Horyo : memoirs of an American POW

RICHARD

M.

~ORDON

With the assistance of

Beryamtn s. llamzon, ph.D.

HORYO MEMOIRS OF AN AMERICAN POW

Richard M. Gordon Major, U.S . Army, Ret. Bataan, P.I., 1941-42

With the assistance of Benjamin S. Llamzon, Ph.D .

PARAGON HOUSE St. Paul, Minnesota

First Edition, 1999

Published in the United States by Paragon House 2700 University Avenue West St. Paul, MN 55114

Copyright Š 1999 by Paragon House

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without written permission from the publishers, unless by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publishing data Gordon, Richard M., 1921Horyo : memoirs of an American POW I Richard M . Gordon; with the assistance of Benjamin S. Llamzon. -1st ed. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical refefences.

ISBN 1-55778-781-6 (cloth) 1. Gordon, Richard M., 1921- 2. Bataan (Philippines: Province), Battle of, 1942. 3. World War, 1939-1945-Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 4.

World War, 1939-1945 - Personal narratives, American. 5. Prisoners of warUnited States Biography. 6. Prisoners of war-Philippines Biography. 7.

Prisoners of war- Japan Biography. 8. United States. Army Biography. I. Llamzon, Benjamin S. II. Title.

D767.4G68 1999 940.54'25-dc2l 99-27861 CIP

10987654321

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DEFEAT AND VICTORY ARE ONE

Defeat has heen my capture, victory my survival.

2nd Lt. Thomas Austin Marshall, Texas Bataan, Philippines 1942

To Jean, my first wife of forty-seven years, and to Lyn, my present wife, both of whom gave me loyal and affectionate support in writing this book. Without them at my side this project could not have been completed . .

I dedicate this book to my son, Richard, and my loving children, Kathleen, Michael, Suzanne and Judith, who had to bear with the raw scars and nerves that marked their father's life during their childhood. To them I give my profound apologies and assurance of my affection which never wavered, no matter how it may often have appeared otherwise .

Above all other fellow prisoners of war, lowe my life to one Cecil Fernandez of the Royal Air Force, Special Training Corps, captured in Singapore and held with me in Mitsushima, Japan .

His help and friendship aided my survival.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed, that we despaired oflife itself.

II Corinthians 1:8

I see no gleam of victory alluring No chance of splendid booty or gain If I endure - I must go on enduring And my reward for bearing pain-is pain Yet, though the thrill, the zest, the hope Are gone Something within me keeps me fighting on.

Lt. Henry G. Lee HQ Co., Philippine Division Bataan R. Gordon's platoon leader and friend

CONTENTS Preface ...................................................... ............................................. xi Foreword ......................... ... ....................... .... .... .. ................................ xvii Prologue ............................ ................. ... ... ... ..... ..... ....... ....... ..... ......... xxiii Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Chapter 12: Chapter 13: Chapter 14: Chapter 15: Chapter 16: Chapter 17: Chapter 18: Chapter 19: Chapter 20: Chapter 21: Chapter 22: Chapter 23:

The Adolescent Years ........ ............ .............. ............... 1 Army Recruit Days ................. ..... ............ .... .......... ... 11 En Route to the Philippines ............... ..... ...... ........ .. . 19 Prewar Life in Manila ....... .. ....................... .... .... ... ... 27 America's "Foreign Legion" ..... ...... ..... .... .. ....... ...... .. 37 War Clouds Gather .................................................. 53 Fighting on Bataan ................................................... 57 The Fall of Bataan .. ........ ... ....... ... ... ........ .. .......... ..... . 73 Why Bataan Fell .. ..... .... ...... ...... ..... ... ... .............. .. ..... 77 Captivity Begins ........................................................ 83 The Bataan Death March .. ...... ... ................ .... ......... 87 Camp O'Donnell ... .... ..... .. .................. ..... ......... ..... 103 Cabanatuan Prison Camp .................... .... .... ....... ... 121 The 'Hell Ship' Nagato Maru ................................ 133 Welcome to Japan ........................ .. .. ...... .... ... ...... ... 141 Mitsushima ............................................................. 147 Learning the Language .......................................... 169 Work Details and Contracts ...... .. ..... ... .. .. ........ ... ... . 177 The Skies Begin To Cloud Up .... ........ ....... ............ 185 It's Over .................................................................. 193 Going Home ........................................................... 201 Manila, the Second Time ...................................... 209 Return to the U.S.A. ...... ......... ....................... ..... ... . 217

Epilogue ... ... .... .. .... .... ..... ........... .... ........ .. ..... ... ......... ... ......... .... ... ..... . 227 Appendix 1: Maps and Documents ............................................ 231 Appendix II: Photographs ..... ... .... .... .. ........ .... .............................. 253 Index ................................................................................................. 263

XI

PREFACE In the Japanese prisoner of war camps of World War II, many POWs were "so utterly, unbearably crushed that [they] despaired oflife."

Many of these prisoners 'despaired' to such an extent that they resorted to any means to survive, at the expense of their fellow prisoners . As unbelievable as it may sound, many became quite wealthy in these camps. They made exorbitant profits selling simple foodstuffs and medications. These individuals were the "predators."

It was the "free enterprise," "what the market will bear" instinct in its most depraved form, and it existed in every prison camp which held American prisoners of war.

Nor were Americans alone in such behavior. British, Australian, and Dutch prisoners were also guilty of such conduct, but to a much lesser degree. Their countries had been at war for some time, thus deprivations were not unknown to these men. Another element enters into the definition of predator, namely a lack of military discipline. This vital part of a soldier's life was missing from the American soldier captured in the Philippines. In contrast, the discipline of the British soldier generally was to be admired. Added to the absence of military discipline on the part of the American soldier was the poor quality of leadership offered by company and field grade officers to their enlisted men inside the prison camps.

Once the colonels and generals were separated from their troops by the Japanese (such officers were sent to Formosa and Manchuria), discipline became a much greater problem. Junior officers were primarily interested in their own survival. Many of these young officers were relatively new to the American military in the Philippines, having been recently called into active duty as reserve offic-

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ers or National Guard officers with little or no military experience.

This lack of discipline and leadership enabled the predator to ply his trade.

