Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-08-13
CHAPTER XII

1.-The skipper was frantic to get
some of our little fleet back into
commission so we could finish out
the fight. We'd started the war with
SIX boats. Two were lost off Ba-
taan. One was lost on the escape
trip south. That left only three, and
two OF these were wrecks, fit only
for the dry dock, Bulkeley's being
the only craft left in fighting condi-
ton. But he was bound to get the
others back into shape Did I think
l could get mine to Cebu?
We'll, we could try, and we start
ed off, my poor old boat with her
earthquake making twelve knots,
her back end wiggling like a ship
wrecked sailors dream of a French
musical-comedy star. Whatever she
was good for now, it wasn't fighting,
and I was glad we didn't meet any
Japs.
"The machine shop was run by
Dad Cleland, seventy-one-year-
old American who'd been in the is
lands since 1914, and swell gent he
was-originally from Minnesota and
typical hulking frontiersman.
Didn't look day over fifty and
was a kind of patriarch in those
parts. His native name meant the
old man or the headman' in Tagalog.
He was great gourmet, too.
Had Bulkeley and me out to dinner
and we had bottled beer "a great
rarity, a big crab-meat cocktail,
and then lobster Newburg, which
was delicious, but Dad kept warn
ing us to hold back, because then
he broke out couple of roast ducks.
Dessert was simple, like the last
bars of a symphony. Just delicious
chilled mangoes and Chase & San
born's coffee. 1t was a magnificent
feed after the native chow I'd been
eating. We talked about the war.
People in Cebu felt the show was
about up, unless miraculous help ar
rived soon.
What are you going to do when
the Japs Gomez we asked Dad
He Strengthened up-all six feet two
of him.
Have my dignity to think
about, he said. I'm not going to
the hills. I'll stay right here and
face them.
dad was working for the gov
eminent for dollar a year. When
he finally finished with our repairs
they took many days-we asked
him how much the bill was. "We'n
forget about it., he said. You fight
'em and I'll fix 'em. It's the least
I can do
HE clenched his big fist, and it
was about the size of a nail key.
Since I've come back here I've
read about some outfits working on
war contracts who were paying their
stenographers fifty thousand dollars
a year and charging it to the gov
eminent as expenses until they were
caught. It's a waste of time to in
dict them. Just get old Dad Gle
land back here and let him go in
and reason with them in their swiv-
ell chairs. With those big fists of
his, he'd know how to expostulate
with racketeers like that.
Until we got to Cebu we hadn't
been paid since the war started.
Well, in Cebu the men all got paid
and it was quite a spectacle. The
dozen on my boat, going from bar
to bar, got rid of two thousand dol
lars in three days. If it had been
two million instead, they would have
got rid of it just as quick, although
it might have strained them some.
Then they settled back to their
routine means of livelihood, which
was playing poker with the army.
"But things were moving in Cebu,
and very secretly we began to hear
hints of a big American offensive
which was coming rolling up from
the south through the islands in time
to save Bataan, which was almost
out of food and ammunition. Word
came that two submarines were ar
irving in Cebu, where they would
be loaded with food and returned to
Bataan-we brought the first one
in through the channel.
ut was big secret-the area was
cleared for two miles around. The
loading was done at night and by
officers only-we helped until our
hands were raW-because they were
4Sdl1Ql tlliI SOlllc SdllOI OF SOlQlGr
might drop a hint of it in native
bar where it would get to the Japs.
For three solid nights we worked
until my back and arms ached, stow
ing all that stuff in the subs, but
all the time I kept thinking of Peggy
and the grand old gang up there on
the Rock and what was left of the
misunderstanding on without hope
or food. Well, here was a little of
both we were sending them. To
make more room they stripped the
submarines of torpedoes-gave 'em
to us, four for the IS boat if we
could ever get her into action, two
for the Al boat, which already had
two, and charged them for us with
compressed air from the SUBJ
marines tanks. Now MTB's were
ready for battle, and into the SUBJ