Evening star., 1945-02-01
Sight Of Rescuing Rangers Gave
Botoon Veterans Greatest hriII

sick and wounded officers before
being transferred to Cabanatuan."
When the original Japanese gar
rison left Cabanatuan after removal
of some 1000 American prisoners
they left Col James w. Duckworth,
San Francisco, senior American war
prisoner on Luzon, in charge of the
camp.
Col. DuckWorth had been caring
for American prisoners since Bataan,
where he commanded Hospital No. /
at Little Baguio"
Given Immunity by Japs.
After the surrender of Bataan," +"
Col. Duckworth said. Japanese
came to my hospital and asked to
see wounded Japanese soldiers
When they saw we were treating
the enemy the same as our own men
they posted a sign giving us i'm
munity from molestation.
Not only were they untroubled in
the hospital camp, said Col. Duck
worth, but his medical corpsmen and
doctors were permitted to search
Bataan for food supplies unaccom-
panied by guards.
When the death rate at Camp
O'Donnell reached an astounding
rate, Col. Duckworth said they sent
for me and my staff and allowed
us to take 68 truckloads of supplies
to the ODonnell camp hospital" ]"
Col. DuckWorth said he found $50
Americans at O'Donnell whose con-
ditions seemed hopeless, but "we
saved So" Before Duckworth's staff
and supplies reached O'Donnell the
daily death rate there was alarm
ing. A few months later the rate
dropped to two or three monthly.
Col. Duckorth paid tribute to the
tireless devotion of his 18 doctors
and 40 medical corpsmen, many of
whom he said should have been hos
pitalized themselves.
Col. Duckworth recalled the work
of Capt. Ralph Hibbs, Oskaloosa,
Iowa. battalion surgeon of the 31st
Infantry Another doctor who was
i'll himself then, and "even on our
rescue work last night worked tire
lessly over the sick, was Maj. Ralph
Hubbard of Oklahoma City.
Maj. Hubbard carried on the
traditions of his family-his father
and brothers are doctorS-from the
time he was in the 6,O00-patient
hospital on Bataan until today.
Col. Duckworth broke his left arm
at the start of the war. He is end
ing his immediate duty the same
way, as he slipped last night during
the dash for liberty and broke the
other arm.
Among the rescued prisoners was
Capt. Ted Amos of Humboldt, Kans.
Il was taken from Corregidor in a
small boat and forced to swim the
last several hundred yards" he re-
lated. From Bilibid prison I was
moved to the Davao penal colony
and then to Cabanatuan last June"
Wants to See Manila Freed.
Il am floating on Clouds" said 1t.
Earl Baumgardner, Yonkers. N. Y,
former manager for Radio Corp of
America in Manila IF you don't
think these are the happiest 500 men
on earth you are crazy. They want
to go to Manila with the liberating
forces before returning to the United
States"
Capt. David Yates of Hammonton,
N. j., said: My wife is WAC and
the Rangers told me there are some
WACS in the Philippines. So how
do I 60 about finding out if she is
out here The Red Cross assured
Capt. Yates it would check the
whereabouts of his wife. ,.-.----
Leonard Menger, Pueblo, Colo,
civilian engineer on Corregidor, said:
L worked as coolie in the hot sun
day in and day out on diet Of rice
and water. 1 worked on Nelson
Airfleld. 1 had no trouble with the
japanese and they didn't bother any
OF our men too much But how I
would love to see the field after the
Liberators knocked it over"
Frank Ellsworth of Long Beach,
Calf, another civilian engineer,
said: Il will certainly believe in
lucky numbers. My boys birthday
was yesterday. I landed in the
Philippines on my other boys birth
day and my own is May 6-the day
Corregidor fell"
1t. Seaton Foley, San Francisco,
an engineer, who joined the Army in
the Philippines, said that when the
japanese came to take us from
Manila Bay most of us were too
weary from bombing and shelling
to think much of the future. 1 lost
a lot of weight from sickness, but
am ready for anything now"
Among the rescued men was Capt.
r. E. Roseveare, former manager of
the Manila office of the Goodrich
Rubber Co., who was commissioned
at the outbreak of the war.
1t. w. D. Gibson, Stamford, Conn.
technical engineer with the original
Voice of Freedom Station on Cor
regidor, with the aid of 1t. Frank
Burgess of San Diego, Calf, built
one-tube radio out of old scrap
such as a toothpaste tube packed
with acids for batteries.
"On that set," he said, I'VE picked
up news from the outside world,
typed it out on japanese stationery
and circulated the news sheet about
the camp.
The japanese fumed over the
news, but they finally gave up the
search for its source. Burgess and
I were actually listening when the
Rangers stormed the camp"
-.