Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was an engine operator who was on the ground floor of diesel mechanics. He had multiple jobs during the hard times when other men could not find work. He knew how to get the most out of heavy equipment. He pressed his luck and was killed in 1932 while unloading a ship. The crane was over its lifting capacity. There were no regulations on making heavy lifts during those years. It made for dangerous work. Borne's father received good pay as a result of the peril. The risky work caught up with Borne's father killing him in a horrible accident. Borne was ten years old when his father died in 1932. His father was a good man and helpful to his neighbors. His mother went to work in the dairy business and raised her four children. The family went from riches to rags. Borne loved his religious aunt and attended church with her. He also studied astrology with her. He was her pet. Food and wine preparation at his home was always good. In 1932, his aunt and grandmother died. That left his mother to raise her spoiled children. The dairy facilities were improved to reach a higher standard of sanitation. When his mother took a physical, she was quarantined. It was the reign of Huey Long [Annotator's Note: Huey Pierce Long, Jr.; known as "The Kingfish"; 40th governor of Louisiana] and favoritism was the rule in Louisiana. Borne's mother did not have Long's support. The dairy went bankrupt. Borne joined the Marines in December 1939 on his second try. He was too young earlier, but when he turned 18, he was accepted. He heard from his friends about the good life in "the Corps." They exaggerated how great it was.

At the time of Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. 's enlistment [Annotator's Note: in the United States Marine Corps in December 1939], England had just declared war on Germany. The national emergency in the United States led to the expansion of the Marine Corps. The 15,000 total Marines spread across the globe were less men than the New York Police Department. Boot camp was in San Diego [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California]. It was not Borne's first time on a train. He had run away from home and lived as a hobo before enlistment. He made friends along the way as a hobo and a Marine. He liked the nice uniform but not the sergeant yelling at him. He managed to get through the training and became a member of the 1st Defense Battalion. It was an unusual situation since Marines were always considered to be aggressive and on offense not defense. Borne and the Marines on Wake Island were outfitted with Army surplus and obsolete equipment. They trained with small arms and machine guns at San Diego. Borne made expert on the rifle range. Training was good but the harassment was bad. He was in good physical condition with good food. The D.I.s [Annotator's Note: drill instructors] were rough at San Diego. They tried to embarrass and abuse the recruits in many ways. Borne was glad when it was over after 15 months of living in a tent on the parade ground and finally moving into a barracks. They then headed to Hawaii.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. had nightly drills with sounding equipment in the San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] hills. The equipment was the forerunner of radar which was not yet available. It was the best equipment to track incoming aircraft. [Annotator's Note: Borne explains the operation of the sounding equipment.] When a target was centered, a strong searchlight would shine on it. Multiple lights would seek the same target for the three inch antiaircraft guns. Lights and guns were synchronized. Practice drills used a plane towing a target sleeve at a good distance behind it. The crews became proficient with the equipment. On Wake Island, sounding equipment was not available. All the Marines had were binoculars to find the enemy aircraft. Borne's searchlight battery [Annotator's Note: part of the 1st Defense Battalion] was given search duty on the beach with binoculars. They were able to pick up movement at a surprising distance.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. was assigned to Wake Island as a member of the Marine Corps' 1st Defense Battalion. He had been told about the islands by friends who had previously arrived there. He knew quite well the officer who had established the defensive positions on the three islets that comprised Wake Island which are Wake, Peale and Wilkes islands. Borne was stationed on the large islet of Wake. His job was as a truck driver and lookout. The main lookout position was where a tall water tower was located. Peale was where the clipper airplanes [Annotator's Note: Pan American Clipper flying boats] berthed while in transit across the Pacific. There was also a ramp for the PBY planes [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] that flew through Wake. Despite being in a defensive assignment in lieu of an offensive status, the Marines on the island were all well trained. The attack focused on Wake Island where the main Marine camp was. Devereux [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major, later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marine forces on Wake Island] was located there. Borne did not like Devereux. He thought him to be a tyrant. He abused his officers and took credit when he should not have. He blamed others for his mistakes. He was not a nice commander. As a lookout, Borne had to scan the horizon. The watch had to be around the clock. Borne and four other men watched for enemy planes while alternating use of one heavy binoculars.