LAS VEGAS - Philippine Defenders Main

MEn YOUR NEW
HAnOHAl COMMANDER:
PHILIP ARSLANIAN
Philip Arslanian. retired USAF Willi
elected to the post of Nations] Commander
at. t.he Las Vegas convention in May. Phil
and his wife Mildred are staunch supporters
of ADBe. and can be seen at most
every official function of this organization.
Phil Willi a member of the 17t.h Pursuit
Squadron at Nichols Field in Manila. After
release from Lovell General Hospital, Ft.
Devens. Ma .. he went back on active
military duty until retirement in June
1961. He then joined the civilian ranks of
the USAG 88 8 Management Analyst with
the Air Force Communications Service. He
remained active in civilian service until his
retirement in December 1979. Phil and his
wife now reside at. 114 Seagate Lane in
Hyannis. Ma.
GREETINGS
We have had good response on our
proposed Christmas Greetings sec·
tion for the Christmas issue of the
QUAN. If you missed the June
QUAN we plan to publish your
Christmas greetings not to exceed
I" of column space. We ask a donation
of 15.00, If you can't afford t.he
15.00 send the greetings anyway.
With the cost of cards and stamps
as they are, we think it's a bargain.
Mail to QUAN Editor direct. with
the information you wish printed.
LAS VEGAS
Convention Report Supplement:
Due to a number of oversights in my original convention report. I feel obligated to
submit the roUowing supplemental report:
One very important. function at the convention was the 24th Pursuit Group luncheon.
This was the first gathering at which many of the former members of that
organization had attended, Many had not seen one another since the early stages of the
War. Our recently elected National Commander. Phil Arslanian is a former member of the
17th Pursuit Squadron, And. you can imagine the plaudits handed out by the many attendees
who a.1.80 were members of that organization, We were happy to see William R.
"Cowboy" Wright and his wife Brocky awarded a nice plaque for their untiring effort.8 at
keeping the many members of the 24th Pursuit Group. and especially those of the 17th
Pursuit Squadron in contact with each other, Col. John Brownewell, the driving force
behind this reunion of Army Air Corps people did an outstanding service to us all. He did
most of the corresponding with the Officers, while Cowboy and Btocky maintained a constant
stream of correspondence with the enlisted personnel Many faces in the crowd were
familiar, however some were not so easily recognized.
The years do something to our memories , , . and to the features of people, It was
truly a thrili to meet up with . , . George Armstrong . , . John Gillespie. , . Cy Blanton
... "Hoot" Horrigan . .. ,Jack Dale .. , Dave Patterson, . , Ralph Forth ... Len
Korpal . , . Ed Erickson , .. Hy Bernstein ... Sam Boghosian . , , Monty Montgomery
(Northwestern States Chapter perennial Commander) , .. Dick Fellows.
Dave Obert ... George Brignall ... Dick Damm ... Harold Fowler .. . Bob Vogler
. , . Marshall Roe ... Sam Grashio . .. Maurice HugheLt .. . Bob Brown ...
I know there Weril more t han are listed that attended. but without the help of
Cowboy or John Brownewell I just can't remember the rest _ . . and I probably bave
some of the above in error. I do know that the roster of attendees that appeared in t he last.
issue of the QUAN omitted some who actually attended. That. was due to the fact that
the registration lists that I received did not show them. So. for all of those who did attend
the 36th National Convention. and their names were omitted from our list andlor the
QUAN. I apologize. and if you care to. drop me a line and I'U send it in for publication,
Another very important and truly
dedicated participant at our convention
was the Master of Ceremonies, .. none
other than ART BRESSI! Art has been
one of Lhe staunchest supporters of and
hardest workers in this organization. And.
as usual, he did a very fine job with the
MC 's duties. Not only that. he was like a
" right-arm" to me during almost every
day of the convention. He even served 8S
the Conductor in wheeling me around in
the wheel chair that day I was confined to
it. Thanks Art. for a job well done.
