Evening star., 1945-11-01


Gen. Wainwright. discus thrower
on the 1882 Japanese Olympic team
at Los Angeles. :
Probably at some risk to himself,
he sent out and bought cigarettes
for us on two occasions. With some
pesos I gave him, he also bought
me a small electric plate and a
little coffee pot in which we care
fully brewed the er-diminishing
coffee which Sergt Hubert Carroll
had rescued from Corregidor.
And so went our Manila stay until
the morning of June 9, 1912, when
cocky little 1t. Uramura entered
my room and loudly read off a
letter in japanese from 1t. Gen.
Masaharu Homma's headquarters.
Then he translated. and we learned
that all organized resistance by my
troops in the Philippines had ended.
Your high command ceases i'm
mediately," he said, looking at me.
You are now a prisoner OF war.
You and your staff officers will
be transported today to a prison
camp for senior officers at Tarlac." "
Stared at by Filipinos.
The Japs had not left us much
to pack, but we bundled what we
had and were led down to the street
in front of the University Club
where curious Filipinos gathered to
stare at us.
Our baggage was thrown into a
truck and we were thumbed into
two cars, driven out of the city and
onto Highway No. 8, which leads
toward Tarlac. 1t was another silent
ride, for we were not only passing
through land we had fought for and
lost, but I think all of us shared
my feeling that things were going
to be worse from now on.
The land of Luzon clearly showed
the heavy hand of war. AS we drove
through the town of Angeles l was
shocked at the destruction of what
had been a pretty little settlement
We had left it untouched when we
withdrew from it during our long
trek from Lingayen Gulf to Cor
regidor. 1t must have been heavily
bombed after our troops departed.
We arrived at Tarlac at 3 pm
that June 9, and found it as de-
molished as Angeles. We found alse
that we would not be alone. Senior
officers from Camp O'DonneH and
Bilibid Prison had moved into OUT
new prison before us, Including Maj
Gen. George F. Moore.
i 1SO in Quarters for 80.
The barracks to which we were
assigned had once housed 80 Philip
pine Army trainees. But stlle Japs
put 180 of us in there The gen.
,eraI officers were each given cot,
with the heads against a wall and
the sides so close to one another
that we had to climb in over the
foot. Officers below the rank OF
general were assigned to wooden
double -decked hunks on which there
were, of course, no springs or mat
tresses. They gave us no blankets
7 had two with me and I gave one
to Brig. Gen.. Lewis Beebe.
The cots and hunks were on the
second floor of the little building
Downstairs was a small mess anc
two smaller rooms. one of which we
turned into a hospital to care fol
the brutalized men from ODonnell
THE plunbingless latrine was in the
syard near the barracks, but in timt
I'VE built another farther from the
Barracks.
i We soon were told that we were
mot to consider ourselves the equa,
sof any of our captors. We had with
aus two Japanese-speaking officers
kCol. Wood, who had been stranded
lin Mindanao when the Navy plant
that was taking him to Australia
was wrecked, and Col. Robert Hoff.
Sanan. 1t was to these two officer.
THAT the Japs gave the first in.
sstruetions bordering on our future
conduct. They spread the evi
word.
II hatless, we were required tt
bow to any passing Jap soldier, re-
6gardless of his rank or ours. If We
swere wearing hats we were to salute
8all Jap soldiers, and always had te
sstand at attention when one en-
stered the barracks.
4 Gets Lesson in Bowling.
/ I got MY first lesson in bowine
from a Jap sergeant. I can still
afeel the wish to reich that I fell
when I first was forced to do it.
I The food at Tarlac was much
kworse than at Manila. Our die
consisted principally of rice, with ar
ounce or two of either pork or bee,
thrown in once every week or two
1T was not nearly enough food te
restore the health of men alread,
weakened by the privations yol
sBataan and Corregidor and subse.
$quent Imprisonment.
s 1t is difficult for a wheat-eatins
Speople to change to rice as a staple
food. A mans whole digestive sys.
ITEM undergoes radical change. AL
scf us suffered badly from diarrhea
& But we were able finally to per.
ssuade the Jap officer in charge o
Four camp to permit us to buy ad.
sditional food and supplies with wha
gnoney we had. The Tarlac regior
ahad been well stripped of many
sneeded commodities, but we wert
kable on rare occasions to augment
sour starvation rations with tiny anc
Insufficient purchases of bananas
kcanned milk, sugar, native beans
Eand native candies. We also set ur
70 kind of poor mans PIX whose
empty shelf was occasionally stocked
with a few packages of Filipino
cigarettes and bars of carabao soap
4 1t seemed, and was, pathetic fare
Yet later we were to look back or
ut, and on Tarlac itself, as Paradise
Z We were required to do our owr
little housework at Tarlac, such a.
making our beds, If we had any bet
Clothing to straighten, and sweep.
ing. Many of the officers were nexl
TO barefooted, but despite many ap.
peals we got no shoes. Instead, WI
lost some of our remaining belong.
Mgs. The last piece of military
equipment had, my fiashiight, wa.
tAken away from me in an early in.
NeStigation of my luggage. Oul
Uniforms by this time were moi
worth stealing.
r.