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. was on lookout duty with hi-powered binoculars when the first invasion attempt on Wake Island was initiated on 11 December [Annotator’s Note: 1941]. All five lookouts verified the long-range offshore sightings. When Borne reported the sightings to his corporal, he found the man in a fetal position just shaking. Borne called Devereux to advise him [Annotator’s Note: Major James P. S. Devereux commanded the Marines on Wake]. Despite some mistakes claimed by Devereux in his book, Borne brought the Major to the lookout position and pointed out the enemy. The officer was concerned about Borne being erratic and giving him a false report. There had been too many false sightings since the initial bombings of the islands. Borne and his comrades were using a hi-powered binoculars that could see at a great distance. It was three o’clock in the morning, but he could see the enemy. The five-5” guns were ordered by Devereux to hold their fire and wait until the invasion force closed in on the islands. The enemy ran ships closer and closer to the islands while the Marines held their fire. When the enemy reached point blank range, Devereux ordered his guns to commence firing. Borne watched two ships sink. One split in half and sunk. The other went up in a black ball prior to the ship disappearing. Dr. Ozeki [Annotator’s Note: Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki was a Japanese veteran of the battle who became a postwar friend of Borne] was on the flagship. He verified that the Marines successfully repelled the first attempted invasion. Marine aircraft flew in after the guns did their work. Four ships were sunk and six or eight were damaged. It was an honor for Borne to have sighted the Japanese ships early. That paved the way for the day’s victory. The Marines felt glorious about the impact of their feat. It was a significant event of World War Two. It was the only amphibious invasion to be turned back during the war.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. and the Marines on Wake Island had heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] prior to the Japanese bombing of their island. When the alarm sounded, Borne went to his truck and transported troops to their battle stations. He next went to the supply depot to gather gas masks for the men. The airstrip was mass confusion. The planes had just arrived. Equipment was not provided for them. The mood was bad. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Anger prevailed. Borne simply dumped the gas masks for the air crews and left to deliver to other locations. He did not realize the Japanese would be targeting the American planes on the base. Borne made his way to Peale Island where the Pan-American Clipper was located. Borne had a mess sergeant assigned to help him. The man had no experience outside the mess hall. Borne, conversely, had been all over the island in various positions. After getting the gas masks to the men on Peale, the alarm sounded and enemy aircraft approached. Bunkers had been established on the island. One was assigned to Cunningham, the Navy commander of all forces on the island [Annotator's Note: then US Navy Commander, later Rear Admiral, Winfield Scott Cunningham; commander of all naval forces on Wake Island]. Devereux [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major; later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marines on Wake Island] also had a bunker as did the hospital. Borne was wounded and went to the original civilian hospital for treatment. It was on fire and was being evacuated by Dr. Kahn [Annotator's Note: US Navy Lieutenant Gustave M. Kahn] to the bunker. Borne helped with the evacuation, including the medications and especially some bottles of vodka. Dr. Kahn was happy to see the vodka. He gave Borne one of the bottles.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. was on Wake Island with the 12 airplanes of VMF-211 [Annotator's Note: Marine Fighting Squadron 211 (VMF-211)] that were assigned to defend the Marine position. Major Putnam [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Major, later Brigadier General, Paul Albert Putnam] was in charge of the squadron. The enemy air raid resulted in chaos at the airfield [Annotator's Note: the squadron had just flown in a few days prior to the Japanese attack]. The Major was shot and half the airwing was destroyed. Suffering and agony was extreme. People were burned alive. Borne was assigned to recover the dead and place them in his truck. It made him sick. When he took a pilot out of his plane, the dead man's body would come apart. Borne had help from a few civilians in loading the bodies on his dump truck. The bodies were taken to a reefer [Annotator's Note: large refrigerator]. Borne's truck was smeared with blood. When chow time came, the meal was sauerkraut and wieners. Some of the men devoured the meal hungrily but Borne was too sick to do so. The next day, an air raid hit the reefer. Borne was ordered to move the bodies to another reefer. That prolonged Borne's discomfort. He had loose bowels but managed to do what he was supposed to do.