The Railway Man

October 11, 2012 11:51 AM

Eric Lomax, River Kwai prisoner who forgave, dies at 93.
posted by tykky (32 comments total)

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posted by Smart Dalek at 11:54 AM on October 11, 2012

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posted by Kadin2048 at 11:55 AM on October 11, 2012

... water was poured into his nose and mouth. One of his constant torturers...

How times have changed.
posted by Egg Shen at 11:56 AM on October 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

My god, what an incredible story. I'm someone who really struggles with forgiveness, and I'm just in awe that he was able to do so.

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posted by jbickers at 11:58 AM on October 11, 2012

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posted by jquinby at 12:07 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by WidgetAlley at 12:10 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by brundlefly at 12:14 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by rtha at 12:15 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by tommasz at 12:15 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by cookie-k at 12:21 PM on October 11, 2012

dot - combining bridge above
water hexagram
posted by zippy at 12:23 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by Spatch at 12:31 PM on October 11, 2012

Lomax's account of how he came to forgive Nagase is worth reading.

in July 1991 a friend gave me a small paperback by Nagase called Crosses and Tigers, translated into English. In telling his wartime activities, Nagase described my torture. He said he shuddered every time he recalled it. He expressed his remorse and felt he had been forgiven.

Never, I thought. Patti was indignant. With my permission she wrote Nagase, telling how I had suffered. “How can you feel ‘forgiven,’ Mr. Nagase, if this particular prisoner of war has not yet forgiven you?”

More than a week later a tissue-thin envelope from Japan arrived. “Your letter has beaten me down,” Nagase wrote my wife, “reminding me of my dirty old days.” Patti had sent him a photo of me and Nagase observed, “He looks a healthy and tender gentleman, though I am not able to see the inside of his mind. Please tell him to live long until I can see him.”

posted by zamboni at 12:40 PM on October 11, 2012 [11 favorites]

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posted by Zonker at 12:47 PM on October 11, 2012

Here is what the word hero should be reserved for, in my opinion...
posted by RollingGreens at 1:06 PM on October 11, 2012

Wow, amazing!
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posted by quazichimp at 1:08 PM on October 11, 2012

what an amazingly powerful story.

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posted by .kobayashi. at 1:27 PM on October 11, 2012

Awesome and instructive.

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posted by Mooski at 1:44 PM on October 11, 2012

Horrifying. Awful. Disgusting.

Amazing. Wonderful. Uplifting.

All of these, and sadness, and joy.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:48 PM on October 11, 2012

A film based on “The Railway Man,” starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, is scheduled to be released next year.

So, which one of them is going to play Nagase Takashi? Otherwise, this must be a use of the word "starring" with which I'm not familiar.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 2:21 PM on October 11, 2012

If you haven't read Unbroken, do so.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:39 PM on October 11, 2012

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McCoy Pauley - Wikipedia says Hiroyuki Sanada will play Nagase. Decent enough choice, I guess. I figured it'd be Ken Watanabe.
posted by shortfuse at 2:56 PM on October 11, 2012

...../-------\......
posted by ShutterBun at 3:30 PM on October 11, 2012

_/|\_
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 3:47 PM on October 11, 2012

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What an amazing, powerful story.
posted by sarcasticah at 3:57 PM on October 11, 2012

Incredible.

Quoting myself, from the Malvo thread a week or so ago: There is no situation in which forgiveness and understanding is impossible.
posted by broadway bill at 4:00 PM on October 11, 2012

Thanks for sharing that. So very moving.
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:37 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by jpolchlopek at 4:44 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by univac at 4:45 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by superna at 4:48 PM on October 11, 2012

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posted by 4ster at 5:49 PM on October 11, 2012

Forgiveness is for the victim's health, not for the perpetrator. Whether the victim realizes this or not.
posted by Galadhwen at 3:43 PM on October 12, 2012