Evening star., 1944-01-28

stead. he shouted, he had been sent
walking corpses.
In spite of the condition of the
prisoners. they we're without excep-
ton put tc hard labor-chaplains,
officers and enlisted men alike. Col.
Dyess, barefooted for a month and
half, was forced to clear jungle
and plow every day.
Received $40 Pay.
During Col. Dyess' 361 days as a
prisoner of war, he received $40 in
pay from the japanese. To get the
$40 he was forced to sign a state
ment saying that he had received
more than $3.50, with clothes, food
and lodging. No clothes were issued
until American and British Red
Cross supplies began to arrive at
Davao, an event Col. Dyess' state
ment describes as "the salvation of
the American prisoners of war"
Food was slightly better at Davao
In addition to rice, the prisoners
received once day small portion
Of mango beans, and some camotes,
green papayas. casavas, or cooking
bananas. However, most of the
prisoners already were suffering
from beri beri and the food was not
sufficient to prevent the disease from
progressing, Although oranges and
lemons were abundant in the
vicinity. the Japanese would not
allow prisoners to have them. The
brutality of japanese officers con-
tinued. One lieutenant habitually
beat prisoners. According to the
statement of Col Mellnik, this
lieutenant had done most Of his
f1ghtlng at the rear when In action,
and had been assigned to prison
duty as a punishment. He avenged
himself or the prisoners.
The camp commandant made a
speech to the prisoners shortly after
their arrival.
you have been used to a soft,
easy life since your capture" he
said. "All that will be different
here. You will learn about hard
labor. Every prisoner will continue
to work until he is actually hos
pitalized. Punishment for mailing
ering will be severe"
Orders Enforced.
These orders were rigidly enforced.
When Col. Dyess, Col. Mellnik and
Comdr. Mccoy escaped from Davao
in April. l943, only 1,10O of the
1000 prisoners there were able to
work.
The arrival of two Red Cross boxes
for each prisoner early in 1943
caused joy beyond description
among the prisoners, according to
the statements of the three officers.
The boxes contained chocolate bars.
cheese, timed meats and sardines.
cigarettes, a portion each of tea.
cocoa. salt. pepper and sugar. Most
important of all, quinine and sulfa
drugs were included.
The Red Gross supplies had been
received aboard diplomatic ship
IN Japan in June, 1912. The pris-
oners never learned why it took
them seven months to reach Davao.
A few days before Comdr. McCoy
Col. Mellnik and Col. Dyess escaped
from Davao on April 4, 1943, one
of the American prisoners. a hos
pltal orderly. was wantonly mur-
dered by a japanese sentry.
The orderly was digging camotes.
Col. Mellnik reported, outside the
hospital stockade and directly be-
meath a watch tower. 1t was an
extremely hot day. He called to a
fellow prisoner to toss him a canteen
from the stockade. AS the orderly
was about to drink from the can
teen, the Japanese sentry in the
tower shouted at him angrily.
To show that the canteen con-
tanned only water, the orderly took
1t from his mouth and poured a
little on the ground. Apparently
because he did this, the sentry
trained his rifle on him and fired
The bullet entered at the neck and
shoulder and came out at the hip.
The orderly cried out: Don't shoot
me again."
The sentry fired two more bull
lets into the mans body. He then
emptied his clip at the man inside
the hospital stockade, who ran for
his life ond v,oe oo+ l>;A