World Food Prize Ambassador Quinn
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THE ARCHIVE OF AMBASSADOR KENNETH M. QUINN
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEKONG
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Eating Hamburgers off the Table at Which the Japanese Surrender Was Received in WWII

359/12/87

Amb. Quinn describes the grand villa located at Baguio in the Philippines which served as the U.S. ambassador’s summer residence and retreat. In the dining room, was a portrait of General Wainwright, an emaciated former POW, accepting the surrender of the Japanese forces during World War II. It hung above the table upon which the surrender was signed and which Amb. Quinn and his family now ate their informal dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs. There were stories about how the ghost of General Yamashita, the Japanese commanding officer at the time, still haunted the residence and might lead those dwelling in it to a secret stash of gold that he had hidden away. While WWII was a time of great enmity, Amb. Quinn outlines how integrating little league baseball teams in Manila with both Japanese and American players, turned potential hostility into friendship.

© 2024 World Food Prize Ambassador Quinn. All rights reserved.