I failed to mention "Boots" Edminston
of Las Vegss. who assisted in the putting
together of the " goody bags" that were
passed out at the convention. I indicated
that we were missing some of the regulars
who are at most of the conventions. Two
faces that were misaing this convention
were Lou & Zola Sachwa1d. Lou. a Past National
Commander. was just too rushed in
his sales at. this period. and although. they
wanted to attend it was not to be. We all
missed you two ... God bless.
I'm hsppy to report that both John Bennett
and H,erman Boren are doing great
after thoir sick seiges at Las Vegas, Also,
we were able, with the help of Congressman
Derwinski of the Chicago area,
and the fine efforts on the part of the pe0ple
in the Veterans Administration Central
Office. to get Chester Perry moved to
Hines Hospital near his home. He is stili
quite ill. But. I understand the fact that. he
is closer to his home. and that fellow
veterans come to see him on a daily basis.
he is making some progress t.oward.
recovery. r'm sorry t.o bave t.o report that
the Florist who provided the wreaths, etc.
for the Memorial Services passed away
two weeks ago.
The National Archives has some
photographs of some of the Prisoners of
War being released in Japan in 1946. I will
be corresponding with the person in the
Archives wno ia in charge of this particular
area. and if I am able to procure any of
these photos, I wili send them to the
QUAN for publication.
Of course, there are still areaa and activities
of t.he convention that I have not
(Con tinued on Page 3)

Joseph A. Vater
Editor The QUAN
18 Warbler Drive
McKees Rocks, Pa 15136
Dear Joe:
June24,1981
With Secretary & 1're8.9urer Jim Young
of the Northwest Chapter ADB&C, work·
ing and having a sick wife I am not aure
whether he has had time to get a report off
to you concerning our recent get together
and election of officers. So I will send you a
report just in case..
The Northwest Chapter of the American
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor held
their Annual Meeting at the American
Legion Hall Broadwater Ave., Billings,
Montana. The following officers were
elected for 1981 & 1982 year.
Commander Harry B. Greenleaf,
Roberts, Montana.
Sr. Vice Commander Wm. " Bill" M'
nold, Billings, Montana.
Jr. Vice Commander Gerald Kelly,
Sheridan, Wyoming.
Sec'y. Treas. James M. Young, Billings,
Montana.
Adjutant Lewis Elliott. Missoula,
Montana.
Chaplain Tom Hammil, Dickinson,
North Dakota.
Service Officer Monty Montgomery,
Brigham City. Utah.
Stan Dawson is Honorary Service Of·
ficer. Powell, Wyoming.
Directors: Phil Cammeron, Livingston,
Montana; Hugh Branch, Cut Bank. Mon·
tana; and Tom Hattain. Joliet, Montana.
Greg Rodrequ& of MSU W8.9 there to
give the boys what help he could towards
resolving any problems they might have
with claims with the Veterans Administra'
tion. He asked each and everyone to write
to the President and mail the letters to him
and he was to have Senat.or Max Baucus
hand carry them to the President.
Considering the high cost of gasoline we
had a very well attended meeting and
Social Rour, followed by a dinner at 7:30
p.m. The entire program was enjoyed hy
all Old acquaintances were renewed and
some new friends were welcomed. Lots of
Prison Camp life was relived and problems
of the times were ffflely discussed.
A cake was furnished for the Dinner by
the Greenleafll. It wall decorated with the
Defenders National Emblem with a Palm
Tree at each end. Just an idea by me. We
got many fine comments on both the
decorations and the quality of the cake. No
tha.t was one I did not make. I had it made
by a woman I used to work for in a
restaurant. I will say she did a good. job as
I knew she would.
Our next meeting will be held June J2.
1982 at Missoula, Montans. Lewis and
Glenda Elliott will be in charge of
arrangements.
Our be9t to you and all our friends in the
ADB&C.