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. drove his truck to multiple locations on Wake Island in support of the defenders. The huge store of dynamite was on Wilkes Island. It was hit and the island suffered immensely. Birds were annihilated. The camouflage over the Marine gun positions was destroyed. Borne saw his buddy Miles Shore from Oklahoma on Wilkes. Shore looked stunned but soon smiled at Borne. That was a most welcome sight. Little personnel injury transpired because the Marines had taken shelter in their dugouts. Devereux [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major, later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marine forces on Wake Island] was on the east end of the island. On the 23rd [Annotator's Note: 23 December 1941], the invasion commenced with heavy shelling. All communications were lost. Devereux kept three communications men in his dugout instead of spreading them out through his defense positions. Two troop transports landed near the airstrip. Borne was close enough to see the enemy coming. Troops had assembled at a different location on the island because of erroneous reports that the enemy was heading that way. Borne was part of the mobile reserve under a fine officer, Lieutenant Poindexter [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Second Lieutenant, later Colonel, Arthur Poindexter]. The reserve force was composed largely of administrative, supply, and mess duty troops. Upon reaching the location cited as a potential landing area, the reserve troops found nothing going on. They returned to their original position. The troops the reserve had attempted to aid did not come to the aid of the reserve when they needed help later. Wilkes Island experienced quite a bit of fighting. Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Captain, later Colonel, Wesley McCoy Platt] exterminated a whole company with his detachment which was about half the size of the assaulting enemy company. On Wake Island, just about all the Japanese had been killed. The enemy had hit a barrier reef preventing them from accomplishing their planned beach landing. The Japanese troop transport unloading process was explained to Borne by Dr. Ozeki [Annotator's Note: Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki was a Japanese veteran of the battle who became a postwar friend of Borne]. Borne was armed with a Springfield 1903 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber Model 1903, or M1903, Springfield bolt action rifle]. The island had no vegetation because of the lack of fresh water. In his bunker, Devereux could communicate with the north side of the island. They were ordered to pull back to Devereux's position to form a skirmish line to protect his bunker. Other communication links were disrupted. It had reached the point where the only way to know what was happening was to look through telescopic range finder glasses to see activity at other locations. It was assumed that the reserve had been overwhelmed. Actions were not effective because of Devereux's decisions. The island commander was Cunningham [Annotator's Note: then US Navy Commander, later Rear Admiral, Winfield Scott Cunningham; commander of all naval forces on Wake Island]. Devereux influenced the commander to surrender the island. After the agreement was made to surrender, Devereux arrived at the location that Borne was defending. The reserve had wiped out nearly the whole landing force with only a few Japanese making it into the brush. The mobile reserve had formed a skirmish line to drive the enemy from their hiding locations. Borne was on the far left of the line awaiting the enemy to reveal themselves. Borne could hear them and see movement in the brush. He was ready to do what he was trained to do. In another 20 minutes, those people would have been wiped out. Instead, the island was surrendered. Concurrently, another Japanese landing barge was having difficulty getting past the reef. The Marines had a machine gun keeping it at bay. Some of the enemy had managed to get onto the islands from the channel between the small islands. The enemy had passed a barge loaded with dynamite that was intended to close the channel. Devereux never gave the order to blow those explosives nor the mines on the airstrip. Though the enemy successfully landed on the island, Captain Platt exterminated them with his machine guns.