The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-11-07

We craVed so mad1y FOR amman
protein that after every rain many
of our members would search the
ground for snails. The snails which
did show themselves were far re-
moved from the escargot which
French chefs can prepare so taste
fully. They were a large, tough
mussel, dreadful to taste. But
those who found them considered
themselves lucky and hobbled
quickly over to the kitchen to boil
them in hot water and wolf them.
Our rice that winter contained
white worm about an inch long.
with a black head. There were
dozens of these worms in every
cup. At first we carefully took
them out of the rice with our chop
sticks and put them to one side.
But in final desperation we
closed our eyes and simply ate.
telling ourselves that there might
even be protein in worm.
Our rice also contained large
numbers of small black weevils,
These were impossible to separate
from the grains. We ate thou
sands of them, looking for the
tiniest nutrition to give us the
strength to work in the fields.
Then on January 7, without pre-
vious warning, 1 was given new
lob. The three lieutenant generals.
Heath, Percival and myself; the
civilian governors, Shenton Thorn
as, Mark Young and A. l. Splits.
as well as officers more than 81
years old and those suffering from
the worst disorders were appointed
goat-herders.
The Japs had allowed us to pur-
chase about 80 goats out of our
prisoner Of war pay, pay which
was credited to US but which we
rarely. were given. The goats were
hardly more than kids, and though
the temptation was great, we could
not slaughter them at the time we
bought them because there would
not have been enough meat 10
make more than a shred for each
man. So we set about the task OF
raising them, against the day
when they would be large enough
to provide for us.
It was considerably worse than
watching a pot come to boil. Ana
they took a lot of caring for. Inc
work of herding them made a
man of age and rank feel foolish.
II would not have been so bad,
probably, if we had been able to
handle them as we wished. But
the Japs had to have say in the
business of raising them. The Japs
decided each day just where the
herd could Craze, and the herd
ers must keep the wandering goats
precisely in the chosen area.
Takes Over Herd
It is difficult to hold free-willed
goats to a certain ground. And
even if one did it was sometimes
wrong. Col. Stuart A. Hamilton.
Chemical Warfare officer, and ]
took over the herd from General
Heath one day and he outlined for
US the boundaries in which we
must keep the goats.
This we managed to do, by keep
ing pretty much on the run around
the herd. But then we looked up
and saw an irate Jap soldier rum
ming at US. A fence separated us.
He called Col. Hamilton and me
over to the fence, made us stoop
over it, and shipped us on the nose
few times to indicate that we
were grazing the goats in the
wrong place.
sometimes think that such mean
and preposterous punishment as
this was as CALLING as the shock
Of being brutally beaten. If had
had the strength that day, and my
teeth had not been loosened by NAL
nutrition and beatings, I would
have chewed right through that
fence.
But Col. Hamilton cooled me off.
He had taken number of simply
dreadful beatings during the pre-
ceding weeks. When the nincom-
poop Jap hicked us on the nose,
Hamilton just turned his head to
/ me. like man in a stock, grinned
and said, eve been nit a damn
4 sight harder than that"
The goats grew with excruciat'
ing slowness and the food at Ka.
renko became, if possible, worse
Though he knew full well the in
4 evitable outcome of a complaint
Col. Charles Lawrence, formerly
II an instructor in the Quartermast
er Subsistence School at Chicago
got up a letter of protest to thu
camp commander one day ane
presented it to Boots Nakasksn;
! for presentation.
"Boots" told the Jap soldier il
charge of our kitchen instead. Tit
soldier Immediately sent for Law
renee and when the Colonel appear
ed, half-hopeful that his exper
advice would be listened to, tn,
jap gave him a dreadful beating
all, over the kitchen-while ou
enlisted men, who had been turnet
into kitchen slavcys, had to stan,
by and watch.
Bloody and bruised, Lawrence
reported back to Boots. He wa
sent back to the kitchen again
after the Jap there had been toll
| THAT he had protested the beating
and he took another terrible whip
ping.
Beasts Of Men
Lawrence found it impossible t
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