In the fall of 1942, conditions in the main American prisoner of war camp, Cabanatuan, where most American POWs were held, improved noticeably. Food, Red Cross supplies, and medication came into the camp for the first time since opening in early June 1942. As a result, the death rate among the prisoners fell dramatically. During the first early months of the camp's existence almost 3,000 prisoners died in Cabanatuan, and 90 percent of those deaths were survivors of Camp O'Donnell who had been moved to Cabanatuan on 6 June 1942. The hellhole called O'Donnell had witnessed 1,600 American deaths in forty days and over 25,000 Filipino deaths in three months. That death rate so alarmed even the Japanese that they began paroling Filipino POWs who promised not to bear arms against the Japanese.

Shipped by train and truck on 6 June, 1942 (with 500 men left behind as undertakers and caretakers) from O'Donnell to Cabanatuan, dying of disease, starving and without medical care, these men soon filled the graves at Cabanatuan, their second camp. Their fellow American prisoners of war, captured not in Bataan but a month later on the island fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay, were luckier. Taken immediately and directly to Cabanatuan, they were appalled at the condition of their fellow Americans.

Corregidor's captives to this point had had a relatively easier time.

In much better physical condition and with much better food rations, with little or no disease, the American POWs from Corregidor entered prison life better able to withstand the conditions at Cabanatuan.

With the improvement in food and medical supplies to Cabanatuan, homosexuality began to appear. While the military had its share of homosexuals before the war, they were of the "closet" variety. The upswing in the men's condition did much to encourage and create homosexuality.

The predators meanwhile, recognizing the improvement and not wanting to leave this environment for the cold, unknown rigors of Japan and Manchuria, were determined to remain in Ca-

PREFACE

banatuan at any cost. Most did so until late 1944 when the Japanese, in dire need oflaborers, finally decided to move POWs from the Philippines. In addition, with the Allies moving closer to the Philippines, the Japanese wanted to make sure that the fewest number of prisoners were rescued by the advancing Americans.

Fate played a cruel joke on many predators. Because of the ever tightening blockade of the Philippines by the Allies, more and more Japanese vessels, many carrying prisoners of war, were sent to the bottom of the Pacific by American submarines and aircraft. Almost 5,000 American prisoners of war aboard these ships, including predators, went to their deaths in late 1944 and early 1945 (probably the greatest number of Americans ever lost to "friendly fire") .

The means predators used to remain in the Philippines until finally forced to leav'e in those hell ships is a story in itself. Many did so by bribing American officers in charge of preparing shipments of workers to Japan . Others decided to have "dysentery" by buying stools from dysentery patients in the hospital at Cabanatuan.

If and when these men were marked for shipment outside the Philippines, they would enter the camp hospital by presenting the purchased stool samples as their own , knowing that the Japanese did not want dysentery patients as workers. The Japanese were deathly afraid of such a disease entering Japan . This "fear" became ironic when one considers how many prisoners of war held in Japan in fact had dysentery. Dysentery wards were just as prevalent in prison camps in Japan as they were in Philippine camps.

A ridiculous, almost comical scene could be observed when prisoners disembarked in Japan . Each prisoner was made to strip naked and was then sprayed for body lice before being allowed on Japanese soil. For if ever there was a common problem among prisoners of war in Japan, it was body lice.

The contemptible behavior of too many American prisoners of war in the Philippines, as I just mentioned, will be a recurrent theme of this book. Many, far too many, American POWs died as a result of predators' actions. But as will become clear, the actions of our own government, too, brought about the deaths of thousands of Filipinos and Americans fighting in defense of the Philip-

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pines. It can truly be said that American military personnel in the Philippines were victims of their fellow Americans both before and after their capture.

For a number of years preceding World War II, the American military establishment firmly believed that it was impossible to adequately defend the Philippines against any attack by Japan.

General Dwight Eisenhower, then serving as an aide and chief-ofstaff to General MacArthur in prewar Manila, was one of the first to admit to the impossibility of such a defense. Most military authorities at that time calculated that they would need at least two years to successfully reinforce the Philippines if attacked by Japan.

That projection could not, of course, include the destruction of Pearl Harbor. As a result, World War I weapons originally sent to the Philippines during Teddy Roosevelt's administration were to be used in World War II against a far superior Japanese attack force.

With such gloomy predictions, Washington was reluctant to send anything in the nature of war materiel to the Philippines, especially after the outbreak of war in Europe. In the minds of many, sending supplies and equipment to the Philippines would be a waste. It was not until July 1941 that General Douglas MacArthur, retired army chief of staff, and field marshal of the Philippine Army, was given complete command of all forces in the Philippines. It was he who convinced General George C. Marshall, army chief of staff, and President Roosevelt that the Philippines could be defended for a period of six months. MacArthur firmly believed that the Philippines could hold out for that time if given adequate men, supplies, and planes. Personally, I find it hard to believe that MacArthur was unaware of the general belief that the Philippines were a "lost cause," "doomed from the start." Yet none of this, I think, would have deterred MacArth ur from having the Philippine Army under him heroically defend the islands. His ego and reputation would not allow any other alternative. That, however, is a story already taken over by historians. Suffice it to say that troops in the Philippines were considered expendable in the event of war.

When war finally did come, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson (governor general of the Philippines in the late 1920s) summed up the position of the Philippine defenders with this remark to

PREFACE

newspaper reporters: "There are times when men must die." He said this in early December 1941, before the Japanese landed in the Philippines.

Those then who did survive were truly "victorious" while those who died "suffered their defeat." They had been denied "victory" not only by the Japanese but by their fellow Americans. It is up to the reader of this book to judge whether that is true.

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XV!!

FOREWORD The reader will want to know how I came to know Richard Gordon, Major, U.S. Army (Retired); and why I took a busman's holiday in my retirement from the groves of academe to work on his manuscript.

When World War-II broke out on December 8, 1941, I was a gangly twelve years old, in first year high school in Manila. I would walk every day to school in Intramuros, the Walled City. On the way I passed Sternberg, the U.S. Army hospital by the Botanical Garden, and continued on along the sunken gardens before the fortress walls-places that Gordon mentions in the early chapters of the book. At that time, Manila was every bit the lovely city that he fondly recalls. How was I to know that among those American infantrymen then training and drilling on those grounds before my eyes was a sergeant I would one day, more than fifty years later, work with on this book! How was I to know that the souls and bodies of those American soldiers who looked so impressive to us Filipinos, as they went through their drills and exercises, would soon be laid bare and found woefully wanting in the harsh light of captivity under the Japanese.

