Back From The Living Dead by Bert Bank (book series for 12 year olds .TXT) π
We found out that the Japs meant this order. They took everything they desired from us when we started this march. They took all the clothing that they wanted for themselves, all watches, fountain pens, etc. During the noon hour every day they would give us 'about face' and march us for five or eight miles to the rear, between noon and 2 P.M. when it was terrificly hot.
Hundreds were killed by the guards or died from exhaustion.
The Japs were moving vast amounts of equipment south and installing guns along the beach preparatory to landing on Corregidor. During this march the Americans on Corregidor were firing at the Japs and we had many men who were injured from this shell- ing from our own lines.
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and trying to live, that many officers did not conduct
themselves like officers of the American Army. But
the amazing thing to me was that these men condemned
all the officers instead of being cognizant of the fact
that there were many of them who had been and were
still good soldiers. But I presume that if you look back
into history you will see that in prisons of this nature
everybody is on edge and blames those of rank for
their being in such a prison camp. We had one enlisted
man whom everybody had trouble with. He was dis-liked by the enlisted men themselves. He called our
commanding officer in camp a son of a bitch one day.
He was reported to the Japs, and they said take care
of it yourself. So he was put in a guard house for a
week, but he did not mind that as then he did not
have to work during this week.
Work in the Rice Fields Meant Death to Many
The principal work here was in the rice fields. We
would go to work in the morning at 6 oβclock and
return sometimes as late as 11 P.M. The work was
horrible, as we worked in the nude and barefooted in
mud and water up to our necks. I remember before we
started working in the rice fields the Filipinos would
tell us with tears in their eyes that they hated to see
the Americans work in the rice fields because many
would die from the rice poison, and we later found
out what they meant.
This rice poison causes large sores to break out on
the body and when they became infected it caused
many to die, as we had nothing with which to take
care of it. I, as were many others, was covered with
these sores from ankle to neck, and today have scars
on my feet from them. We planted the rice and
harvested it for the Japs. They gave us the third grade
rice that was scraped from the floor. Our feet were
always in bad condition as a result of running over
the patties barefooted. The guards would watch us
and when we did not work according to their regula-tions we would be given a beating with a large stick
which they carried. I remember βMussolini,β one of
the guards, hitting a man over the head with this
stick and splitting it into. We were out in the hot sun
all day and when wc returned at night we would be
so tired that we would go right to sleep. The rice
fields were known as βMactanβ and it was a 30 minute
ride on the small train that we called the βMactan
Special.β We would take our rice there and eat it
in the fields. We were given two 15 minute rest
periods a day. This work was horrible and it is responsible for many Americans being dead and permanently
injured today.
Monkeys, Lizards Form Part of Diet
At Mactan we used the carabaos for harrowing
purposes. Of course, the carabaos live in water, but
during the harrowing some of the men tied a rope
around the carabaoβs neck and legs and in some way
drowned the animal. Well, the Japs would not eat
these animals when they died, so they gave it to us.
We did the same thing several times the next week and
the Japs got suspicious of this and came over and said
that they could not understand a carabao drowning in
water when it lived in water all the time. They took
the Americans off of the carabaos and let Filipinos
drive them. After that we received no carabao except
when one died in the jungle. We caught a monkey now
and then in the jungle, and we also ate dogs, cats,
lizards, rats, and weeds. On detail we would get pig
weed, which grows on the side of creeks, and bring
it in and cook it in hot water. At Davao we were able
to get a little tobacco but the last few days at Cabanatuan before the liberation, the Americans were smoking papuya leaves, squash leaves, and I was eating
the squash leaves, as I do not smoke. When I brought
some in to eat, if I had enough left over I would give
them to someone else who would smoke them.
Dengue fever, malaria, blindness, and beri beri was
also prevalent in Davao. I remember one lieutenant
who had beri beri so bad that for 18 months he had
remained doubled up rubbing his feet and he could
not straighten up. This was very common. The Japs
would give us commottoe vines here as in Cabanatuan.
Our diet was about the same as in Cabanatuan. For
breakfast we had this wet watery lugao. For lunch
we had rice with this vine or pig weed soup, and for
supper we had rice with soup and sometimes we had
a few rotten commottoes.
Rotten Commottes Sole Diet
About six months before we left Davao to return
to Luzon we had rotten commottes for lunch and supper and that is all, with no rice. If we were fortunate
enough to steal vegetables on the farm here it was
always a great pleasure, but so many were caught
that we were afraid to bring any food in the compound. I remember one man who had a hollow heel
in his wooden shoe. We all wore wooden shoes. He
would bring in rice each clay from the fields. One day
just as he arrived in front of the guard house where
all the Japs sat, this heel came off and all the rice
spilled out. He was immediately grabbed by the guards
and beaten severely and taken to the Jap guard house
and tortured for one week. Many times this happened
for bringing in food and vegetables which were plentiful but were not allowed to the Americans.