Harry & Wanda Greenleaf
4 - THEQUAN
MARK E. NEHL
My husband, Mark E. Nehl, 63, passed
away at our home in Keldron, SO on June
21.1981. He had a known heart condition,
a nervous condition and numerous other
health problema due to 1m 40 months of
J apanese internment.
Mark served with M Bty 60th Coast Artillery
jSSgt) and had been stationed in the
Philippine Islands for over a year before
World War II was declared.He was one of
the 3 men who survived a direct hit on a
gunpit on top of Melinta Hill on April 29,
1942. He was a Japanese POW from the
surrender of Corregidor May 6. 1942 to
September 4, 1945. He was in the Victory
MiUdl. interned at Cabanatuan Camps No.
3 and No.1, at Lipa Batangas. at Camp
MUrphy, at Bilibid, on a priann ship to For·
mosa 39 days jOet. '44·Nov. '44). I believe
he called the ship the " Banji Maru"-the
ship was loaded with prisoners standing up
on coal when they left the Philippines. So
many of the men died on that trip, the r&
maining ones could lie down on the coal
before they reached Formosa. He was in
Formosa for B couple of months before
another prison ship journey of 12 days to
Moji, Japan. The remainder of his intern·
ment from January 1945 until his reiea&e.
he worked in a copper smelter at Kosska,
Japan.
He was a receipient of the American
Defense Service Ribbon with 1 .Bronze
Star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon
with 2 Brotue Stars, Philippine Defense
Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal.
Distinguished Unit Badge with 2 Oak Leaf
Clusters GO No. 14 9 March 42 and the
Victory Ribbon.
Sincerely,
Evelyn IMrs. Mark) Neh!
Dear Joe:
Just a bit of information that might be of
interest to all of our members.
Mr. Chester J . Perry, the member who
was so seriously ill at the convention was
evacuated from Las Vegas to Hines VA
Hospital in Illinois. This puts him very
cloae to his home of record. I've written letters
of appreciation to the V A Central Of·
fice, VA local office, Peny's representative
in Congress, thanking them all on their ef·
forts to provide the Air Ambulance to take
him back home. He is still very seriously
ilL
Enclosed is a photo of me presenting one
of the ADBC plaques to Col. G. Barney
Rawlings who sang for us during the con·
vention. If you've got the room, it might be
nice to run it in the QUAN.
I'm still receiving many nice notes of
thanks and congratulations on the conven'
tion. That makes all of the headaches and
" back·aches·' all worthwhile. Just to know
that the majority of our members were
happy and enjoyed themselves.
Hope that this finds you and yours in the
very best of health and spirits, I remain,
Sincerely,
Ralph Levenberg
GERALD BEEMAN
Ger-a1d L. Beeman, 61, of 33 Upper
Hillsida Dr" Bellbrook, a civic leader-,
former public relations director and
prisoner-of,war, died at Kettering Medica1
Center Monday. May 19, 1981 following a
lengthy illness.
Until retirement in 1980, after 26 years
of federal service, he was public relations
officer for Defense Electronics Supply
Center (DESC) in Dayton.
He was born in Mt. Vernon Nov. 19,
1919 and resided in Bellbrook since 1967.
In 1949 he. received s degree in puhlic
relations·journalism from Kent State
Univer-sity.
Mr. Beeman joined the U.S. Marine
Corps in 1938 and at the time of the Pearl
Harbor attack was stationed at the United
States Legation in Peking, China. He was
taken prisoner in 1941 and spent all of
World War II , to 1946, in POW camps in
China and Jspan.
Surviving are his widow, the former
Kathleen Aldous: two sons, William of
Bellbrook and John of Centerville; two
daughters, Miss Jane Beeman of Hays,
Kan .. and Miss Ann Beeman of Bellbrook;
two brothers, Eugene of Columbus and
Virgil of Mt. Vernon; a sister, Mrs.
Virginia Totman of Mt. Vernon.
