U.S. Opposes POWs' Search for Justice

June 11 -- After the Philippines fell to the Japanese in 1942, U.S. Army Capt. Mel Rosen and 70,000 other U.S. and Filipino soldiers were forced to trudge 65 miles in tropical heat with no food or water — the notorious "Bataan Death March." Up to 10,000 died along the way.

Rosen survived the march, but his suffering at the hands of the Japanese was far from over. Forced to farm and cut timber under harsh conditions, he eventually weighed only 88 pounds.

Now 83 and living in Falls Church, Va., Rosen is still fighting battles from World War II — even on the 60th anniversary of the Bataan march. Rosen, who retired as a colonel, is co-lead plaintiff in a $1 trillion class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago against Japan on behalf of all U.S. citizens injured or killed by the Japanese during World War II.

His is one of a growing number of lawsuits in U.S. and Japanese courts seeking restitution from Japan or Japanese corporations for wartime atrocities such as slave labor, just as Holocaust survivors have made Germany and German companies pay.

This time, Rosen faces a surprise adversary he risked his life to defend: the U.S. government, which has mobilized a cadre of lawyers and diplomats to work against Japanese reparations lawsuits in court, despite its support of Holocaust claims. The 1951 peace treaty that ended the war with Japan precludes reparations, the U.S. government argues.

Rosen, now vice president of the veterans group Center for Internee Rights Inc., and other former prisoners of war are bewildered at their government's resolve against their cause.

"The [State Department] fought tooth and nail to help the people who suffered at the hands of the Nazis," Rosen said. "In our case, it would help us if they just shut up. In fact, they're fighting tooth and nail for the Japanese."

U.S.: ‘We Signed the Treaty’

The former POWs' efforts carry a special urgency as the ranks of survivors continues to dwindle.