Norris Troney Diary
This diary was kept by Norris H. Troney, Seaman 1st Class, US Navy, captured on Wake Island. He was seventeen when he enlisted and eighteen when captured. The diary was sent to me by his son, Norris. I have included both the diary and a transcript of the diary. Norris Troney died in 1961. His prisoner number was 416. Doc Hoffman's number was 417. He died in 1960. Information and a picture of Norris Troney is after the diary below.
Dec 23rd 1941 - capitulated
Jan 12th 1942 - left Wake
Jan 21st 1942 - arrived Yokohama
Jan 22nd 1942 - left Yokohama
Jan 24th 1942 - arrived Woosung
Nov 2nd 1942 - left Woosung
Nov 5th 1942 - arrived Yahata
Dec 15th 1943 - left Yahata
Dec 15th 1943 - arrived Tobata
Sep 17th 1945 - left Tobata
Fukuoka 3-B was originally at Yahata, then all the POWs were moved to Tobata. They continued to work in the same factory complex after the move.
12/15/43 Moved to new barracks Chow damn low, men starving12/24/43 Day off for Christmas. Received 2 oranges, chow lower, 10 men died1/16/44 Cough medicine, men use on rice, They are so hungry2/6/44 Received Red Cross package, 2 men (I assume this means 2 men per package)3/3/44 Commandant relieved, new one better, slight increase in chow4/26/44 Chow cut6/15/44 First air raid7/29/44 First daylight raid8/20/44 Biggest raid, blew hell out of factory. Saw 2 B-29s shot down 1/1/45 Red Cross 1 package - 4 men. Chow better2/11/45 alarms regular now. Nips catching hell4/1/45 Alarms daily and nightly now. Hitting close.
4/12/45 Planes over almost everyday4/29/45 Alarms regular for last five days5/8/45 Alarms regular every day - now - but hitting out of our vicinity5/27/45 Uncle visits us every night - we go to shelter for from one to five hours6/10/45 Things really quiet lately but alarms are beginning to go again. Come on Uncle6/11/45 Uncles comes every night now6/18/45 Uncle came again last night - came in 7 waves, longest raid yet. Blew hell out of Moji. [Moji was the main seaport near there]
6/20/45 Uncle again last night - Hit hard not very far away.6/21/45 Alarm again today6/22/45 Alarm 6 times in last 24 hours6/21??24/45 Alarms went all night - no sleep now.7/3/45 Raids every night and day. Close enough to hear but not here.7/10/45 Uncle came last night. Blew hell out of area, very close. One shot down.7/11/45 Uncle visits again7/14/45 Chow went down today, Going down daily. Back to starvation rations. 4 men died in 2 days.
7/22/45 Chow is low and going lower all the time. If this doesn't end soon these Sons of Bitches will starve us to death.
8/1/45 Uncle raising hell every day. B-29s and dive bombers visit us - but the bastards continue to send us to work.
8/7/45 Uncle dropped pamphlets saying we are next.
8/8/45 Uncle came and kept his promise of yesterday. Blew hell out of factory with us in it. Thousands of incendiary bombs dropped. One prisoner killed, another lost arm, a few minor casualties. It was hell.
8/9/45 Stayed in camp today. Alarm 5 times this morning.
[The alarms in the morning may have been from the lone B-29 flying overhead trying to see through the smoke from the fires of the raid of the day before. They could not see through the smoke so they flew to Nagasaki and dropped the second atomic bomb there, instead of on the city of Kokura, where the prisoners from Fukuoka 3-B worked.]
810/45 No work today. In shelter all day, several bombs land
8/11/45 Uncle hit close last night. Heard him drop some big ones.
8/13/45 Uncle again, dive bombers. Shelter almost all day.
8/14/45 Went to work today. They want to kill us for sure. Bombed.
8/15/45 No raids today, came in from work at noon today. Everything points to the end. God make it so.
8/16/45 Positive the war is over.
Thank
God
8/17/45 Just waiting for the day we leave
8/18/45 Just waiting and preparing to go
8/19/45 Still waiting
8/20/45 Still waiting, days seem like months
8/21/45 Still waiting
8/22/45 " "
8/23/45 " "
8/24/45 Still waiting, days seem like years now
8/25/45 Still waiting
8/26/45 " '
8/27/45 Still Waiting
8/28/45 " "
8/29/45 " "
8/30/45 Food supplies dropped by B-29. Hooray
8/31/45 More food, medicine, and clothing supplies dropped
9/1/45 Eating like Kings and still waiting
9/2/45 Swiss and Swedish representatives come into camp. We take over camp - American flag hoisted.
9/2/45 Still waiting
9/4/45 " "
9/5/45 " "
9/6/45 Food supplies dropped
9/7/45 Still waiting
9/8/45 " "
9/9/45 " "
9/10/45 " "
9/11/45 Food supplies dropped
9/12/45 this is either a ditto for food supplies
or still waiting
9/13/45 or 9/15/45 Yanks arrive in camp today. Hooray!
B-29 coming in for food drop. American, British, and what is probably Dutch flags were made from parachutes and materials in food drops. Photo courtesy of Pat Hilley, son of POW John Hilley.
Norris Troney worked for the Harrison County Sheriff's Department (Mississippi) as the head of the Criminal Investigation and Identification Unit after the war.
(Click above to return to Fukuoka 3-B main page)
