzie. The arrival and medical treatment of this crew of airmen was also recorded by other POW’s in the following books: Return Via Rangoon by Philip Stibbe, and Tenko! Rangoon Jail by Sgt. John Boyd.
To view photos of the Rangoon Central Jail, please click here to visit the photo page.
To learn more about the conditions of prison, view this report of Rangoon Central Prison written on July 31, 1946 by Capt. James I. Norwood and Capt. Emily L. Shek. It contains detailed factual information about the prison and its the conditions in which the captives lived.
© 2010 Leslie K. Roane
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