In the next three years and a half, 1942-45, I was to catch fleeting glimpses of these bedraggled American men, many of them walking skeletons, as they were herded to work by their haughty captors who brandished fixed bayonets and encircling machine guns mounted on military trucks. It was impossible ever to come near them then, nor after their liberation. In the intervening fifty years since, I never managed to meet any of them. Hence in May 11-18,1992, when the roughly 1,000 survivors of this group-all who were still alive then, and in their seventies and eighties-con-

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vened for a full week in the Marriott in San Francisco for the fiftieth anniversary of the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, I hastened from my home in Evanston, Illinois, and flew out to join them. I had my tape recorder with me, and for the first three days I did nothing but circulate among them and record as much as I could of their grim reminiscences. By the fourth day I began to notice one individual who stayed on the outer fringe of all the socializing camaraderie. It was Dick Gordon, and he preempted my intention as I approached to interview him.

"All those tapes-how will you sort out the truth?" Dick asked .

The question suddenly conjured up in my mind the phrase "devil's advocate." Then I looked back to the milling throng of ex-POWs from Bataan and Corregidor in the lobby. It was the start of a sinking feeling that only took deeper hold as I worked on this manuscript. That sinking feeling is what this book is all about.

Several motives impelled me to this project. Of those, three are worth mentioning. The first is subjective and may prove to be elusive . Yet its practical impact on my life is palpably real, and it may serve the common good to spell it out here. The other two are directly and empirically recognizable in their implications for our national life in America today, as the foremost example of a selfrenewing democracy.

In the book Gordon talks about the bewildering emotions that welled up in him on his departure from home, at the site of his enslavement in Mitsushima after liberation, 'a nd at meeting his family again during the Thanksgiving season back in America. So too, bewilderingly, I have never quite understood my voracious impulse to read every book I can lay my hands on about the atrocities of Japanese soldiers during World War II, all the time that such reading repulses and pains me . Working on this book has, I believe, helped to organize these psychic crosscurrents inside me into some degree of clarity.

I now thoroughly adhere to what may be called, "Pascal's Bet Revisited." This book points up the fact that some of the few who never forsook the basic human values of decent behavior, order, and discipline, even in the seemingly bottomless depths of a living hell, survived equally, as did the predators, to the day ofliberation.

FOREWORD

So too, in the lottery of life, whether in the mere ordinariness of everyday living or in the worst of circumstances, to me this book of horrors is really saying that it makes sense to put your money (i .e. action and behavior) where your mouth should be, namely, on the side of decency .... Why not? After all, the odds remain the same for everybody, those who do not make it and those who do .

My other motive revolves on the conviction that our democratic freedoms, so dearly paid for in war by the blood of fellow Americans, cannot be preserved in the ensuing epochs of peace and prosperity unless they are locked onto a passion for truth on a nationwide scale. All the turbulent crosscurrents sweeping our land in domestic crises under President Clinton bear testimony to the fact that truth must pervade the large picture of our three branches of government or our y-{ation will unravel in disarray. But truth-telling in that large picture is impossible unless the overwhelming majority of the citizenry itself is imbued with the virtue. Unfortunately, what we see taking over today in alarming proportions is what Allan Bloom has called "the closing of the American mind," the full-scale relativism so characteristic of the me, myself, and I generation. This is alarming since the truism still holds that a people gets the kind of government it deserves.

People devoid of truth are what T. S. Eliot called "hollow men," incapable of the self-imposed order and discipline which are the indispensable foundations of democratic freedom. Physical beatings such as those Gordon describes being given by Watanabe, "The Bird," maim and kill. But the collapse of order and discipline among the POWs recounted here ensued when these men gave up on all notions of right and wrong, leaving only the fragile shred of individual survival at any cost as the ultimate belief. This book enables us to peer into the kind of life that is sure to ensue when basic moral values and decency are abandoned-the life that ensued when that happened in Japanese prison camps. The ruthlessness of captivity under the Japanese was then redoubled as the prisoners themselves turned on one another as mutually ruthless predators. Note how, ironically, the only order and discipline possible came from the iron fists of their captors. It is a terrible

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picture we cannot afford to forget. Where only falsehood and all the other vices it spawns rule, the situation will always invite a mailed fist from the outside to intervene. Order of any sort, after all, is better than its complete evaporation among hollow men.

Thus on a deeper level, this book is about the inseparability of truth and freedom.

Lastly, I would like to underline Gordon's lament about the woefully inadequate training American soldiers in the Philippines had before the war. Because he was a professional soldier who had undergone training in the Philippine jungles before the warunlike the raw recruits from the National Guard units who arrived just before war broke out-his training paid off, especially during the Death March. His military experience helped him again in the death camps, the hell ships, the slave years in Japan, and indeed even in the heady days after liberation.

Before the cataclysmic engagements in World War II, notably D-Day in Europe, and on the eve of the greatest naval battle in history off Leyte Gulf, General Eisenhower and Admiral William Halsey broadcast the assurance to their men that they had received the best training for battle that it was in the power of their country to give. The time had now arrived, the supreme commanders announced, when the men, in turn, must put that training to valiant use to bring about their country's deliverance, honor, and glory. It was a rousing battlecry that neither Generals MacArthur nor Wainwright could broadcast in truth to their troops 'on Bataan and Corregidor on the eve of the Japanese assault in early 1942.

In closing, I would like to emphasize that my work on this book extended only to editing, vetting, and all the work that preparing a manuscript for publication generally require. At no time and in no place did I ever intrude into its contents. Gordon, not I, was horyo.

So, on these matters any blame must be laid at my door.

My affectionate thanks go to my wife, Georgia, and our two children, Lily and Clark-Belmonte, who cheerfully tutored me in the wonders of computer technology. The decisive job of putting the manuscript into final format was done by Sharon D. Connor, another computer wizard, an eagle-eyed professional and a nice and easy friend. I thank Elizabeth Frangedakis, of Rethymnon in

XXI

Crete, Greece, and Oman, the manager of Hotel Splendid in Buyukada, in the Sea of Marmora, offIstanbul. The facilities they provided me made my work a pleasure.

