Documentary film tracing footsteps of American POW who died in Hiroshima A-bombing
Apr. 2, 2015
by Yumi Kanazaki and Keiichiro Yamamoto, Staff Writers
American Barry Frechette, 47, is directing a documentary film which traces the footsteps of an American soldier who died in the atomic bombing while held in Hiroshima as a prisoner of war (POW). Mr. Frechette, who works at an advertising agency in Boston, has come to Hiroshima with Susan Archinsky, 55, the niece of the American soldier. They filmed at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima Castle, both in Naka Ward, on March 23.
The American soldier featured in the film is Normand Brissette, who was a 19-year-old crew member aboard a U.S. bomber that was shot down by anti-aircraft fire offshore of Hiroshima. After several U.S. military planes were brought down over the Hiroshima and Yamaguchi areas, the captured American airmen were held as POWs at the headquarters of the Chugoku military police (in today’s Naka Ward), which was located about 500 meters from the bomb’s hypocenter.
Mr. Frechette first thought of creating the film in 2012 when he learned that a neighbor in his hometown was a family member of Mr. Brissette. He was shocked by the fact that “even some Americans had died in the atomic bombing.” While interviewing the members of Mr. Brissette’s family, Mr. Frechette came to know Shigeaki Mori, 77, an A-bomb survivor in Nishi Ward who had devoted many years to investigating the American soldiers who lost their lives to the atomic bombing. With Mr. Mori’s support, Mr. Frechette was able to arrange another shoot in Hiroshima, after first filming here in February 2014.
At Peace Memorial Museum, Mr. Frechette and his crew studied drawings of the atomic bombing made by Hiroshima survivors. When Ms. Archinsky saw a drawing of the A-bomb disaster which featured American POWs in the custody of military policemen, she shed tears. “It’s so sad to think about the many people who suffered because of the atomic bombing,” she said. Afterward, they visited the site which served as the setting for this picture, near Hiroshima Castle where the Chugoku military district headquarters were located.
In addition, Akio Nakamura, 82, who had been at his father’s workplace, the headquarters of the military police, and saw the American POWs on the day prior to the bombing, joined the filming from his home in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Though Mr. Nakamura has no memory of seeing Mr. Brissette, he shared what the detainee cells were like at the time as well as his own A-bomb experience.
Ms. Archinsky’s father Raymond, 85, is Normand Brissette’s younger brother. Ms. Archinsky said that Raymond still grows quiet and tears up when Normand’s name is mentioned. She said, “It’s also hard for me to know these facts, but I decided to come to Hiroshima and tell my father about the place where my uncle died.” Mr. Frechette and his crew will be in Hiroshima until March 27 to speak with someone who saw Mr. Brissette’s plane and to visit the Ujina area in Minami Ward where Mr. Brissette is believed to have died.
(Originally published on March 24, 2015）
American Barry Frechette, 47, is directing a documentary film which traces the footsteps of an American soldier who died in the atomic bombing while held in Hiroshima as a prisoner of war (POW). Mr. Frechette, who works at an advertising agency in Boston, has come to Hiroshima with Susan Archinsky, 55, the niece of the American soldier. They filmed at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima Castle, both in Naka Ward, on March 23.
The American soldier featured in the film is Normand Brissette, who was a 19-year-old crew member aboard a U.S. bomber that was shot down by anti-aircraft fire offshore of Hiroshima. After several U.S. military planes were brought down over the Hiroshima and Yamaguchi areas, the captured American airmen were held as POWs at the headquarters of the Chugoku military police (in today’s Naka Ward), which was located about 500 meters from the bomb’s hypocenter.
Mr. Frechette first thought of creating the film in 2012 when he learned that a neighbor in his hometown was a family member of Mr. Brissette. He was shocked by the fact that “even some Americans had died in the atomic bombing.” While interviewing the members of Mr. Brissette’s family, Mr. Frechette came to know Shigeaki Mori, 77, an A-bomb survivor in Nishi Ward who had devoted many years to investigating the American soldiers who lost their lives to the atomic bombing. With Mr. Mori’s support, Mr. Frechette was able to arrange another shoot in Hiroshima, after first filming here in February 2014.
At Peace Memorial Museum, Mr. Frechette and his crew studied drawings of the atomic bombing made by Hiroshima survivors. When Ms. Archinsky saw a drawing of the A-bomb disaster which featured American POWs in the custody of military policemen, she shed tears. “It’s so sad to think about the many people who suffered because of the atomic bombing,” she said. Afterward, they visited the site which served as the setting for this picture, near Hiroshima Castle where the Chugoku military district headquarters were located.
In addition, Akio Nakamura, 82, who had been at his father’s workplace, the headquarters of the military police, and saw the American POWs on the day prior to the bombing, joined the filming from his home in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Though Mr. Nakamura has no memory of seeing Mr. Brissette, he shared what the detainee cells were like at the time as well as his own A-bomb experience.
Ms. Archinsky’s father Raymond, 85, is Normand Brissette’s younger brother. Ms. Archinsky said that Raymond still grows quiet and tears up when Normand’s name is mentioned. She said, “It’s also hard for me to know these facts, but I decided to come to Hiroshima and tell my father about the place where my uncle died.” Mr. Frechette and his crew will be in Hiroshima until March 27 to speak with someone who saw Mr. Brissette’s plane and to visit the Ujina area in Minami Ward where Mr. Brissette is believed to have died.
(Originally published on March 24, 2015）