WILLIAM H. PAnERSON
William H. Patterson. 62, of 414 N.
Chaparral died 11·4·80 in a Houston
hospital after a long illness.
He was an Army veteran and was taken
as a prisoner of war on Batalln.
Survivors include his wife, Beatrice M.
Patterson of Corpus Christi; two sons,
Donald and Mark Allen Patterson, both of
Corpus Christi; and two granddaughters.
Bill served with t he 31st infantry.
DECEASED
Stanley Gladys, 3003 Vista, Long
Beach, CA 90803. Died March 1979 - No
other details.
Satwin C. Alvarado. Jr.
1609 East Santa Clara Street Apt. 1
San J osa. Calif 95116
M Co. 3rd Bn. 4th Marines
Passed away July 18, 1980
No other details available.
Estille Dunham
ill Veterans Home
Quincy, m62301
Died Nov. 1980
Wake Island Marine
Leonard G. Mettscher-
815 West A. Street
Joplin. Missouri 64801
Died Feb. 7. 1981
Survived by wife Marie
Wake Island Marine
QUANS RETURNED DECEASED
Col. N.H. Van Sicklen
635 Sunset Dr.
Hendersonville, N.C. 28739
Major Lester I. Fox. M.D.
ISO Briarcliff Acres
N. Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29582

Richard Gillett. J im Ross, George Annstrong, Bob Vogler, Ed Ericksoll. Dick Damm,
John Gillespie, Maurice Hughett, George Brignall, Harold Fowler, Hi Messmore, Ralph
Forth, Cy Blanton. Bob Brown, Joe Kruzel, Cowboy Wright, Dave Obert, Phil Arslanian.
J ohn Brownewell, Hyman Bernstein.
(Note: Bob Brown is 34th Pur. St.1
Btry. A 60th CA (AA) as of Dec. " 1941
Capt. Calvert. Wilbert A.
1st Lt. Arvin, Charles A.
2nd Lt. Ellard. John A. J r.
2nd Lt. Smith. John S.
1st Sgt. McKeller. Shelley R.
T/Sgt. Towers. Roland W.
SlSgt. Anderson, Leonard V.
SISgt. Beierste

Bataan
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms
than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot
refine it.
-William Tecemseh Sherman.
Men will not. fight and die without knowing
what they are fighting and dying for.
- Douglas MacArthur.
The Bataan Peninsula is a small rocky
province in the Philippines. sandwiched
between Manila Bay to the east and the
South China Sea to the wes t.. In the 1940's,
8S today, Bataan was primitive. featuring
few highways and towns.
On this thumb of volcanic rock. covered
with tropical flora and tipped to the south
by tiny Cortegidor Island. Mercer County
lost., practically speaking. half a generation
of sons to the War in the Pacific.
In November of 1941. 66 men from
Mercer County received overseas
assignment! to Lhe Philippines and part oj
t he 19200 General Headquarters Tank
Battalion. The battalion arrived at Fort.
Strotenberg. and was t ransrerred to Clark
Field, an American airstrip, situated in
Luzon Province on the mainland.
On Dec. 8, 1941. shortly after noon, one
day aft.er the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
Clark Field was demolished by a Japanese
air strike.
Following the attack, the separate U.S.
tank battalions were ordered to the northwest
and southeast portions of Luzon
Province to repel Japanese amphibious landings
on the Philippine shores.
After months of battle, the depleted U.S.
forces withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula,
swept by the tide of the constantly
replenished Japanese Imperial Army.
tn a memorandum dated either February
or March of 1942. Lt. General Masaharu
Homma, commander of the.! apanese forces
in the Philippines. stated that while the
Japanese Army was slowly beating back
the American forces. the Americans were
still able to see through most every Imperial
battle plan. This. to Homma, was
" disappointing."
April 9. 1942. Tired, dehydrated, halfstarved,
the men defending Bataan are surrendered
by order of Major General Edward
P. King.
Thus began what was later called "The
Death Mareh," a confused., inhumane foreed
march through the wilds of Batean.