Ben Llamzon Evanston, Illinois, Easter, 1998

XXlll

PROLOGUE This book is the memoirs of a "Horyo," a soldier captured by the Japanese on Bataan . It is written plainly just as I saw things happen over five years of military service before, during, and after World War II. I hope that the reader, and my children, will better understand and have a more in-depth appreciation of what the phrase "hell on earth" really means after going through this book.

The Allied calamity that was Bataan in April 1942 began with the surrender of Major General Edward P. King Jr., commanding general of the Fil-American forces on Bataan, of the largest number of American military personnel ever turned over to an enemy force in the history of the United States. General King, very mindful of the significance of the date 9 April, when Confederate soldiers under General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, thus ending the Civil War, decided that any further resistance on Bataan was useless and would only result in more bloodshed. Knowing that his immediate superior, General Jonathan Wainwright on Corregidor, had expressly forbidden any surrender, he accepted full responsibility for his actions . He was to spend the remainder of the war in a Japanese prison camp wondering what sanction awaited him for this capitulation .

To some, especially the Japanese military of that era, surrender was, to say the least, a disgrace. To this day some former prisoners of war who were captured in the Philippines still feel disgraced by being taken prisoner. It may be, however, that these men feel more guilty about surviving than surrendering. It is true that these men did not give in of their own volition. Rather, they were given orders by their commanding general to lay down their weapons . In-

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deed, most U.S. troops were unaware of the surrender until Japanese forces were almost upon them. In some instances the Japanese massacred those who, because of poor communications, continued to fight until the command reached them belatedly.

Colonel T. S. Drake, U.S. Army, offered the following consolation to many prisoners of war. "Let no man believe that there is a stigma attached to having been honorably taken captive in battle.

Only the fighting man ever gets close enough to the enemy for that to happen. That he is not listed among the slain is due to the infinite care of Providence. Be proud that you carried yourselves as men in battle and adversity. You will be enriched thereby."

Surrender was hardly on the mind of General Douglas MacArthur, overall commander of Fil-American forces in the Philippines, when he left Corregidor on 11 March 1942 for Australia in accordance with President Roosevelt's orders. Upon leaving he gave explicit orders to his replacement, General Wainwright, to "hold on" until he returned. Wainwright assured MacArthur that he would or would die trying. Future events were to make that promise impossible when he too was compelled to surrender Corregidor a month after Bataan fell.

To disobey a lawful order in the military was, and is, a court-martial offense. (Like General King, all through his captivity General Wainwright too agonized over his surrender). When MacArthur left the Philippines he sincerely believed that he would be able to mount a rescue effort to save his ¡men there. Once in Australia, he soon learned that no Allied force was available to him and that he could not keep his promise to Wainwright. Yet, upon learning of both King and Wainwright's surrender he became furious with both men . He was even more incensed when he learned that Allied soldiers in the southern Philippines, under General William F. Sharp Jr., commanding general of the Visayan-Mindanao forces, had also been surrendered by Wainwright. MacArthur of course was completely unaware of the nightmarish conditions on Bataan or the impossible situation facing Wainwright on Corregidor.

The fall of Bataan, especially, deeply affected MacArthur for the remainder of the war and for years after. The very mention of

PROLOGUE

Bataan during the war often prompted tears in his eyes. He had visited Bataan but once during the fighting there, and many of his men were openly critical of him. They called him "Dugout Doug," a term that deeply hurt him as it was a challenge to his courage, never before questioned by anyone. As late as the Korean War in the early fifties, MacArthur flew around in his plane called "Bataan."

Wainwright, confronted not only with defeat but annihilation on Corregidor, did attempt to keep the southern forces fighting in the Philippines while contemplating surrender. He sent the following message dated 6 May 1942 to General Sharp. "All forces in the Philippines except those on the fortified islands at the entrance to Manila Bay are released to your command. Inform all concerned report at once to MacArthur for orders. I believe you will understand the motive behind this order. Wainwright."

The motive was not only obvious to General Sharp, it was also very obvious to Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, commanding general of all Japanese forces in the Philippines. Homma had already taken too long to complete the taking of the Philippines and was in disfavor in Tokyo. Meaning to bring the fighting to an abrupt halt, he refused Wainwright's surrender unless it included all the forces under Wainwright's command, including Sharp's forces in the south. Faced with this dilemma, Wainwright then sent Sharp a second message explaining that Homma refused his surrender of the fortified islands of Manila Bay (Corregidor and surrounding islands) unless it included Sharp's forces. His message to Sharp read " .. .you will therefore, be guided accordingly and will repeat will surrender all troops under your command."

Sharp, after being informed of the entire situation on Corregidor

by Colonel Jesse Tawick Jr., Wainwright's emissary, then ordered his troops to surrender. Sharp directed all of his forces to cease operations against the Japanese and "to raise the white flag." In his message to his command, Sharp reiterated what Wainwright had stated via Tawick "this is imperative and must be carried out to save further bloodshed." Here however, Sharp's commands were questioned by some of his subordinates inasmuch as their units had been unhurt by the Japanese. One, Colonel J. Christie, com-

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manding in Panay, took the position that he needed "MacArthur's okay or surrender may be treason." In his response to Sharp, Christie further stated, "I do not even see a small reason why this unit should be surrendered because some other unit has gone to hell or some Corregidor shell-shocked terms are issued." Sharp replied that he had orders and expected his subordinate (Christie) to follow those orders. Realizing that he had no alternative but to obey, Christie surrendered his group. All units in the Philippines faced the same decision as Sharp and Christie, and every man was expected to obey.

At stake was the survival of every man, woman, and child on Corregidor. At least such was the belief of General Wainwright after being threatened with extinction by General Homma.

What really did happen when Corregidor was given Homma's ultimatum? The true story did not become known until years after the end of World War II . It is possible that Corregidor's fall might have taken a different turn if all the facts had been known to Wainwright.

