Evening star., 1942-03-01
Jap Worships Sighted Near Hawaii Nine Days
Before Attack, Burma Road Mechanic Writes
Wife Here Receives
Letter Sent From
Juvu December21
By BLAIR BOLLES.

in letter arriving here yesterday
from an American expert mechanic,
then on his way to the now-closed
Burma Road, addressed to his wife
in Washington, Mrs. Rozier j. Sim
clair, 6100 Fourteenth street NV.
The letter from Mr.. Sinclair,
whose laconic story provides an ex-
traordinary narrative of civilians
adventures in the danger zones Of
the war makes it clear that the
American Navy was expecting the
worst in the Pacific even while ia
pans pigeon of peace, Saburo Kur-
usu, still was lowering over the
State Department and White House.
we are sailing under orders from
the Navy and are taking a round
about way" he wrote on November
20, after his Asia-bound passenger
liner had left Honolulu and was still
six days from Manila. They turn
out all the lights at night so we
have complete blackout. All you
can do is grope around in the dark.
Warships Came Alongside.
-Four big battleships came along
side Of us the other night. CEN
SORED is an uneasy feeling. Now
we have a CENSORED the rest OF
the CENSORED so the Japs have
disappeared"
The letter, written in installmentS
up through December 81, was mailed
from Sourabaya, Java, and was CEN
sored by both Dutch and Americans.
The ship carrying Mr.. Sinclair and
the other experts to Burma Road
left Honolulu under convoy, accord
ing to a letter received by the wife
of one of Mr.. Sinclair's colleagues,
Robert White, 26, from her husband,
one of the. youngest men in the ex-
pedition. Mrs. White and her A.
year-old son live at 3510 New Hamp-
shire avenue NV.
The departure from Honolulu was
made sometime in mid-November.
Headed 43 Experts.
Mr.. Sinclair, 81, was foreman of 2
party of 43 automotive experts hired
by the War Department last autumn
for the job of expediting traffic along
the Burma Road. then the Chinese
lifeline. Most of the men came
from Washington. Six were Texas
cowboys who, Mr.. Sinclair wrote,
were "hard-boiled guys" that could
"be counted on through thick and
thin"
He began his letter on November
% end added to it in instalments
through December 81, when he had
covered % pages. The last chapters
are devoted to the troubles en-
countered by the men in their escape
by ship from biockaded Manila,
where they were caught by the
wars arrival, through Japanese-in-
tested waters of the Sulu and Cele-
bes Seas to the Dutch Indies, then
reasonably safe.
Somewhere in the Indies their
boat, whose captain was determined
to get her from the Philippines to
safe harbor "at all costs" was re-
paired after damage suffered, ap-
parently from enemy action, during
the journey away from Manila.
Some time in January the Burma
Road experts got to Rangoon. 1t
was learned then from officials here,
and on January Is. Mrs. White
received a cable from her husband
in Calcutta.
Signed for Two Years.
Where the experts are now is
guarded secret. They signed con-
tracts for two years work in the
Far East. Mr.. Sinclair left behind
him a bride whom he married in
Baltimore October f. Mrs. Sinclair,
who works now selling women's
coats in S. Kann's store bade good
bye to her husband in Washington
November l, expecting she said to-
day, that he soon would send for her
and that they would enjoy honey
moon in the land along the road to
Mandalay.
Things Happening Fast"
Here I am back again. This time
I'm in CENSORED. Please don't
pay any attention to the skip in
time, because things have been hap
pening so fast that you don't know
what to do next.
"All we have been doing Is dodg-
ing the Japs. The boat is CEN
SORED, which makes it very bad
having no way to protect yourself.
We stayed in Manila two days.
Guess you know what happened
there. We were rushed right out on
another boat.
THE captain is determined to get
us to CENSORED at all costs. I
cannot give you much information
about what happened because all of
our mail is inspected. had to get
special permission to write this let
you I was all right. I gave it to
sailor on Dutch boat to mail for
me. Don't know if you will get it
or not"
Postmarked Borneo.
Mrs. Sinclair received it, post
marked Borneo.
Our boat was damaged. We will
be here about 10 days repairing it.
We are also painting it a CEN
SORED so it can't be seen so easy
at night. 1t was painted white be-
fore. All of us pitched in and
helped the crew out because they
were short of men.
Nobody seemed to mind working.
They realized it might mean saving
their own lives. Two hundred and
fifty gallons of paint was used and
it took only one and a half days
to do the job. I am paint from
head to foot.
1--WE are all going to shore and
filling sandbags to build barricades
around the deck to protect us from
machine-gun fire.
Il don't know when we will leave
here or when I will ever get to
CENSORED. Some of the boys are
a little worried. The suspense is
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I in CHICAGO s
5 ikAkhACIII ATF 3