The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-16
BY LEONARD C. SCHUBERT United Press Staff Correspondent


 Appleton, Wis, Feb. 16-CUP) -- The past two months have been heaven for Sgt. Avery E. Wilber. They almost mako up for the 30 months of hell he endured as pris- oner of the Japanese.
 The 32-year- old mechanic son of Navarino, Wis, farmer is back among his family and friends be- cause he was one of five prisoners out of 1,800-knoWn to have sur vi7ed the sinking of Japanese pris- on ship in the China Sea last Oct. 24 by an Allied submarine.
 Nearly 30 months after he was captured in the surrender of Correg idor, Wilber and the 1900 were damned into one filthy hold aboard small Japanese transport. Nearly all were Americans, he said; few were British.
 Horror Upon Horror
 Wilber had lived through the hor- TOTE of Cabanatuan and Bilibid and the stinking Japanese work camps in the Philippines. From the time the ship put out to sea he was to experience new and worse horrors.
 As the ship got under way sirens began to scream out the news of the second American air raid on Ma nila. The date was Oct. II, 1944.
 The ship, believed to have been pa"o of a Jap convoy, hid out among some islands for several days and then struck out across the China sea.
 Three or four days out of port some 600 prisoners were transferred from the No. 2 hold to No. l hold which was partly filled with coal Wilber remained with the mai1 group. The only ones brought or deck were the cooks and five mer Wno died below The dead men were disposed of by the Jap crew.
 Each prisoner was fed about one teacup of cooked rice twice daily and given a canteen full of dirty water once a day. Sanitary facili- ties consisted of four T-gallor buckets which were grossly made quate. Scores of men were afflicted with dysentery and other sickness The heat was stifling, the stenct unbearable.
 Hundreds went out of their minds There was room to lie down for only a few. Most of the prisoners stooc or squatted on the floor, hour after hour, for IA days.
 At about 5 D. m. on October 24 the prisoners heard scurrying foot steps and frightened jabber ol voices on deck as the crew fled tC one end of the ship. Tn few min- utes they fled in the opposite di- rection.
 Wilber later interpreted this as two near misses by torpedoes, fort and aft. They were followed quickly by a tremendous jolt whict wrenched the steel hull apart amid ships. partly exposing the holt where Wilber and some l,200 others were held,
 Tt was like being parked beside the road in an automobile and hay ing big truck come along and bang into you," Wilber said
 Every prisoner who could move clambered on deck by any means hC could. In spite of a wound whici the explosion inflicted in his lef arm, Wilber climbed out with tht help of a buddy above him. Tht Japs were so busy saving themselves that they didn't interfere. The twt halves of the ship where it was spli apart sloped down to the water st that Wilber and others just walked down the deck into the sea. Mos of them wore life jackets which hat been distributed the day before.
 The Japs had cut the rope lad ders into the No. l hold, but th' Yanks on deck tossed ropes down t the men who had been moved there Struggling in the water beside Will Der were scores of fellow prisoner! and some members of the Jap crew who failed to get aboard life boat
 Two Japanes destroyers churnet the water with depth bombs in tht hope of knocking out the submarine from which the torpedoes were pre- sumed to have come.
 Beaten With Clubs
 T saw 'em pick up some of tho Japs but they beat off the Yanki with clubs" Wilber said.
 Lots of the prisoners stayed or the torpedoed ship. They brokl open the food and water supplies
 T don't know how many were left in the holds who were wounded