Homma, subsequently executed for his role in the Bataan Death March, had over 14,000 men for his invasion ofCorregidor but an insufficient number of assault barges for the task. With the limited number of 2500 men, he initiated the invasion rather than incur Tokyo's wrath over his delay in taking the Philippines.

Unknown to Homma, the tides along the Manila shore shifted eastward near "the Rock," as Corregidor was known. His landing craft began drifting apart, with most of them heading for the wrong part of the island. Floating directly under the guns of Corregidor, they were caught broadside and blown out of the water. Only about 800 Japanese soldiers survived to reach a landing site on the island.

Homma, upon learning of the destruction of his landing craft, assumed that all was lost and was prepared for his defeat in the attempted landing. To his surprise, word came to him that about 800 men had managed to secure a beachhead. A Colonel Sato took charge of this contingent and informed Homma of their situation . In addition, three tanks managed to get ashore and Sato's force soon made its way to Malinta Tunnel, headquarters for Gen-

PROLOGUE

XXVll

eral Wainwright on Corregidor and refuge to all Allied personnel who managed to gain shelter there. The day after the initial Japanese landing a force of approximately 300 stood before the tunnel's entrance. This small force brought about the capitulation of Corregidor.

It is a fact that while Corregidor had over 12,000 men on the island, most were inside the main and lateral tunnels. Shelled for thirty consecutive days from Bataan after that peninsula fell, and after four months of almost daily bombing attacks, most of Corregidor's defenders were shell-shocked and incapable of mounting a strong defense . A relatively few defenders met and attempted to repel the Japanese on the beaches . This group fought bravely, but received no support from those within the tunnel and were themselves forced to fall back to Malinta Tunnel. The three Japanese tanks were soon at the mouth of the tunnel. Believing that a much stronger Japanese force threatened his troops, Wainwright opted for surrender.

Many American historians are really unaware of what happened on both Bataan and Corregidor. A number of myths have emerged from this lack of knowledge, many perpetrated by the survivors themselves . Some historians of today, writing on the fall of the Philippines, have also provided erroneous information . It certainly is a good example of the adage, "when history becomes legend, print the legend."

A case on this point can be found in William Manchester's book American Caesar. Manchester writes that the prisoners on Corregidor were taken to Bataan and underwent the infamous Bataan Death March. Bataan fell on 9 April 1942, and the last group of marchers entered their first prison camp, O'Donnell, on 24 April 1942. Corregidor did not fall until 6 May 1942, and the men defending it did not leave the island until 20 May 1942. To insure the surrender of the southern forces under Wainwright's command, Americans were held on "the Rock" as hostages, pending that surrender.

For any Corregidor captive to take part in the march out of Bataan, he would have had to leave Corregidor while the Japanese were shelling the island. Then, he either would have had to

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swim or obtain a boat to make it across the two-and-a-half miles of shark-infested water to the shore ofBataan, with the absurd objective of joining the Death March! His only alternative would be to walk on water and only one man has ever done that. Yet today, a number of Corregidor survivors claim to have made the Bataan March.

Another myth from the Bataan-Corregidor campaigns, that still exists even in the halls of the United States Congress, is the belief that all Marines in that campaign defended Bataan, then Corregidor, and then made the Bataan Death March. Less than three years ago, congressional legislation was proposed to award the Bronze Star medal to those Marines "who defended Bataan and survived the Death March." Eventually a number ofBataan survivors convinced Congress that their information was erroneous. The medal was then awarded, rightly so, "to the Marines for their defense of the Philippines."

In December 1941 the vast majority of Marines captured in the Philippines had arrived in those islands from China. These were the Fourth Marines, a unit primarily in garrison duty in China to protect American interests there. Almost immediately these Marines were posted to Corregidor and assigned beach defense duties. A small detachment of Marines, along with a small group of naval personnel eventually did fight on Bataan and were captured there . About forty-three Marines and a handful of sailors arrived at Camp O'Donnell, the first prison camp for Bataan defenders. This small detachment of Marines and Navy personnel fought with distinction and brought great credit upon themselves and their organizations.

In early 1992 the secretary of the navy acknowledged that Congress was armed with good intentions but a poor knowledge of history. The secretary was quick to point out that the Bronze Star award to all naval personnel was not for having participated in the Bataan Death March but for their defense of the Philippines, a recognition they truly deserved. The original myth, ifleft unchallenged, could have again distorted the history of Bataan and Corregidor. Bataan survivors prevented this by contacting their congressional representatives and asking that the erroneous informa-

PROLOGUE

tion be expunged from the records.

As part of the 50th anniversary remembrance of the end of World War II, the official committee appointed to commemorate the event issued paintings of Marines in action. Among them was one painting showing the Marines' participation in the Bataan Death March.

Obviously the myths continue even at the Department of Defense level.

It is the belief of this writer that the American people and our military need to recognize to what level an American prisoner of war, poorly led and poorly disciplined, can sink while holding onto some vestige of civilization. While some truly deserved the name "hero," they were few in number. They are the ones who died in battle, prison camps, or aboard prison ships headed for camps outside the Philippines. These are the men I enshrine with this book.

XXIX

265

INDEX Note: Page references in italics refer to illustrations, maps, or photographs.

Abucay, battle of, 62, 67 Aircraft, U.S., xiv destruction of, 54-56,63 food dropped by, 198, 1'19 Japan bombarded by, 185-86, 189, 194 Air Force, Japanese, 75, 207 Air Force, Philippine, 64 Air Force, U.S., 185-86 "Alps, Japanese," 142-43, 164, 202 American Caesar (Manchester), xxvii American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC), 110 American Prisoners of War, Museum of, 106 Ammunition, 33, 53, 58,73,79, 180 See also Rifles Andrews Sisters, 209 Appomattox, xxiii, 20 Army Air Corps, U.S., 15-16, 54-55, 177 Army, British, xi, 28,152,161,169,175, 200,205 Army, Japanese Imperial, 72, 83-85, 88, 102,141,145,159-60 attitude toward heat, 183 Tsuenyoshi in, 108-9 weapons of, 156 well-equipped,73 See also Beatings; Torture Army, Philippine, 30,46,49, 50, 54, 58, 67,68, 103, 104 MacArthur as field marshal of, xiv training of, 77-78, 80 weapons of, 58, 79

