Evening star., 1944-02-12

q suspicion was enough 10 cause q
Filipino to be executed. The three
|ensigns decided that without help
escape would be hopeless, so they
voluntarily turned themselves In.
That evening after our meal and
while 1t was still dark these three
young officers were required to
mount platform in the center of
the camp and read prepared state
ments about the hardships they had
undergone while they were away
from the camp. They told of weeks
without food, of jungle water in
tested with bugs and poisonous in
sects, of venomous snakes and
ferocious wild beasts.
Z Actually none of the Americans
in the camp was fooled. The en-
signs had been beaten up when
they first gave themselves up, but
beyond their bruises they looked
better than any prisoner in the
camp. They were occasionally cuffed
around by the guards after their
return, but theirs was the mildest
punishment given out by the .Japs
during all my months in prison.
Comdr. Mccoy:
The escape and eventual return
Of the three ensigns ended with
what was the lightest of punishment
by japanese standards; but another
escape attempt. in September of
1912, had a far different outcome.
This unfortunate attempt was
made by two Army officers, and an
officer in the Navy Civil Engineer
Corps.
On very dark night, the, two
lieutenant colonies and the naval
lieutenant were carrying out a plan
to escape by attempting to crawl
along a ditch and thereby get
through the wire around the camp.
They had almost reached their OBJ
jective when the progress was acct
dentally halted; an Army enlisted
man, said to have been a former
Notre Dame football star, stumbled
into them.
One of the officers sprang from
the ditch and began to struggle
with the enlisted man. Other
Americans ran out of their barracks
to stop this fray, with the result
that it became general and quite
noisy. After the actual fighting
stopped, the first officer to spring
out Of the ditch was quite loud in
his recriminations, taking the atti-
tude that there had been a delib-
crate attempt inside the camp to
prevent his escape.
The irate officers used the word
escape" so often that it got to the
ears Of the japanese. The three
Americans were taken out of the
camp, and after some questioning
their punishment was decided on.
The Japanese first beat them about
the feet and calves until they were
no longer able to stand Then they
kicked the men and jumped on them
with all their weight.
After an extended beating. the
Japanese waited until morning and
then stripped the men to their
shorts. They were marched out
into the road to a point in full
view OF the camp. Their hands
were tied behind them, and they
were pulled up by ropes from an
overhead purchase so that they had
to remain standing, but bent for
ward to ease the pressure on their
arms.
Then began 4S hours of inter-
mittent torture, interrupted for one
brief moment while the three men
were left exposed to a typhoon.
Many of the prisoners went into
their barracks so they would not
oe able to see what went on. The
Japanese guards were ready with
their submachine gins in case of
any trouble. The japanese periodi-
cally beat the men with a heavy
board. Any Filipino unlucky enough
TO pass along the road was forced
TO strike the men in the face with
this club. If the Japanese did not
Ihlnk the Filipinos put enough force
INTO their blows, the Filipinos them
selves were beaten. Where the
three men were standing, the earth
was spattered with blood for several
feet IN all directions. Their half
conscious groans and cries were
horrible to hear.
Inc amazing thing was the ability
OF the three men. to stay alive. IL
lnoeed they were still alive at the
end OF the second day of this treat
were battered beyond
recognition.
think we all prayed for the men
curing this ordeal. I know I did
AND l am sure all of us said q
prayer OF relief when the Japanese
Iinally cut the men down and took
them away for execution.
tomorrow: Davao Prison Formed