Thread: Hell Fire Pass, Kanchanburi, July 2015

Been a couple of times but too dodgy on the legs to attempt hellfire pass. Respect to all.

Stephen (Ex Artillery)

An excellent post Terry. I must get there before I get much older. As a military buff, I've read a lot about the WW2 History, in this area of S/E Asia. I visited the commemorative bridge in 1972, while my brother worked in Thailand 1967-73. Don't know why we didn't hike the trail? It was probably pretty rough then. It would have been easier at 27 years old, than 72.

It's certainly a big Effort for the older fellas to get down to the Cutting no doubt about that.

Even climbing back up the stairs on the entry down from the Museum is a slog.

I can see one day in the future they will have some sort of Automation for people to use.

Doing it in April would really sort a few guys out.

Thanks for this thread, Terry.

What amazes me is that not only did the POWs manage to do this whilst being driven on by cruel Japanese and even more cruel Korean guards, but that they did this whilst underfed and often sick.

If you've ever had the flu and had to still muster the strength to go down the shop or the doctor's, having to do a hard day's slog (whilst being underweight and underfed) leaves that in the dust.

Twenty years ago I knew an old Aussie guy named Jack Clough who had been one of them. He only survived because he had been a cook. He said that they used to get malaria multiple times. Unless very serious, it was viewed as like getting a cold.

Originally Posted by danno5

actually recognized a couple of the guys in the pipes band :-)

Which ones?

Originally Posted by Latindancer

He said that they used to get malaria multiple times.

Heaps of mosquitoes there when we visited.