Army Transport Service, 19 Army, U.S, 47,51,54,61 training of, 78 weapons of, 79 See also Company F; Philippine Division; Philippine Scouts; 31st Infantry Regiment; 200th AntiAircraft Regiment Asiatic Pacific Fleet, 56 Atsugi Air Base, 207 Augustinelli, Charles ("Gus"), 121-22

Barbed Wire Surgeon (Weinstein), 169, 195,228 Bataan, 23, 54,77,163,233,234,235 beatings on, 83-85,130 boxcar transportation on, 98, 100, 259 cannon on, 64 deaths on, 26, 30,68,89,90 Filipinos on, 28,58-59,97,99,101 footgear on, 148 Japanese infiltration of, 66-82 MacArthur on, xx, xxiv-xxv march out of, xxvi, xxvii-xxix, 2, 59, 87-102,100,103-4,107,115,124, 145,232,257,261 National Guard on, 51 POWs on, 83-87 propaganda leaflets on, 81-82,90, 242,243 rifles on, 41-42 surrender of, v, xviii, xxiii-xxvii, 20, 37,60,71-72,75-82,86,225,231 survivors of, v, xv, xvii, xxvii, xxviii, 82, 108,125,227,233,255,263

266

HORYO

training for, xx, 12, 15-16 tunnel to, 205 Wainwright on, xx war on, 57-72 "Bataan" (airplane), xxv Bataan Defense Force, 62, 66-73, 106 Bathing, 205 on Bataan, 163 en route to Philippines, 21-22 at Mitsushima, 151, 163, 183 Battling Bastards of Bataan, 74, 108,255, 263 BBB (Balintawak Beer Brewery), 65 Beatings on Bataan, 83-85, 130 at Cabanatuan, 131 during march out of Bataan, 88-89, 90,91,96,97, 101, 124 at Mitsushima, xix, 151, 156, 157, 160,162-63,164,165,166,169,170, 171-72,178,179,181,185,186,193, 196 on Nagato Maru, 136 at O'Donnell, 90, 91, 96, 97,145 See also Torture Bell, Don, 55 Beriberi, 115, 179, 180,249 Big Glass Eye, 178,252,262 Bilibid Civil Prison, 108, 126, 128-32, 228 "Bilibid Diary" (Hayes), 131 Binto boxes, 141-42, 145 Bleich, Dr., 125, 128 Bloom, Allan, xix Body heat, 137,165 Boer War, 83 "Boom Town," 20-21 Boy Scout, 177-78, 195,200 Brancaticano, Frank, 165-66, 174-75, 249

Brazil Maru, 127 Brereton, Major General Lewis H., 63 Bridge on the River Kwai (movie), 109 Brougher, General William E., 80 Browe, Dr. John, 114 Brown, Lieutenant George, 194

B-24s, 180, 194,207,210 B-29s, 185, 186, 189, 194 Buick, 157, 164,252 Bund, 10 Cabanatuan prison camp, xiii, 60, 105, 112,116,117-19,121-28,241 beatings at, 131 deaths at, xii, 23, 104, 106-7,240 discipline at, 108 escape attempts from, 122-24 memorial at, 23, 106-7,255 Campbell, Willie, 194 Capas, 99,100, 115,261 Cavite Naval Base, 56 China, xxviii, 11-12,37,78,190 Christie, Colonel J., xxv-xxvi Christmas, 3, 38-39,44,181,182-84, 189 Churchill, Winston, 83 Cirrito, Corporal Russell, 27-28 Civil War, xxiii, 106 Clark Field, 54-55, 56, 63,100, 106 Clergy on Bataan, 75 at Bilibid Civil Prison, 228 at Mitsushima, 184 on Nagato Maru, 135, 137 at O'Donnell, 116 Clothing, 205 on Bataan, 74 at Cabanatuan, 130 of Germans, 220 in "Japanese Alps," 143 at Mitsushima, 159, 163, 171, 172, 196,205 of National Guardsmen, 51 at O'Donnell, 114, 115 of Philippine Army, 58 of 200th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 47 Company F, 23, 27, 53, 56,257 See also 31st Infantry Regiment Congress, U.S., xxviii, 41,169 Contractors, Japanese, 155-56, 166, 17779,199 Corey, MajorAlan, 130,131,173-74

INDEX

Corregidor, 43,51,71,79,88,100,106, 234,235 deaths on, 26, 107 dental team from, 129 MacArthur's departure from, xxiv, 70 memorial on, 214, 254 propaganda leaflets on, 243 lack of support for, 54, 82 surrender of, v, xviii, xxiv-xxvii, 82, 86, 107-8 survivors of, xii, xv, xvii, xxvii-xxviii, 104,107-8,125, 227 tunnels to, xxvi-xxvii, 205, 209 Wainwright on, xx, xxiii, xxiv-xxvii Daniels (American soldier), 187

Dawn of the Philippines (Jimbo), 72 Day, Doris, 215 D-Day, xx Death(s), 83,169,199,228 on Bataan, 26, 30, 68, 89, 90 at Cabanatuan, xii, 23, lO4, 106-7, 240 on Corregidor, 26, 107 of Filipinos, xii, xiii-xiv, 56, 102, 103, 106 caused by "friendly fire," xiii, 57, 64, 80,126,127,194,236-39 in the "Japanese Alps," 143 during march out ofBataan, 96, 97, 101,102,103 at Mitsushima, 148, 152, 160, 161, 163-64,172-73,176,179,180,200, 244-49 on Nagato Maru, 133-36, 137, 139 at O'Donnell, xii, 103, lO6, 112-13, 114-16,119,145 at Pearl Harbor, 56 by suicide, 44, 48 on U.SAT. Grant, 21 caused by us. government, xiii-xiv of us. Military Academy graduates, 236--39 "Death squads," 123-24 Defense, us. Department of, xxix Dempsey, Jack, 8 Dengue fever, 41, 44,121