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. witnessed the end of the fighting on Wake Island. It was chaotic. He [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major; later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marines on Wake Island] had surrendered the island though the Marines had won the battle. Most of the invading troops had been killed. There were still enemy landing barges offshore but they were being kept at bay by Marine machine gunners. When Devereux arrived with a white flag, the Japanese who had remained offshore advanced onto the island. That was the point that Borne was in a perfect position in a bomb crater to take out the surviving Japanese hiding in the brush. He had the safety off his Springfield 1903 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber Model 1903, or M1903, Springfield bolt action rifle] and a dozen hand grenades to take care of the few remaining Japanese in hiding. Devereux told Borne to lay down his arms. The officer had already told Poindexter [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Second Lieutenant, later Colonel, Arthur Poindexter] to do so. It would take three hours for Devereux to reach Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Captain, later Colonel, Wesley McCoy Platt] on Wilkes Island to order that group of Marines to surrender. A ferry connected the two islets. Captain Platt did not agree to surrender. Devereux tried coaxing Platt to give up. Platt said he would surrender only after destroying his weapons and tending to his men who had been wounded. Devereux turned to the Japanese who agreed to Platt's terms. Borne opines that Devereux's leadership has been significantly misinterpreted by history. The Marine commander is considered a hero of Wake. Borne saw the officer in action and formed the opposite opinion of Devereux. He was no hero in the defense of Wake.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. saw that he [Annotator’s Note: then US Marine Corps Major; later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marines on Wake Island] took credit for actions of the defenders in which he had no participation. Because of his rank, no one contradicted Devereux. Borne has been trying to correct the positive image of Devereux since the war ended. He tried to work with a respected Marine officer on Wake, Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Captain, later Colonel, Wesley McCoy Platt] to do so. Borne was ordered to Korea in 1953. Platt told him that he would be promoted to master sergeant when he reached Korea. Platt had a good billet when he reached the peninsula. He reckoned that it might have been due to Platt's influence. When Borne looked up Platt, he discovered that the officer had been killed. It was like losing his father a second time [Annotator's Note: at ten years of age, Borne lost his father in an industrial accident]. Had Platt lived, Borne is sure he would have pursued the truth about Devereux. The Navy commander of the island [Annotator's Note: then US Navy Commander, later Rear Admiral, Winfield Scott Cunningham; commander of all naval forces on Wake Island] took the blame for surrendering the island. Both senior officers lied about their actions when they returned to the United States. Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] signed the unit citation for the defenders of Wake without mentioning Cunningham. There were courts of inquiry after the war to get to the truth. Lies abounded. One honorable man who testified was called a liar and dishonored. After the experience, he committed suicide after killing his family. Devereux and Cunningham lied about everything. Borne believes in the truth and will continue to tell the actual story of Wake's surrender. He saw what happened first hand. After the surrender, Borne was treated by Dr. Ozeki [Annotator's Note: Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki was a Japanese veteran of the battle who became a postwar friend of Borne].

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. first encountered Japanese assault troops soon after Devereux [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Major, later Brigadier General, James Patrick Sinnott Devereux; commander of the Marines on Wake Island] surrendered the island. Brutality and murder were committed by the invading troops. Unarmed civilian workers were executed. The invaders were Japan's elite troops who participated in the Rape of Nanking [Annotator's Note: a brutal capture and execution of Chinese civilians by the Japanese Army in China]. The Japanese Army was crude where the enemy Navy at least had intelligent members. The Wake defenders were given an execution reprieve by the Emperor or they would have all been killed by the Japanese Army. Nevertheless, the captors wanted to make life miserable for the Marines and others captured on Wake. Borne spent 1,365 miserable days in prison camps. Every day was filled with abuse, starvation, beatings, executions, torture, and hard slave labor. Borne arrived in Osaka [Annotator's Note: Osaka, Japan] in the hold of a luxury ship. Officers and wounded were separated from the healthy enlisted who were transported to Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China]. The men were then sent to a prison camp called Woosung. It was a rathole for seven months. Next was a camp in Kiangwan [Annotator's Note: Kiangwan, China; a suburb of Shanghai, China] where they were imprisoned for eight months. Their own officers took advantage of the men during those 15 months in China. Devereux and Ashurst [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Colonel, later Brigadier General, William Wallace Ashurst], who commanded the embassy guard in Peking [Annotator's Note: Peking, China; present day Beijing, People's Republic of China], both came in with their baggage. Meanwhile, their men came in with ill fitting clothes not suited for a cold climate. The officers were allowed to steal the enlisted men's food. The enlisted even dug a garden for the officers. The leaders never shared their food with their enlisted. The commanders were living a life of luxury in China. That was not the case in Japan. The Red Cross observed the officers doing well in China. Gifts sent into the camp were taken by Devereux and the other leaders. Borne is trying to set the record straight about Devereux and his misdeeds during the war. At the end of the war, they were sent to Japan.