The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-11-06

Tarlac 1 had been walking across
a wooden floor when Brig. Gen
Lewis Beebe stopped me.
"Say, you've got the foot SLAP"
ne said.
Only then did I notice the tell
tale way in which the soles of nv
shoes were slapping the floor. The
dry type of beri beri causes the
muscles in the shins and ankles
to lose their sensitivity with the
result that when the heel is placed
on the ground while walking, the
rest of the r Of quickly collapses.
Beri beri or not, and most of us
Karenko had it, we eventually
were forced to work. We decided
that it was either work or death
bv starvation, which left us little
choice. The Jap guards had insin.
uated that if we did 60 to work we
would be supplied work rice,
that is, an extra portion allotted
to workers.
But the Jap mind is a battling
nest, and going to work was not
as easy. as expressing the willing
ness. We had to appeal to them
to permit us to work, to make it
appear that we were breaking
down their lofty resolve to uphold
the Geneva Convention.
But at last the absurd negotia-
tions were done with, and we were
| told that we would work on an
area Just outside the prison bar.
riers, an area which would be
cleared for truck farm. Whatever
we raised, they told us we could
eat, Each officer was given a
tool which the Japs called a kuha
and we called chunkle, and
marched off.
\ A chunkle is a dull-edged, wide
and very heavy adze mounted on
shaft about 2 IL feet long. It is
used for breaking soil, cutting
out brush or grass and grabbing
for roots and rocks.
Dangerous Gamble
BY the time we were in such
atrocious physical condition, how
ever, that for many of the senior
officers this work was a dangerous
gamble with our lives. was diff.
cult even to walk on our clogs to
the area we had to clear. In my
case I came to depend more and
more on the light walking stick
which Gen. Macarthur had left for
me on Corregidor when he de.
parted. .-...
But slowly and painfully we did
clear our first patch of ground and
prepared it for the planting Of
various seeds. But we were not
entrusted with the seeds. The Japs
knew very well we would have eat
en- them.
As for our "work rice" we soon
saw that the Japs were using this
promise as another means of mock
ing us. A least half of the time they
refused to give it to us. The work
rice" we did get therefore was not
enough to compensate for the
strength we were expanding on
our tasks of walking to and from
the land and clearing it. The land
became much harder to clear, in
addition, and our conditions sank
accordingly. Some of the heavier
Dutch officers lost nearly 100
pounds.
One day in December was Or
dered by "Boots" -Lieutenant Ma
kashima-to get Generals Percival
and ter Porrten and Governor Gen
eral Tjarda vanStarkenbourg and
bring them before him. We lined
up and Boots" waited until we
bowed. Then he launched into a
long and furious charge that Jap
internees in the United States,
India and Australia were being
"grossly mistreated."
In my case he demanded that
| I write to the War Department
and "protest" this treatment of
Japs in the United States. If l
refused, he said, our own treat.
ment at Karenko would become
| worse. With the help of Generals
King, Moore, Beebe and Funk ]
did put a letter together the next
day, written in such way as to
underline the fact that it was CO.
creed.
But the Japs never waited for
that letter to reach its destination.
In fact, after "Boots" dismissed
us that day, "a hours before the
letter was written, we saw him