Ernest Gordon (31 May 1916 – 16 January 2002) was the former Presbyterian dean of the chapel at Princeton University. A native of Scotland, as an officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Gordon spent three years in a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camp during the Second World War. He chronicled his experiences on the Death Railway in his book Through the Valley of the Kwai. The book served as an inspiration to the film To End All Wars which opened in 2001.
We were treated worse than animals," he said years later. "The conditions were worse than you could imagine." (on being a Japanese war prisoner during World War II) "Faith thrives when there is no hope but God. It is luxury and success that makes men greedy.
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Fact
1
Was a prisoner of war in Thailand during the Japanese occupation of that country during World War II.
2
Mr. Gordon was ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1950 and came to the United States not long afterwards.
3
His father, James, was an engineer. His mother, Sarah, was an amateur opera singer.
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