Evening star., 1945-11-08
Sen. Woinwrisht's Own Story:
WoInwighfs Story MJ
General Is Moved to- I omuzoto Camp and Mail
And a Few Red Cross Supplies Reach Prisoners
Thirty-third OF a Series.
BY GEN. JONATHAN M.
WAINWRIGHT.

narrow-gauge train craWled out OF
the, station at $3.50 am. but by 4
O'Clock had gone only so miles. We
carried along our lunch of a cup
of rice and ate on the train.
We were put of at Jap military
camp near the village of Tamazato,
which lies south of Karenko. The
military establishment was set in
q rather beautiful piece of land at
the foot of steep and verdant
mountain. There was stream run
ming along the camp.
We carried our gear to the one
story barracks in reservation SINH
lar to the one at Karenko, then were
ordered to march back to the train
and unload car of tables, chairs
benches and other furniture for the
barracks. This was piled on our
backs and we carried it to the camp
Some of the goats we were raising
at Karenko also were led to the new
camp. ..
. Eight of us, including myself, were
given four small rooms and my new
roommate was 1t. Gen. Helm ter
Porrten. commander of the Neither
lands Indies forces. Those who did
not draw single rooms were badly
crowded into large squad rooms un-
der conditions about as bad as those
at Karenko =
Beatings Stop.
The beatings stopped now, giving
q IL q 10 EpU Il
But the food remained the same
Rice and hot water with few vege-
table tops for every meal.
But on April IL, in answer to our
prayers, part of the South African
Red Gross stores was sent to us from
Karenko. We had just abandoned
hope that we would ever see them
again. But, without warning, here
they were at Tamazato-food and
shoes that had been snatched from
us at Kraneko and which we
thought we would never see again.
We waited two unending days and
nights for the Japs to distribute the
supplies, and I guess all of us
prayed we would not be tricked
again.
On April, IA the Japs began to
parcel out the remains of the pack
ages. They had unquestionably
opened and stolen much of the Red
Cross stores, but with the food and
shoes in sight we were beyond any
feeling of regret over what was not
to come to us.
Gains Seven Pounds.
We pitched in, but our systems
we're SO run down and the normal
food was SO alien to our stomachs
that many of us contracted diar-
rhea. That did not matter greatly
The good the food did us oyercame
q the rigors of that malady. BY
April %, 1943. one week after the
food arrived, my weight had jumped
Z pounds to little over 1872.
The heavy British army shoes
which came with the food were a
tremendous relief. We happily dis
pensed with our Jap clogs with the
fervent hope that we would never
see them again.
When the Joy of our little windfall
became more memory than fact, we
received visit from the Jap repre-
sentative of the International Red
Cross. The senior officers in the
prison camp were assembled before
him and we told him, in effect. that
we were well and were being cared
for decently.
We told him this because we had
been briefed the previous day by
the new camps commander and had
been told exactly what we could
s and could not say. 1t was a case
mostly, of what we could not say
The Jap Red Cross representatives
visit, therefore, went fer nothing
He chose not to look at US, standing
there in front of him like slightly
mobile skeletons, but just accepted
our optimistic-sounding reports ano
left.
Forced to Read Reports.
He was followed in time by other
Jap agents of the international Rec
Gross and on those occasions the
1. s.Japs, taking no chances, forced us
6 to read our, reports from carefully
edited written declarations. W.
could say nothing about the food
which was as terrible as at Karenko
nor could we mention our living
and sanitary conditions.
We were permitted, however, x
sAppeal to these men to assist II
delivering mail to us. I knew my
wife must be writing to me. cart
IF the International Red Cross &
found out later that during my cap.
ltivity Mrs. wainwright wrote mt
more than 300 letters, of which
eventually received six), and the
others who joined in the appeal felt
the same way.
| Our new Jap masters naturally
refused to permit us to say any
ahing to the Red Cross men about
the monstrous treatment at Karen
ko. We thought of blurting out the
truth to these men, in the forlorr
hope that the truth would touch
even Jap's heart. But there was
no hope Of this. Our meetings were
held while we were flanked by
armed and ready Jap sentries. If we
had departed so much as word
from the prepared script, I am Ger.
tain that our treatment thereafter
would have been considerably worse
Food Is Uncomfortable.
BY careful wording we could oc.
easionally convey the truth of oul
conditions in such letters as we were
permitted to write-letters which
were duly collected and burned ir
apparently many cases by Jap cen
sors. My reference to my weight, a.
of my graduation from West Point
actually got through, however. 81
did a letter written by one Of oul
officers telling his wife:
X"I cannot mention my treatment
Tcannot mention very much about
conditions. I cannot mention the
sanitary arrangements in the camp
The food also is uncomfortable"
The stupid Jap who inspected thi'
letter noted contentedly that it con.
tanned, in more or less the same
language, the instructions all of u.
had. He passed it and it got through
to America.
HA~ fo~ 1,x,x, ,-xa- G~zl