Dental care, 119, 129 Depression, Great, 7, 8,14,33 Diarrhea. See Dysentery Discipline, military, xi-xii, xviii, xix, 228 at Bilibid, 131 of British, xi, 126, 152, 182, 186-87, 200 at Cabanatuan, 108 on hell ships, 134 during march out ofBataan, 91, 92, 93,99 at Mitsushima, 187 in prewar Manila, 27-28 on USAT. Grant, 22 See also Training Disease, xii, 44,59,73,77,92,107,128, 163,169,228 See also individual diseases Doolittle, General James H., 141, 145 Dorsey, Jimmy, 180 Drake, Colonel T. S., xxiv "Drinking Rum and Coca-Cola" (song), 209 "Dry firing," 33, 53 Dysentery on Bataan, 74 atCabanatuan, 117, 125-26 during march out of Bataan, 91, 96, 98-99 at O'Donnell, 112, 117 purchased stools of, xiii, 126 Eisenhower, General Dwight D., xiv, xx, 94 Eliot, T. S., xix

Empress of Australia, 213 Enoura Maru, 127 Equipment. See Supplies and equipment Estado Mayor, 27, 29-30, 31, 38,41,5355,256 Evans, Sergeant George, 92

Fall of the Philippines, The (Morton), 77 Faulkner, Captain Wallace, 131, 174 Fernandez, Cecil, vii, 153, 155, 195, 213 Filipinos, 28,40, 65

267

268

HORYO

Americans admired by, xvii, 31, 4546,53,108 in Bataan Defense Force, 28, 58-59 at Bilibid, 128, 129 at Cabanatuan, 128 deaths of, xii, xiii-xiv, 56, 102, 103, 106 gambling of, 43 kindness of, 95, 97, 99, 101 language of, 49-50 with malaria, 69-70 at O'Donnell, 103-4, 106, 108, 118 See also Army, Philippine; Philippine Scouts Fire in Bataan jungle, 75 for cooking, 153 for heat, 149-50, 165-66, 173, 17576, 183 Fish, 135, 137, 152 Food, 141-42, 144-45 on Bataan, 58, 59,66,69,73-74,75, 79,99,101,114 atCabanatuan, xii, 121-22, 128 during march out of Bataan, 88,90, 91,95-98 at Mitsushima, 151-52, 153-55, 157, 158,159, 163,167,172,174, 183, 190,196,198-99 on Nagato Maru, 135, 136, 137 at O'Donnell, 118 postwar, 206-7, 211, 215, 219, 224 prewar, 3, 10, 14,24-25,30 See also Rations; individual foods Footwear on Bataan, 54, 58,74 at Bilibid, 130 at Mitsushima, 148, 159-60, 161, 163,173,200 at O'Donnell, 114, 115 Foreign Legion. See 31st Infantry Regiment Formosa, xi, 57,63,127,137-38 Fort Hamilton, 220, 225 Fort Jay, 15 Fort Lewis, 199, 219-21 Fort McDowell, 24-25

Fort McPherson, 224 Fort Santiago, 31 Fort Sill, 87 Fort Slocum, 12-15 , 16,24 Fort William McKinley, 23-24,33,41, 46,203 Japanese bombing of, 62, 64-65 Philippine Division at, 47-48,51,53, 61 Freedom, xix-xx, 83, 197,203-4,205, 214,223 Fresh Air Fund, 1-2 "Friendly fire," xiii, 57,64,80,126,127, 194,236-39 Fugi, Dr., 176 Fullerton, Captain A. L. ("Duke"), 105-

6 Gable, Clark, 20 Gambling, 43, 45 Geneva Convention, 86 Germans, Germany, 181,200,215,220, 225,228 "Goldbricks." See Predators, American Golden Gate Bridge, 26, 217 Gordon, Captain Oliver, 182, 186-87, 189,194,197,201 Gordon, Corporal Robert ("Uncle Bob"), 15 Gordon, Richard M., 253 Army recruitment of, 11-17 and Augustinelli, 121-22 in Bataan Defense Force, 65-82 beatings of, 10,83, 124,144,155, 156,160 atCabanatuan, 108, 112, 117-18, 121-28 childhood and adolescence of, 1-10 with dengue fever, 121 dental care of, 119, 129 education of, 5,9 eyesight of, 153-54, 165 and father, 1, 4, 8 and Fernandez, vii, 153, 155, 195, 213 and grandparents, 4-5, 8 and Harvey, 22-23, 25, 27, 56

INDEX

hearing of, 68, III with hepatitis, 195, 199,224 and Hinds, 124 homecoming of, xviii, 217-25 and Hough, 56 with intestinal parasites, 224 in Japan, 138-203 and Jean (first wife), 223, 224 and Lee, ix, 57, 59-61,126-28 and Llamzon, xvii-xxi with malaria, 111-12, 121, 124, 125, 126,153,224,227 in Manila, xvii, 27-35, 37-56, 21014,253 in march out of Bataan, 87-102 at Mitsushima, vii, xviii, 147-201, 252,261 . and mother, I , 3-8,9,16-17,189-90, 212,222-24,225 on Nagato Maru, 133-39 at O'Donnell, 103-19 on Okinawa, 207, 209-10 and Parks, 61, 76, 83, 85, 87 and Pavia, 70,111-12 reenlistment of, 224-25 with seasickness, 20-21, 26, 205, 207 as second lieutenant, 93, 225 and siblings, 1-9,212-14,222-24, 254,256 with skin problems, 44 and Standish, 143 and stepfather, 10 training of, xx, 11-17,27-28,41-42, 44,92 on U.S.A.T. Gosper, 213-15, 217-19 on U.S.A.T. Grant, 19-27 and Weinstein, 178, 195, 196,206, 228 Grant, General Ulysses S., xxiii Gross, Major G. B., 123 Grumman, 185 Guam, 26 Halloran General Hospital, 222-24 Halsey, Admiral William, xx Hamamatsu, 202 Hardesty, Sergeant Florence, 89

Harvey, Alban ("AI"), 22-23,25,27,56 Hawaii, 26, 34 See also Pearl Harbor Hayes, Commander, 131-32,229 Hell ships, xiii, 57,80,93,118,127