Soldiers who survived the trip were LO be
sent to either prison camps or work details
inside Japan. Within the 12 days it took to
complete the journey, 5,000 Americans
and FilipinOS succumbed to disease, starvation,
infection, and Japanese bayonets.
Some of the men, however, escaped im·
mediate capture and made their ways to
Corregidor Island. or "The Rock," only to
surrender to the Japanese on May 6, 1942.
Of the 66 men from Mercer County involved
in the death march and the ensuing
imprisonment, only 37 returned home.
The men of Bataan were honored in a
celebration sponsored by the HtuTodsburg
Historical Society at Old Fort Harrod
StaLe Park. The guesl. speaker at the
celebration will be Col. Edward H. Day Jr.
who is presently serving as Provost Marshal
of the U.S. Army Armor CenteT at
Fort Kno •.
What follow s are the recollections of
three survivors, Edwin Rue, Bland Moore.
and Kenneth Hourigan, and one widow,
Mrs. Esther VanArsdall.
"None of our troops ever surrendered,"
exclaimed Edwin "Skip" Rue as he sat in
the den of his house located on Tremont
Drive in Lexington. "We were surrendered
by high command."
During the battle. for Bataan. Rue was
captain of the 192nd and liaison officer to
General James R. N. Weaver.
Rue said he received his orders to surrender
while in t.he field with his men. As is
standard procedure, Rue stripped himself
of all ammunition, dismantled his
.45-caliber automatic handgun and threw
the pieces in different directions into the
thick, jungle undergrowth.
It was a crazy night, he recalled. One flU·
ed with roars and flashing lights. and of all
things, an earthquake. The American
forces were exploding ammunition
stockpiles. There was utter chaos.
The men were assembled at Balanga, he
said. a small town in the south of Batasn.
The 78,000 Americans and Filipinos were
already underfed and exhausted from the
four-month campaign prior; even before
the surrender, food was scarce. " I'd pick
up some food from the Filipinos- most of
it was dirty. One (Filipino) brought me a
DOZEN HARD BUNS, AND I thought,
'Boy, this'll last me all week.' I opened
them up and there were ants in them."
When the death march began in
Balanga, Rue was given one drink of water.
That drink proved to be t he last until the
march ended at Camp O'Donnell in northem
Balaan. where the ground was
permeated with artesian wells.
Hunger cramps took th.eir toll on Rue
during the death march, and at one point,
he fell to the side of the marching column
and doubled over, unable LO pull himself
back to his feet. A Japanese guard came up
to him, kicked him in the ribs and stuck a
AS-caliber automatic in his face, cocked
and ready to flre. Try as he might, Rue was
too weak to move. Rue recalls that a U.S.
soldier walked by him in the march and
said. "Don't move Skip, he won't shoot
you."
" I remember men who lost their minds
during the march," Rue said. "They were
rounded up in the bullpen (an outdoor
enclosure at O' Donnell) and I could hear
them screaming and fighting all night,"
The dead also left. their mark on his
mind. " I have a vivid memory of the con·
tinual line of corpses being carried to the
graveyard. There was a whole lot of
sickness-so much sickness," His head
shook slowly as he looked back across the
years.
The food on the march, if t here was any,
Presentation of ADBO plaque to Col. G.
Barney Rawlings for his contribution to
the 1981 National Convention held ill Las
Vegas, Nev.
was hardly adequate and generally illprepared.
The primary staple for the
prisoners, he said, consisted of dirty stewed
rice, cooked in uncleaned 50-gallon oil
drums. " I remember looking at that
preparation once- l wouldn't look at it
again."
Rue left O'Donnell in early June of 1942,
and was transferred to Camp Cabanatuan
in the Philippines. The food situation there
was little better. " The only protein we got
was from the weevils in t he rice," he said.
