Elia Kazan visited American bases in Hollandia (now Jayapura), New Guinea, in 1944. In his memoirs, he recalls:
I heard endless stories of Japanese atrocities: how they'd hang a man up by his thumbs, slit his belly open and pour gasoline inside, then ignite it. Our men had their answer; they took forty-nine Japanese prisoners, tied them up in a tight ring, doused them with airplane fuel, and burned them all. Gasoline was in plentiful supply. When they flew Japanese prisoners back for questioning on a C-47, they kept the freight door at the side of the plane open, and when the questioning of each man was concluded, he'd be kicked overboard before they reached their destination. Neither side took prisoners.
Elia Kazan, A Life, [N.p.: Da Capo Press, 1997], p. 276.