“Don't forget to do good and to share with those in need." ~ Hebrews 13:16
The celebrated movie, The
Bridge On the River Kwai, introduced audiences to one of the greatest
engineering projects of WWII, the building of the Thailand-Burma railroad. But the film was more Hollywood than
history. In the real story, Allied
prisoners were starved and savagely beaten as they struggled for 14 months to
build far more than a bridge.
Using bare hands and sweat, they hacked a 250-mile railroad
out some of the harshest jungle on earth.
Nearly 13,000 of them would never return home from brutality and horror
of what history would later dub the “Railroad of Death.”
Unlike William Holden and his
cast of movie stars who wore fresh uniforms and ate tasty cuisine while
imprisoned, Death Railroad workers were naked except for a small loin cloth to
protect them from poisonous snakes, mosquitos and steady rains. They labored 12-16 hour shifts on about 600
calories/day.
The bridge itself was made of steel and concrete, not the
local timber and stone depicted in the movie.
A wooden bridge would never have withstood Kwai’s raging waters in the
rainy season.
The Kwai’s actual bridge was never destroyed, not even
damaged. It still stands proudly on the
edge of the Thai jungle about 2 Km from a peaceful town as a local tourist attraction.
The movie’s hero, US Navy Commander Shears (Holden), led a four-man
commando mission to destroy the bridge before it could be used to transport
Japanese troops or supplies.
But the real-life hero was a local trader of Thai
traditional medicines and grocery items named Boonpong Sirivejjabhandu. Boonpong received a contract from the
Japanese to manage the prison canteen, allowing him access to Allied POW’s with
few restrictions.
His visits exposed him to the appalling conditions
experienced by the sick, wounded, and dead prisoners. The horror of such vicious, inhumane treatment
inspired compassion in him. Despite
unimaginable personal risk, Boonpong chose to do whatever he could.
He secretly smuggled critical drugs, food, radio batteries, and
even messages in hollowed-out cabbages to the prisoners. Larger medical supplies were brought in by
his 12-year old daughter Panee, who swam the treacherous Kwai river under cover
of darkness.
They probably saved thousands.
Dr. King once said, "The ultimate measure of a man is
not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy."
Boonpong’s story of courage under fear inspires us; showing how normal
people can do extraordinary things. We
can’t take the wait-and-see approach to all the issues and problems that
surround us anymore.
Lord, we pray for those needing hope,
strength and encouragement. Dry their
tears; take away their fears. May they
feel Your presence like never before. Amen
