Evening star., 1945-10-05

address before the joint session
OF Congress today tollo,Ds:
1t is with all humility that I ac-
cept the great honor of appearing
before you on this occasion. I feel
confident that no greater honor will
come to me during my lifetime. Yet
I am sensible of the fact that l do
not come here merely as an in
dividual. would like to acknowledge
at the very outset that I am here
only as representative of the brave
men who fought under my COM
mand in the Pacific of whom a few
are here with me today.
Speaking in the name OF those
brave whether they wore the
uniform of the Army. the Navy, the
Coast Guard or the Marine Corps-I
wish to give you a brief report on
the job we are just bringing to an
emo.
Five weeks ago today, ! was in a
land Of hunger and defeat and dis
illusionment. Five weeks ago today
I was in Japan. Among the ships Of
the Pacific Fleet anchored in Tokyo
Bay was a proud symbol of that hu-
manity and mercy which can exist,
among civilized people, even in
the midst of a bloody war. That
symbol of humanity and mercy was
ship of the United States Navy
the hospital ship Benevolence.
She had been sent to Tokyo Bay,
as her sister ships had been sent
to other enemy ports, to take on
board the starved, the sick, the
wounded and the heart-sore Amer
ican prisoners of war in that area
I shall always remember that visit
because it was my privilege, that
day, to shake the hand OF so many
men who had fought and suffered
that this Nation might remain free,
and to be again impressed by the
bright courage and mistaken con-
fidence which had sustained them
OuIluS l1cH CdpUlSlIy.
Reminder of Victory Price.
To me, those men, like those !
have seen in many hospitals, and
those to whom I have been priv
ileged to make awards in the name
of the President, were reminder
that our victory has been purchased
at great price. In the hurt and
hungry eyes of those rescued men
you could see a kinship with their
thousands of lost comrades-men
who will forever sleep beneath the
lonely palms of uncounted Pacific
isles, men who will stand their eter-
nal watch at sea for as long as time
goes on. Those men-the rescued
and their lost comrades-are q
greater price than any that can bs
reckoned in billions of dollars.
Let us have look at what was
accomplished in the Pacific war by
the costly victory of our f1ghtine
men. One good way to do this is
to review what Japan had left, In
the way of military resources, when
she. was forced to admit defeat.
1t may come as surprise to many
Americans to learn that, from the
standpoint only of troops and air
craft. Japan actually was better of,
on VI day than she was nearly four
years ago, when she initiated ma
tional hara-kiri with the treacher.
Gus attack on Pearl Harbor.
AT the end of the war, Japan hao
a larger amy and a far more pow
erful air force than she possessed or
December I, l941. Here are thu
rough figures, according to our bes
intelligence. In the home islands ol
Japan, at the time of the surrender
there were more than 2,000,0 ,00t
trained professional military per.
sonnel. In addition, there was ,
large force Of home guards, prefec'
tural police and auxiliaries of vari
Gus kinds. In China, Manchuria
Formosa and Japan's stolen empir,
to the south, there were more thar
5000. 900 men. All told, Japan coul,
muster a trained professional arm,
of more than 100000 men on ",
day, as against total of only 5000.
o0o-plus on the day. this war began
Tells Of Japan Strength.
From the standpoint of al
strength, the figures are even NOR,
startling. Japan began this wa
with an approximate total OF $50
planes. Of which roughly 5000 wer
combatant types. On the day wa