Following hill IItay in Cabanatuan, Rue
was shipped to Japan. He recalled walking
to the end of the gangplank and being
handed a wood chip marked with a
number. Each of the chips were marked, he
said, in either red or black. The color of the
chip determined where you would be taken
next. The color on his chip was different
from those of his buddies, and Ollce
separated, he never saw them again until
the end of the war.
By the time he had spent a year or so in
Japan, he said. American
bombers-B·29s- were making regular
runs over the country. He recalled the
sounds of bombs exploding nightly for
hours on end, until August 14, 1945, when
the bombing stopped.
It was then that he decided to weigh
himself. He was shocked. The years of
(Continued on Page 12)
AUGUST, 1981 - II

(Continued from Page 13)
Some of our arrivals today had worked
(unwillinglYI in Japanese industries. A
soldier from Scotland said, "We worked 12
hours a day, and every fifth day we had to
work 19 hours." Severru added that the
Japanese drove their own workers on
schedules almost as rugged. They rul agree,
"You worked or you died." The food,
scarce as it was, went only to those who
produced. " If you produced enough they
Jet you pretty much alone, but if you were
sick or weak, or couldn't keep up with the
rest, your game was up."
Men from many different camps
estimated t.hat 15 to 20 percent of their
number had died - usually from starva·
tion, and usually in the early stages of the
war. This at first seemed to refute their
claim that the food became scarcer as the
war continued, but their explanation was:
"If you survived the fust year, you were
tough enough to want to stick it out. If you
wanted to stick it out, you had to work,
and work harder than you ever worked
before, 16 to 18 hours a day. After you'd
done that. for a year, you were too damn
mad to die. We stole whatever food we
could and carried it past the guards under
our arms, in our G·strings, in hats and
shoes. If caught it meant s severe beating
- every man here has received more
beatings t han you could count on both
hands."
Sept. 6
The bunks already bear hometown
signs. On the foot of one is "City Limits -
Los Angeles." A soldier takes out a dog·
eared snapshot of his family and shows it
to you. It is the general signal for everyone
to bring them out. These tattered pictures
were retained by great effort through the
years, for the Japanese spitefully
destroyed or marked every personal
possession they could find. The men tell
you triumphantly how they saved them -
in the straw ticking of a mattress, in the
sole of a show - any device to keep that
precious scrap of paper out of sight of their
captors.
One soldier produced his souvenir bitter·
ly. It was, I think, one of the most tragic
and ironic little happenings of the war,
though I'm sure it originated without
malice. This particular individual never
once heard from his folks throughout all
these years. Hungry, sick, miserable, he
lived for the day when just one letter would
get through. At Christmas last year his
wish wss granted. The envelope given him
by the guards bore his name. He opened. it
eagerly. The card inside bore a gaily col·
ored picture of a military party with
wreaths, lighted t}"ees, and gifts in the
background. Underneath were the words,
"We give thanks for the preservation of
liberty and democracy in our land and we
wish you well" It was signed, "The
Mayor's Committee on Military Welfare"
and came from the man's hometown.
"That," he said quietly, "was harder to
take th8.ll the treatment of the Jap8.llese."
14 -THE QUAN
Sept. 7
The other hospital ships have come in to
shore - the Marigold opposite t he
rarehouse, the Dutch one at our stern, and
the Benevolence at our bow. At night they
make an 'impressive picture with great
spotlights illuminating their gleaming
white sides, the red crosses forming a com·
mon bond among the three different
services.
The sickest of the patients are still being
carried. abroad. There seems to be no end to
the POW liberation, and according to the
prisoners themselves " they haven't begun
to touch t he camps yet."
The ones who have been here a day or
two are beginning to relax. Their eyes are
losing that uncomprehending stare. They
kid the nurses a little now and then, and
have lost a little of that docile, humble obedience.
But they watch the J apanese
workers from their deck chairs with almost
no bitterness. It is as though hatred required
energy t hey cannot waste.
