Evening star., 1945-10-30


This drawing by Burris Jel
Bill Lawrence's ashes at Fort N
ever is nearest to you, where I shall
proceed to meet you.
THE safety of your fellow coun-
trymen will be jeopardized If you do
not carry out these instructions.
Your representative will be pro-
tected by the japanese Army. Send
him under a flag of truce and
there will be no danger to his
person"
The constables on Palawan sur
rendered without trouble, and the
situation around Legaspi soon
cleared. But Sharp's orders of May
10 to five Filipino sector command
ers on Negros were rejected. They
enlisted the sympathetic support of
civil authorities and of many ci-
villains, and announced that they
did not intend to surrender.
Force Badly Equipped.
The Negros force was perhaps the
least trained of all those under my
command, and SO badly equipped
that the men had only enough am
munition for 20 minutes of sustained
firing. Col Roger Hilsman, COM
manding officer of the Negros sec
ton, was hooted and threatened
when he presented Gen, Sharp's Or
der to cease firing.
At the risk of his life he went
into the mountains in search of
the mutinous leaders, who had
threatened 20 kill any American at
tempting to communicate with
them When these expeditions
failed he twice talked the ranking
japanese officer on the island into
extending the time by which the
surrender must be effected.
These extensions were all the
more remarkable because three Fill
pino envoys-a Col. Valariana and
his two aides-were murdered by
demented Filipino soldier as they
advanced under a flag of truce.
The mutineers also held 1856 Jap
internees and threatened constantly
to put them all to death if we con-
tinued our efforts to persuade them
to surrender. 1t was Enthusiastically
ticklish situation, with the lives of
countless Americans and Filipinos
hanging by the thread of the mu-
tineers' unpredictability. During
that awful period of their holdout
momentarily expected that Jap guns
would be turned on the unarmed
thousands on Corregidor. And, as
I said earlier, I did not know how
close I was to being required to wit
ness the murder of 10 of my officers
each day the mutineers held out.
Walks for Days.
In the meantime, Col N. c. Gal
braith, in search of Col. Horan,
walked for days through the noun
tain fastness of North Luzon with
out locating the hideout of the
American leader.
To strike new dismay upon us in
those early days of our captivity,
we lost the cheering comfort and
plucky example of Maj. Lawrence.
On May 13, two days after his ar
rival with Beebe and Carroll from
Corregidor with our effects, Law
renee was laid low with a high fever.
He had been sick upon his arrival
from the Rock, but we did not con-
slider his condition dangerous until
the following day.
On the morning of May IL, when
Lawrence's fever rose, I sent word
to the commander of the University
Club billet that we were in imme-
diate need of a doctor. But it was
late that evening before a Jap doc
tor sauntered in. He gave Law
renee cursory inspection and left.
With Lawrence delirious, we tried
all during the day of May 13 to get
the doctor back again. But our in
creasingly desperate pleas were
ignored until pm. when another
doctor arrived. He made the brief
est possible inspection of Lawrence,
then muttered:
Pneumonia. Both lungs" He
shook his head.
Taken to Hospital.
I begged him to get Lawrence to
"a hospital, and after a period of
maddening deliberation, he con-
sented. Lawrence was taken away
about 8 o'clock, and sent Sergt.
Carroll along to look out for him.
just at midnight, Carroll re-
turned. His face told the story.
HE died at IL o'clock" he told
us, while we shook with mingled
rage and sorrow.
I got up early the next morning
with a fear that the Japs might
cremate the body, as is their GUS
tom. Lawrence was Roman Cath
olic and traditionally opposed to
cremation. asked for an audience
with the ranking Jap officer and
pleaded with him to see that Law
rence's body was not cremated.
But he laughed at me and told
me it would be done despite my
appeal. He added, however, that If
/ cared to bury Lawrence's ashes in
the military cemetery at Fort Nc
Kinley, my old post just outside
Manila, 1t could be arranged.
So I got permission for Johnny