Japan's Comfort Women (22 page)

soldiers only. This is to be strictly maintained by picquetting.

(II)

Any soldier who desires to patronise these brothels must produce to the guard his blue light [ prophylactic] outfit.

(III) Any soldier who has visited a brothel must attend immediately at the blue light centre and obtain a certificate of attention for his RMO

[Regimental Medical Officer].

(IV) The girls to be submitted to a satisfactory examination (clinical examination and smear, also culture and WR if practicable) before the opening night. Only those proved to be non-infectious to be employed. Such examination to be repeated at least once weekly.

(V)

The sale of alcoholic liquor to be strictly controlled.44

96

Why did US forces ignore the issue?

In the same report, it was recorded that during eight weeks of leave in Beirut, the 7th Australian Division’s prophylactic stations served at least 27,000 men (i.e. over 480 men a day)! The result was relatively small numbers of incidents of VD – 61 in total.45 This report also contains unusually detailed descriptions of how the 7th Division set up military controlled brothels. The following is a case in Tripoli:

At the port of EL MINA was a group of small houses on the water front, used for brothel purposes . . . Across the road from the Legoul Barracks was an empty building which, until closed, had functioned as a French regimental brothel. Surrounded by a high wall and barbed wire, it consisted of a large reception hall, opening by one door into a central bar or cafe, by another to a passage leading to twelve rooms, each with its bidet. A kitchen and a bathroom completed the accommodation . . . Unofficially, a series of Madames were paraded and the least objectionable – Madam OLGA – was selected . . .

It was explained to Madame that she had to produce 12 girls who were to submit to, and pass, a standard examination before the opening night and to a twice weekly snap examination thereafter.

Examinations would be carried out by a gynaecologist from the div and included inspections, smear, culture, Wasserman and Kahn. Each girl had to produce her identity book bearing her photo and result of MO’s examination with date. Only these girls would be permitted to enter the premises . . . One Syrian pound was to be the price – nothing over half a crown . . .

The next few days saw a scene of hurry and bustle at the Emporium. In one room the gynaecologist with his pathologist were examining a series of girls temporarily in bathing gowns, down the passage were disappearing into the different rooms – large beds – easy chairs – wardrobes – suit cases and toilet articles. The Div Hyg Sec installed an excellent PAC in a room opening off the reception hall, which was decorated with warning posters. It was hoped that the horrible contrast between the real article and the poster would act as deterrent.

Within a week eight girls were passed as fit and the others had been admitted to the local hospital or had absconded. Madame produced a new and even uglier dress, and armed provost were posted at the gate. The girls were a mixed lot, Arabs, Lebanese and Greeks, all extremely unattractive, mostly grossly repulsive. . . . The youngest, LOLO, was 16 – a little dot from DAMASCUS. She alone seemed bright and happy until she developed an acute appendix . . .

Due to laxity of the provost, alcoholics were admitted and the place was partly wrecked – the usual accusations of brutality and thieving were made by Madame – but all was sorted out and business continued . . .

In the TRIPOLI area, with approximately 13,500 AIF troops, from September 14 to December 6, 12 weeks, there were totally 11,955 attendances
Why did US forces ignore the issue?

97

in the controlled brothels, and unknown number outside – resulting in 134

cases of suspected VD. There was an average nightly attendance of 142.46

The above description of a brothel controlled by the Australian Army is strikingly similar to the situation of
ianjo
,
i.e.
Japanese comfort stations, although there is a fundamental difference. The women working for the Australians were professional prostitutes, while most comfort women were illegally forced to serve the Japanese men, and many of them were victims of rape. However, it was a breach of international law that the Australians used a 16-year-old girl as a prostitute knowing that she was a minor. Furthermore it is clear that the author of this report showed no guilt, and indeed strongly despised the women who became the objects of his and his fellow soldiers’ sexual exploitation. Probably this was, and still is, a typical attitude of military men towards “prostitutes.” This kind of raw information on the conditions of the military-controlled brothels is totally lacking in the Brumfield Report.

What were the rates of VD among the Australian troops stationed in the Middle East around this time? I have so far only found a few relevant statistical documents, including the following Table 4.1.47

If the figures of total cases in Table 4.1 are converted to ratios per thousand troops, in 1940 31.28 per thousand A.I.F. soldiers suffered from VD per annum, and in 1941, it was 40.33 per thousand per annum.48 According to Brumfield’s report, the rate for US troops stationed in Cairo in 1942 was 87.92 per thousand per annum, and 104.96 per thousand for the Persian Gulf Service Command. In the case of troops from the US Services of Supply in Karachi, the rate was as high as 218.4 per thousand per annum.49 Therefore, the VD rates among the Australians were indeed much lower than those for the US forces. Incidentally, in Eritrea where the US and British forces shared the same brothels inherited from the Italian Army, the rate was as low as 22.16 per thousand per annum, even lower than the number of Australian cases.50

It should be noted, however, that as far as total cases are concerned, VD was the second most common disease after Sandfly Fever among the A.I.F. in the Middle East. Cases of VD ran at about 2.5 times the rate of Malaria or Dysen-tery cases, which were the third and fourth most common illness respectively.51

Thus, it can be said that the problem of VD was the most serious health issue
Table 4.1
Incidence of VD, Australian Infantry forces in the Middle East, 1940–1942

1940

1941

1942(3/12)

Total

Average period

Total cases

882

6121

1254

8257

25.6 days

Gonorrhea

284

1597

331

2212

33.46 days

Syphilis

71

247

45

363

28.2 days

Urethritis

288

1821

415

2534

26.2 days

98

Why did US forces ignore the issue?

that troubled US military leaders as well as those of other Allied nations. The Brumfield Report clearly proves that the US War Department not only distributed massive numbers of condoms and provided “prophylactic stations” to their own troops overseas, but also deliberately kept silent about the military-controlled brothels that their men frequented.