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. realized that there were no officers to protect the Wake Island Marines who were prisoners of war [Annotator's Note: Borne was held captive in Woosung and then Kiangwan prisoner of war camps near Shanghai, China prior to being transported to Japan prior to the end of the war]. Australian officers helped their men but not the Wake Marines. Nevertheless, they managed to survive. The Japanese would torture for any infraction, particularly for stealing food. Water torture, hanging by the thumbs, and starvation while being held in a hole were only some of the torture performed on the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. Borne tried to get along and not take chances so he did not get the bad treatment. Those who took chances and lost were treated badly. One former taxi driver in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii] made a practice of beating the captives. One of Borne's best friends, Fenton Quinn [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling], was severely and repeatedly beaten. It was demoralizing for Borne to witness that. He finally rescued his buddy who was a mess. Quinn had been caught trading shoes for rice with a Korean and was punished as a result. Borne's friend survived the experience and would leave the camp with Borne after the war. The Koreans were beaten unmercifully. The Japanese even beat their own troops.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. met Dr. Ozeki [Annotator's Note: Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki was a Japanese veteran of the Battle of Wake Island who became a postwar friend of Borne] after the Marines surrendered on Wake Island. The doctor was the only Japanese doctor and had been on the flagship during the initial combat operations. He landed with the second wave and successfully reached the beach. He witnessed his commanding officer being shot between the eyes. The doctor was a one of the best individuals Borne met in his life. The doctor selected Borne to be his truck driver. The Japanese Admiral Kajioka came up on the beach [Annotator’s Note: Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral, later Vice Admiral, Sadamichi Kajioka was in command of the invasion of Wake Island]. The Admiral asked the doctor to check with Borne to determine where all the disappearing guns were located. Borne said there were not any. He brought Ozeki to the wounded people on the island. The wounded Japanese were brought to the hospital. Many of the enemy would not survive after the machine guns opened up on them. Ozeki treated the wounded Japanese during the invasion on the beach. Ozeki carried an automatic Browning .45 caliber pistol but holstered it after a bit. He was nice to Borne even sharing his food and water with his captive. Borne felt respected by Ozeki. The doctor saved as many people he could, even the injured Americans. The guards stayed vigilant with the Americans in the hospital dugout. Borne was, at times, left in the truck unattended. Three wandering Japanese soldiers came upon Borne. They harassed him and Borne simply looked straight ahead. Borne was pulled out of the truck and thrown on the hard-coral ground by the larger of the soldiers. The three pounced on their American victim. Borne lost consciousness. He awoke to Ozeki picking him up and putting him back in the truck. That was the second time Ozeki saved Borne. They went on to become friends. Otherwise, Borne may have been killed. He witnessed the formal surrender of the Americans on Wake Island when Cunningham [Annotator's Note: then US Navy Commander, later Rear Admiral, Winfield Scott Cunningham; commander of all naval forces on Wake Island], dressed in formal military attire, got on his knees before the enemy. At that point, Dr. Ozeki told Borne that he had another driver for the truck. Ozeki escorted Borne to where the other troops were. Ozeki allowed Borne to cover his nakedness by allowing him to pick up a shirt. Borne hid a carton of cigarettes in the shirt. Ozeki made sure Borne reached his troops and then left. Borne's cigarettes went fast. His shirt provided protection from the sun. Dr. Ozeki saved Borne's life at least once and probably twice considering the viciousness of the Japanese soldiers who had served in China and would have likely executed Borne had Ozeki not intervened.