The Wilmington morning star., 1945-11-13

take one day OF ordering a group VI
our soldiers to unload carload
precluded any other means of get
factory commissary, and then as
signed too few guards to supervise
the unloading. Our boys must have
got away with a good half of that
carload, right then and there, stick
ing the sausage in pockets, shirts
and down their tied pants legs. Lat
er one of the boys picked the lock
of the warehouse and the Japs lost
much of what they had been able
to save in the first place. The
meat had to be hidden and furtive-
| ly eaten at the factory, and the
boys ate it until it ran out their
ears.
MEN ARE SEARCHED
The Japs began searching the en-
listed men upon their return each
evening to the prison camp, and
for a time. it appeared that the
holiday was over. They had
to come through the only entrance
to the camp because an eight-foot
wall, with electric wire on its top,
precluded and other means of get
ting back in.
But one clever soldier devised
false bottom for the large food buc-
kets which were carted from the
camp to the factory each morning
and returned empty each night.
Traffic in small stores such as
tobacco and small-packaged food
picked up briskly-to the joy and
gratitude of our officers who, be-
cause they refused to work in the
factory, were being punished by
the usual starvation method.
The officers began buying any
thing edible or smokable brought
to them by the enlisted men. 1t was
the first chance the officers had
had to spend American money for
long time, and they spent it so
enthusiastically that prices rose
dizzily.
The cost of a can of milk, or
pound of powdered milk, rose to
S25; a IL or. can of corned beef was
worth as much as $25; package
of American cigarets brought St.
The enlisted men were given more
to eat than the officers, so the lat
ter occasionally even bought left
over food. Sour flour buns sold
for 81 each, with more bidders
than the enlisted men could sup
ply. One boy is said to have amas-
sed nearly $25, 1000 during his stay
at Mukden. If SO, he earned every
penny of it, for the chances ne
took were appalling.
Another American soldier, boy
of Polish extraction, got out OF
the factory one evening with
bottle of ink and a few pencils
a semi-priceless haul in view OF
the extreme shortage OF such
things at camp. The bottle was too
big to get in the false bottom OF
a food bucket, however. But the
Polish boy recalled that the Jap
sentry at the prison gate seldom
inspected the under portion OF the
food bucket cart. So he climbed
under it and was in the process OF
fastening the haul to the bottom
of the carts floor boards when
jap soldier surprised him, seiz-
ed him and the ink and pencils,
and dragged him off.
The boy explained quickly that
he had seen someone under the
cart and that the person had run in
to the factory's engine room when
he approached. So he had craWled
under to have look =. and then
the guard came along.
He was marched to the guard
house, where he told the same
story. The Jap guards leaped on
him and gave him an excruclatlng
beating. Again he told the same
story. They beat him once more.
He stuck to his story, and again
ne was whipped pitilessly. He re-
peated the story.
TELLS SAME SlOR1
They made him stand at atten-
ton in front of the guardhouse all
that bitter night, beat him several
times the next day but never shook
his story. After three days of this
torture they released him convinc-
ed that he was telling the truth.
The boy knew throughout the ter
rible beatings that if he did con-
fess he would be beaten even
worse, then thrown into solitary
confinement for anywhere from a
week to three months, await
ing trial.
Our men got their news at Muk-
den under easier terms. A wrist
watch here brought a months sup
ply of papers, stolen from the fac
tory officers by Jap soldiers and
Struggled into camp by the enlist
ed men. The papers were delivered
each night to Coils. Hoffman and
Wood, and after they had made
two paraphrases of the news the
papers were burned, and so were
the paraphrase sheets when they
had been read.
To protect the translators, our
men strung themselves out all over
the barracks, posted our own
guards at the windows. When a
Jap approached one of our tout
posts our guard would say Clutch
+ and this warning word would