Evening star., 1942-08-09

CNJAM1N NV La
been sleeping in for weeks bloody
and torn. / think I got to hate the
Japanese with the camera almost
as much as did the Japanese with
the bayonet.
Placed in Old Barracks.
The place on Knowloon where
they took me first was a place called
Shamshuipo. 1t had been used as
British military barracks.
It was almost square in shape and
was 1900 feet long and 1900 feet
across. The Japanese had it hem
med in with two rows of barbed
wire which ran around the front
and two sides. The back was a high
seawall which dropped into the
harbor.
All around the prison, the Japa-
nese had machine guns placed so
that they could rake every square
foot of the prison or the barbed wire
or the seawall. And all along the
barbed wire and the seawall there
were sentries with guns and bay
onets.
In this space, 1900 feet by 1900
feet, there were 1000 of US prisoners
Of war. 1t was like taking 1000
men and putting them in vacant
lot and putting barbed wire all
around them and then letting them
shift for themselves.
The Japs did not tell a general
where he should sleep or what he
should do any more than they did
private. They ignored the officers
the same as they did the men.
And so we were 1000 men inside
this barbed wire We we're men who
had been beaten. Hundreds of us
had wives and children who were
now in the hands of the same short,
squat men who were our jailers. We
were exhausted. We were hungry.
We did not know what was to hap
pen to us.
Food Was First Problem.
And 50 it was miracle that We
began to organize among ourselves.
We did not fall apart under the
curious, blank eyes Of the blank
faced japanese.
The first problem was food. The
Japanese shrugged. Food? Yes,
there would be food. There would
be one bowl OF rice for each man
once a day. 1t would be Japanese
rice, which is much coarser and no
where near as nutritious as Chinese
rice. This rice would be delivered tc
us in bulk once a day. It would be
raw rice and it would be up to us
to cook it and serve it and see that
| each man received his share.
And that one bowl of rice per
man per day was all that they would
do.
That was the end of their con-
cessions to us.
They refused to allow prisoners
to write letters to the next of kin
They turned down a request that
married officers and men be allowed
3 hours parole under military guard
to see their wives or children for
the last time.
They refused to provide any medi-
cine of any kind or to provide medi-
cal treatment of any kind. And
there were hundreds OF badly
wounded men among us.
They would not allow any Of : US
Catholics to be attended by Cath
olic priest.
That was the way it was at first
It became even worse as time went
on.
But inside the place, 300 feet by
1900 feet, the 1000 of us organized
We dug our own latrines. We as
signed each man a place to sleep
We tried to give each man some.
thing to do-a thin hold on hi.
sanity.
Some Slept on Ground.
The weather was cold. It wa!
like late autumn weather is in New
York or in New Jersey. At night
because we were near the water, th'
air was damp and cold.
The physical condition of ever,
man was taken into consideration
Some Of the men were able to slee]
on the ground or on the barrack
floor. Each man was assigned t
his own plot and it was his job t.
see that 1t was taken care of-tha