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. and the rest of the captured Wake Marines [Annotator's Note: US Marines who were captured when Wake Island fell] were moved to the civilian quarters. They had to stay under the building because of lack of room in the quarters. Dr. Ozeki [Annotator's Note: Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki was a Japanese veteran of the Battle of Wake Island who saved Borne's life at least once and who later became friends with Borne] may have looked for Borne but did not search under the civilian barracks. [Annotator's Note: Borne laughs.] Ozeki seemed to help people. Borne finally received some clothes and Ozeki had a hard time recognizing him [Annotator's Note: the Americans had been stripped of their uniforms and clothing after capture by the Japanese and Borne was nude when he first met Ozeki]. Borne read of Ozeki in a magazine article 50 years later. He tracked down the only Japanese doctor on Wake Island by contacting the article's author. The two former foes reviewed the events on Wake Island. Ozeki had been 22 years old at the time and was a full surgeon. Ozeki joined the Navy because the Army was "without culture." The Navy was more civilized and dignified. The Japanese soldiers in China committed genocide and were given medals by the Emperor for their horrible actions. Dr. Ozeki treated Wally Slogan [Annotator's Note: unable to verify identity] who had a head wound and had been left for dead. Slogan recovered and lived a long life due to the Japanese doctor. The doctor managed to get American food for Slogan. He was kind to the badly wounded man as well as many others. Ozeki helped Americans being tortured. Many of the Wake Island survivors still hate the Japanese. Some even hate Borne because they say he aided the Japanese. Borne was grateful for Ozeki saving his life. Borne decided to find the author of the article on the Wake Island doctor. When Borne and Ozeki met, both were happy to see each other. Because of illness, Ozeki could not travel but paid for Borne, his wife and five others to come to Japan to visit him. Borne brought along some historians to capture the story of the two men. Their accommodations in Nagoya [Annotator's Note: Nagoya, Japan] were very impressive. The meeting with Dr. Ozeki was very cordial.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. and his entourage met some of the Wake Island conquerors. [Annotator's Note: Borne and six others traveled to Nagoya, Japan about 50 years after the fall of Wake Island for a reunion with Imperial Japanese Navy Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki who saved his life on the island.] They were very nice and respectful with only a few exceptions. Borne addressed school children who were very welcoming. The Wake Island veterans from both sides spoke to the students. The veterans were treated royally. Borne spoke before a Rotary Club and was treated well. Borne spent four days with Dr. Ozeki and then went to where his prison camp was in the north of Japan. He had friends there who had treated him well. After liberation, the former prisoners were given enough food to fill them but the occupation forces were to keep the men in the camp. Borne and a friend went to town anyway. They got a haircut and shave and made friends with the barbers. Youngsters followed them because the Americans had candy. The two Americans went to a communal bath house and everyone got out when the former POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] got into the water. Feeling freshened up, the two started looking for girls. He gave a little girl some sweets and Borne met her mother. The mother brought the men home and gave them some American whiskey. She even let the men use her automobile. Being showered with kindness was unbelievable. He left Japan a month and a half later after a banquet was thrown for the two men. Borne's buddy got sick on sake and Borne brought him back to camp. Borne would see the little girl 50 years later. She recognized him. Before the camp was liberated, the Japanese guards simply left. Gendarmes were placed around the camp to protect the Americans. It was quite an experience.

Edwin Joseph Borne, Jr. attempted to correspond with a female Japanese friend who had treated him well after he was liberated but the mail did not reach her. His camp in north Japan was a destination after seeing Dr. Ozeki. [Annotator's Note: Borne and six others traveled to Nagoya, Japan about 50 years after the fall of Wake Island for a reunion with Imperial Japanese Navy Dr. Shigeyoshi Ozeki who saved his life on the island.] He never met any of the prison guards at that camp. He eventually made his way to Yokosuka [Annotator's Note: Yokosuka, Japan] where the United States had a naval base during the occupation. It was in 1995. The Japanese were nice and cultured people. Dr. Ozeki was the smartest man that Borne ever met. They were friends. Ozeki came to the United States and wanted to see an American ball game. They went to see the Zephyrs [Annotator's Note: a minor league baseball team in Metairie, Louisiana] and he threw out the first pitch. The next trip was to Disneyworld [Annotator's Note: resort and theme park in Orlando, Florida]. They shared adjacent treehouses. It was a good time for both families. Dr. Ozeki wanted to come to the United States to live, but he died before he could. Borne was glad they were friends. He is proud of the pearls that Ozeki gave to Borne's wife. Borne's trip to Japan was covered by Ozeki. Ozeki loved Borne's family and showed every kindness to them. If Borne had to be any other person, he would chose Dr. Ozeki. Seeing the doctor after 50 years was very rewarding. When Borne talks of his wartime experiences, his emphasis is on Dr. Ozeki. He was fortunate to meet him. Borne is glad Dr. Ozeki liked him.