The 11 th Airborne - t hose irrepressible
paratroopers who ate us out of house and
home the first night we were in Japan -
have been determined to produce a brass
band to welcome the prisoners of war. We
laughed at them about it, but they said,
"O.K., you wait. We'll have that band
ready within a week." Tonight, jUst one
week later, they appeared at the processing
center in splendid array, musically tooting
on a complete set of band instruments. The
concert was a great success, especially
with the hundreds of prisoners who arrived
during it and were tremendously impress'
ed with the ovation.
Sept. 8
Little by little, the men are emerging
from their cocoons. This morning there
was an undercurrent of laughter on t he
ward for the first time. Interest in food is
more than theoretical now. They're able to
retain it and cheat like fury to get more
t han they should. It's for their won good,
of course, that we limit them in these flrst
days of hospitalization. But four years of
stealing food to live has made them skillful
at it, and they smuggle in "seconds " in
spite of our best efforts to prevent it. You
find food hidden under pillows, in pajama
pockets - everywhere. They lie in bed
planning the amazing combinations of food
they will eat back in the States. "The way
to a man's heart" has been little changed
by imprisonment.
So many of the patients have diseases
I've known only from telltbooks before.
And almost all have horrible skin infec·
tions. "Scabies" ,and "beri berf ' or
"pellagra" are an additional diagnosis on
almost all of them. Eyesight is seriously af·
fected by the long·standing nutritional
deficiencies, and the need for dental work
is appalling.
There are blind patients among the
prisoners - men who have a total loss of
vision from vitamin deficiencies. They
were given no consideration by the
Japanese because of their handicap - they
had to shift for themselves or die. Where I
N;1ve known blinded patients to have to be
persuaded to feed themselves and be in·
dependent, the blind eX'prisoners scramble
for chow alertly and are constantly on the
ball to see that they receive their share of
things. They learn their way about the
wards quickly and rely on no one.
One thing the men simply can't get over
is the way supplies are "wasted." For four
long years neither they nor their captors
wasted a single scrap of paper or shred of
tobacco. We passed out chocolate milk in
paper cups this morning to save the work
of washing glasses. The patients were horrified
when the corpsmen collected and
threw out the cups.
Sept. 12
This morning I listened to survivors of
Bstaan and Corregidor tell of their lasL
days before the surrender - of the
hopelessness of the struggle, of their
desperate hunger throughout it all, of the
wounded and dying who lay outdoors for
days because it was impossible to get them
to the improvised hospital. And when they
finished telling about it they asked, ' How
did the people back home take it? Did they
figure we let t hem down? We t ried like hell,
but we were licked from t he minute we
started.. "
It' 8 good to see them growing stronger
every day. Men who couldn't walk when
they were brought in are sitting on the
edge of their beds tallring about the quan·
tities of food they can consume. You can't
possibly imagine what meal time looks like
among men who have almost starved to
death. Secure now in the knowledge that
there are unlimited supplies, they still
can't overcome the urge to snatch every
passing morsel. The patients are almost
relaxed now during the rest of the day, but
the appearance of food makes animals of
them again.
Sept, 16
The admiration of fhe men on Corregidor
8.lld Bataan for General Wain·
wright is something to see. MacArthur
they dismiss contemptuously. "Sure, if
they ordered him out, he probably had to
go - but they can have him. Give me old
Skinny Wainwright who knows how to
stick it out. When we finally surrendered
on Bataan and Corregidor you know what
he said? ' I surrendered because I knew
there was no way out. But you men never
would have, I know. You'd have fought as
long as there was one of you alive and I
realize it. The surrender was my respon·
sibility becmuse I couldn't make men
needlessly die any longer!"
"The other brass would have said, 'I
could have held out but the men let me
down'."
They're beginning to take freedom for
granted now, and they feel they're really
"up on the news. " Now and then they still
get a surprise. Last night we borrowed the
movie Here Come the Waves. Many of
them were Navy men and the word
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