In the conclusion of his report, Brumfield proposed nine itemized measures to combat VD problems among US forces stationed in Africa, the Middle East and India. In Item 1, he suggested:

That Army regulations be revised to permit the commanding generals in theaters of operations to institute such venereal disease control measures as may be deemed necessary in view of local conditions, regardless of whether such measures are considered applicable to venereal disease control in the United States.52

Although his wording is somewhat unclear, it is almost certain that he implied that commanders of ground forces in actual war zones should be given open permission to set up military-controlled brothels for their own men. The aim of using such facilities as an effective VD prevention method prevailed, despite the existence of the May Act, which was adopted within the US to some extent.

Having actually seen many brothels controlled by the troops stationed in those regions, it seems probable that his true feeling was that in order to be relevant, the official military policy would have to change to come into line with the existing situation. However, senior officers in the War Department continued to maintain an official policy which was clearly in conflict with the actual methods they were using as “prophylactic measures.”

In this sense, Brumfield’s indirect criticism of his superior officers is under-standable. However, he must be criticized for his interpretation of the causes of VD among US forces was fundamentally flawed. In the introduction of his report, Brumfield wrote:

Among the factors influencing venereal diseases among the armed forces are: first, the characteristics of the people among whom soldiers are stationed. Their moral and customs, and especially the physical attractiveness of the native women have a direct bearing upon the desire of soldiers to associate with them and therefore the risk of sexual exposures. If the women lack physical attractiveness or if their customs prohibit intermingling with foreign men few sexual exposures will occur and low venereal disease rates will be the result.53

Here we find a perfect prototypical mixture of Orientalism and male chauvin-ism. To Brumfield’s mind, American men are morally sound, healthy, and physically pure, but when they go to Asia and Africa they will be exposed to seductively exotic women inhabiting a morally corrupt society. In other words, US soldiers are viewed as naive “victims” of corrupt Oriental customs rather than as harsh “exploiters” of women in poverty.

Why did US forces ignore the issue?

99

Military prostitution in the Caribbean, Australia and

elsewhere

Let us now examine the situation in other regions not covered by Brumfield’s fieldwork.

It seems that VD was a serious problem among US forces stationed in the Caribbean from a relatively early stage of World War II. There are a number of relevant documents prepared by the War Department between August 1942 and December 1943. One of them is the memo sent to the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel from Brigadier-General F. H. Osborn (Director of the Special Service Division) on December 5, 1942:

Subject: Venereal Disease in Overseas Bases.

I.
Discussion

1

Vigorous efforts by commanders and surgeons have not lowered the prevalence of venereal infection in many of the Caribbean bases.

2

War Department procedure for prohibition of prostitution within reasonable distance
of Military Establishments is not applicable to the problems of base commanders.

3

In Surinam, 16 percent of the personnel have acquired a venereal disease.

In St. Lucia, 10 percent of the forces are under treatment for syphilis. In British Guyana, the rate for the month of August was 331 per 1,000 per annum.

4

Civil authorities in British and Dutch colonies have no control over the widespread practice of prostitution by their impoverished, ignorant and diseased natives. Sanitary conditions in native village endanger in ways other than venereal the health of our troops.

5

Supervision of the sexual habits of soldiers is likewise difficult, particularly because of their long service in isolated areas, ready promiscuity, cheap rum and foreign service pay allotment.

6

Replacement of undesirable personnel and development of social and recreational diversions lowers the prevalence of venereal disease but is not feasible in all bases.

7

Under such circumstances, commanders tend to tolerate quasi-control, such as suffer-ance of some illicit houses, to induce a degree of native cooperation and control.

Lacking the authority of higher headquarters, the thorough supervision of such ventures by the medical department is not possible.

8

Reconsideration of War Department policy and adaptation of prescribed procedures to the problems of overseas forces would seem desirable.

9

Prohibition of prostitution within reasonable limits of military establishments, as prescribed in Section II, Circular 170, War Department 1941, is dependent on cooperative action by civil authorities.
If such cooperative
measures are not effective, as in the case of most overseas bases, it may be that
commanders should be authorised to adopt control measures as warranted and as
recommended by Venereal Disease Control Officers, within existing laws of the
country in which troops are garrisoned.
54

[Emphasis added]

100

Why did US forces ignore the issue?

From this memo it is apparent that well before Major Brumfield submitted his report, one of the senior officers in the War Department had already suggested changes to the Department’s policy, to permit commanders of overseas troops to adopt the method of military-controlled prostitution. Furthermore, in Item 7 of this memo, Brigadier-General F. H. Osborn admitted that some commanders in the Caribbean were actually condoning their soldiers’ association with local prostitutes. It is also interesting to note that Osborn shared a similar view to Brumfield: the cause of VD problems was “impoverished, ignorant and diseased natives” rather than American men themselves.

Attached to this memo is a short report,
Prostitution and Venereal Disease in
Caribbean Bases
, which was possibly prepared some time in the latter half of 1942.

In this report, the situation in Panama, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad, and British Guyana were briefly described. Another report entitled
Prostitution within the Caribbean area
was written by Inspector General, Major-General Virgil Peterson and submitted to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1 on April 6, 1943.55 These reports give us a general picture of US military-controlled prostitution in this region.