Evening star., 1942-11-07
PHILIPPINE ESCAPE
Captured Once, Officer Escapes
To Make His Woy to Correeidor

the package the Filipino had given
me. He turned it down with a
panied below, mo, don't want.
Want American cigaret." think
they were the only English phrases
he knew. Apparently my popularity
wasn't increased by my failure to
produce the desired commodity.
The soldiers held another confer
ence and then launched a new in
spection of my clothes. After taking
what little they could, one Of them
showed a bayonet in my back and
said something In Japanese which
I took to mean get going. I did
They took me down the road toward
Cab Cabin and into an area where
about $50 Americans were being de-
tanned temporarily until regular
concentration camps were set up.
/ only saw a few friends, and most
Of the men, utterly exhausted,
mentally and physically, were at
tempting to sleep. Anyway, it was
the best means to keep from in
curing Jap wrath. 1t. Bert
Schwartz, who had been in my unit
up at the front line, was there and
apparently we'll, although every one
was extremely tired.
The bombardment of seven days
preceding the fall Of Bataan had
taken just about all we had in
physical reserve. Its. David Hook
man of New York City and Joseph
Ginsburg of Newcastle, Pa, were
the only others I saw from my outfit
in the camp. While we were stand
ing around waiting for something,
I don't think any one of. us knew
quite what we watched as we sur
veyed the scene. There wasn't much
use in our fighting against the sit
uation. There would be more blood
shed If we did. I don't think any
of us really believed it was all over
1t was more like bad dream.
The officers and men who were
awake were discussing the grim
sights they had seen during the past
4S hours. A few were complaining
because they had left behind some
thing they especially wanted. I re-
member one officer who was abso-
lutely burned up that he had missed
the Toxic news because of the sud-
den retreat and surrender.
Plans Escape.
Our officers and men were puzzled
about where they were going to be
sent to. I think that most of them
thought they would probably be kept
right on Bataan. Our camp was To-
Gated in an open clearing about the
size Of small field. Dive bombers
were zooming overhead and I think
we all half expected them to drop
their bombs on U.s. AS I watched
and listened, I was formulating a
plan for escape again. If it worked
I would at least get to temporary
safety and freedom. II it didn't, I
would at least be out of the mess I
was in. I doubled over as If I had
an attack Of cramps, letting the
idea register on the Americans as
well as the Japanese guards. After
about 5 minutes I arose as if I were
still in severe pain and hobbled off
toward the undergrowth bordering
the camp.
Once hit brush cover, broke
into a run, heading for a nearby
river. I followed it down to the
beach near Cab Cabinproper, which
IS about 2 miles from Corregidor. It
must have been 10 minutes before I
was missed. could hear the Japs
pounding through the brush behind
me when reached the beach and
started running down nearer to Cor
regidor and about parallel to boat
anchored 500 yards offshore.
Picking up piece of board on the
way, I hit the surf swimming. The
Japs opened fire with rifles but,
fortunately for me, their marks
manship that day was bad.
I kept swimming toward the boat,
using the same bobbing and ducking
tactics I had used in the river in
my first escape, and probably worry
ing as much about the sharks as
I did about the rifle fire. All the
way to the boat kept remembering
the stories I had heard natives tell of
the fierce tiger sharks in the bay.
Natives never swan in Manila Bay
itself unless they were intent on
committing suicide. I made the
boat, though. When I clambered
aboard I apparently passed out i'm
mediately from lack of food, water
and rest.
Caught in Crossfire.
I must have slept for about five
hours. Awakening, I naturally as
sumed the Japs had given up trying
to catch me. There was no one
around and everything was undis-
turbed. I found a small boat on
the Corregidor side of the raft-like