He and his siblings were raised in an orphanage; they were sent there by their mother after their father died.
His book, The Secret Camera, details how he took pictures of fellow POWs and their camp with a home-made camera to record Japanese wartime atrocities.
He and other fellow POWs were ordered to sign an agreement that they would not publicly discuss their captivity or seek recourse from the Japanese. No such order was issued for Americans held by the Germans.