Chicken Punished for Eating Own Eggs
The Jap guards were stupid in many respects. On
one occasion they punished their chickens for eating
their own eggs. They had some Americans working
on a chicken detail for the Japs. The Americans
would eat the raw eggs when they had an opportunity.
One day the guard noticed that many of the eggs were
missing and asked the American about it. He was
told that the chickens were eating their own eggs. The
next day they punished these chickens by cooping them
up and not feeding them for three days. They punished
the carabao also when they did not work to the satisfaction of the Japs.
Our mess officer would repeatedly ask the Japs for
more food for the Americans and the reply was that
we had enough and if we were given any more we
would attempt to escape. On many occasions they made
the mess officer sign for chickens and eggs that we
never saw. 1 presume that they still have these receipts
and plan to show them to Americans stating that
that is what they fed prisoners of war in Davao. They
would force the mess officer to sign for more rice
than was received, also. If the mess officer refused
to sign for these articles as requested they said that
they would refuse to give the Americans any food at
all.β So we thought it was better to take a little than
nothing at all. I was told that at Cabunatuan they
brought a carabao and took a picture with the Americans looking at the carabao and then took the carabao
away. I remember one time they took a picture of a
few Americans holding three chickens, and then gave
us the chickens. But these three chickens were for
6,000 men.
Starving in Land of Plenty
At Davao they had some beautiful avocados but
instead of giving them to the Americans they let the
hogs and carabaos eat them. In 1943 at Davao I
weighed 102 pounds and was blind. Many weighed
much less. We had men who were crippled from the
waist down, many with paralyzed arms and legs, all
caused by malnutrition. These bananas and coconuts
that we were surrounded by would have been the
answer to much of this sickness but we were unable
to get it and the Japs refused to give it to us.
We were surrounded by some of the finest fish in
the world and begged the Japs to let us get some fish.
They refused but now and then would give us a small
fish head which consisted of nothing but the eyes,
but we devoured these eyes and wished for more. The
Japs themselves ate lots of pork and fish and they
had plenty of rice, but of course their best meal would
be considered a very poor meal here in the States.
Who Is Picking the Commottes
Many asked me if the Japs have a sense of humor.
I remember one occasion where one of the guards did
show h sense of humor. On a commottoe picking detail
one of the men asked the guard who had the best
army, the Japanese or the Americans. The guard
replied, βWho is picking the commottoes?β Many of
the guards would talk on detail but the minute someone
screwed up, they would give him a beating.
The bedbug situation was terrible. We used to go
out on the grass in front of the building and sleep
because the bedbugs were so horrible inside the wooden
buildings. We slept on the floor but later on we built
an elevated wooden bed, which was still hard. These
buildings were full of bedbugs. They are horrible bugs,
and have a terrific odor. It wasnβt anything uncommon
for you to get up in the morning with blood smeared
all over you from smashing bed bugs all night. We
were also bothered with lice and it became a problem
for a while, but we managed to get rid of the lice. But
never were we rid of the bedbugs. I personally would
rather have the lice than the bedbugs. I detest bedbugs
and their odor.
Prisoners Talked Mostly of Food
The principal topic of conversation in the prison
was food, and food alone. When you entered the barracks you would ask the first person what he was
doing and he would reply that he was making a list of
all the good places to eat in the United States. The
next person was making a new recipe for some certain
dish that he had heard of; the next person was draw-ing up plans for a restaurant he was going to build,
when he returned; the next person was going to buy
a farm and raise hogs. No one ever thought of women
even though they had not seen a woman in three years.
The only time that we thought of women was when we
received a Red Cross box and our stomachs were full
for a few days.
Japs βDivideβ Red Cross Boxes With Americans
In January, 1943, we received a Red Cross box of
food. The Japs had taken what they wanted out of
the box, including most of the cigarettes. Fortunately
they did not like corned beef or Kraft cheese. We had
five men who died the first night we received the food
because they attempted to eat all of it. I ate two cans
of corned beef and one pound of cheese and was sick
for two weeks, but it was the most wonderful sickness
that I had ever had. Many had to have their stomachs
pumped out from over eating. A few packages of
cigarettes were allowed to come in and we had a
regular market for exchange. For instance, I gave
five packages of cigarettes for a can
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