See also Nagato Maru Hell's Kitchen, I, 14 Henderson, Lieutenant, 189, 194 Hermosa, 65 Hero ofBataan (Schultz), 80 Hewitt, Captain Walter C., 130, 131 , 169,173 Hinds (American soldier), 124 Hiramatsu, Sadaharu ("Big Glass Eye"), 178,252,262 Hiraoka, 144, 147 See also Mitsushima prison camp Hirohito (emperor ofJapan), 194 Hitler, Adolf, 10, 33, 57, 215 Hiyakawa, Sessue, 109 RM.S. Exeter, 182, 187 "Holy Night" (song), 183 Homma, Masaharu, xxv, xxvi, 69, 75, 97, 102 Homosexuality, xii, 25, 39, 128 Honcho, 156,159,170, 171,173,177 Horton, Major, 116-18 Hough, Bill, 56 Hudson Guild Settlement House, 2, 209 Hutchings, Orville E., 61 Igarashi, 155-59, 166, 175-76, 199,219 Immerman, Captain Harold, 114 India, Kipling's, 28, 37, 41, 44 Ivy, Major James ("Jim"), 61, 85 Iwatia, 166 Japan climate of, xii-xiii, 125, 138, 139, 173 Philippines attacked by, 62-64 POWsin, 138-203 POWs shipped to, 126, 129, 131 surrender of, 195 U.S. surrender to, v, xviii, xxiii-xxvii, 20,37,60,71-72,75-82,86,107-8, 225,231

269

270

HORYO

See also Hell ships; individual hell ships Japanese, 202 atrocities by, 88,89,90, 91,95,97, 102,200 Bataan infiltrated by, 66-82 civilians, 138-39, 145 , 156-57, 15960,201 dead revered by, 136 as prisoners of war, 211-12 shoutingof,84, 101, 114, 142, 156, 166,178,185 weapons of, 85,156,160,180 See also Beatings; individual prison camps; Torture Japanese (language), 84,159,163,16973 Machida and, 191, 192 at Mitsushima, 173 Jap Zeros, 67-68 Java, 152 Jimbo, Nobuhiko, 72 Jimmu (emperor of Japan), 77 Johnson, Major General Chester, 107 Jones, Colonel Albert, 20 Jones, Verble, 154, 155,204,249

Kamijo, 166 Kanose, 131,244-48 "Kid Lindy," 124 Kimmel, Admiral Husband, 63 , 64 Kimura, Tamotsu ("The Punk"), 155, 252 King, Major General Edward P. Jr., xxiii, xxiv, 20, 75-76,102 Kirishita, Takeo ("Buick"), 157, 164,252 Koenig Wilhelm II, 19 Korea, 126, 129,202 Kubo, Lieutenant, 147, 180-81, 183, 187,196 Kyushu, 138 Las Vegas Sun, 108 Latrines on Bataan, 67, 74-75, 87, 91 at Cabanatuan, 117 at Mitsushima, 150-51, 165

on NagatoMaru, 133, 134-35 at O'Donnell, 112 Laughlin, Corporal, 221 Lay, Lieutenant Kermit, 123 Lee, General Robert E., xxiii Lee, Lieutenant Henry G ., ix, 57, 59-61 , 126-28 Lee, Thomas R., 60, 127 Leyte Gulf, xx Lice, xiii, 2, 138, 186, 193,205 Lingayen Gulf, 63, 78 Little Glass Eye, 160, 161, 166, 171 , 178, 262 Lough, Brigadier General Maxon S., 56, 61,66 Lubao,65,95-96,97,98,145 Lueddeke, Lieutenant John w., 60 Luzon,49,59,65,90 Lynn, Vera, 161 MacArthur, General Douglas, xxvi, 58, 62-63,77-82,207,225 aircraft controlled by, 54-56 assistance promised by, xxiv, 82, 93, 172 on Bataan, xx, xxiv-xxv, 59 as commanding general of USAFFE, 48-50 departure from Philippines by, xxiv, 24,70,81,243 as field Il1arshal of Philippine Army, XIV

on O'Donnell memorial cross, 105 Machida ("The Goon"), 175, 187, 19192,194,195,196 Madigan General Hospital, 219-21 Maggots, 113, 151, 165 Mail, 175, 192,212 Maile, Sergeant Major, 200 Malaria, 41, 44 on Bataan, 69-70, 73, 74, 79 Gordon with, 111-12, 121, 124, 12526,153,224,227 at O'Donnell, 111-12 Malinta Tunnel, xxvi-xxvii Malnutrition. See Disease; Starvation Manchester, William, xxvii Manchuria, xi, xiii, 1I8, 125, 126,129,131

INDEX

Manila postwar, 21 prewar, xiv, xvii, 27-35, 37-54 during World War 11,64-65, 108 See also Bilibid Civil Prison Marine Corps, U.S., 205 in Bataan Defense Force, xxviii-xxix in China, xxviii, 11-12 in Manila, 43 Mariveles, 87, 88, 90, 100 Marshall, General George c., xiv, 50, 57-58 Marshall, Lieutenant Thomas Austin, v Matsushima, 147 See also Mitsushima prison camp Meat, 30, 129-30, 144-45, 152, 183 Medical care, xii, 113, 152,206,212,221 Medication, xii, 113-14, 118, 125, 128, 152, 163-64, 195 See also Quinine Mennen, 19 Mestizos, 30,40 Military Academy, U.S., 11 ,47,48, 107, 236-39 See also West Point Military Justice, Uniform Code of, 93 Miller, Glenn, 15 Mitsushima prison camp, vii, xviii, 25051,253,261 beatings at, xix, 151, 156, 157, 160, 162-63,164, 165, 16~ 169, 170, 17172,178,179,181,185,186,193,196 British at, 152, 161, 175, 182, 186-87, 200,205 dam construction at, 152, 155, 173, 175,179,180,250 deaths at, 148, 152, 160, 161, 163-64, 172-73,176,179,180,200,244-49 last days of, 197-200,219 mail at, 175, 192 POWs at, 147-202,244-49,260 smoking at, 174, 183, 187 Moji,138 Morton, Louis, 77 Mush Mouth, 151 , 163,252 Music, 15, 161-62, 175, 183, 195,210,212

°

atCabanatuan, 125 on U.SAT. Gosper, 214-15 atU.S. homecoming, 218-19 See also individual artists; individual songs Nagano Prefecture, 164,202,250 Nagasaki, 138 Nagato Maru, 130, 133-39,213 Nagoya, 142, 144, 152, 194 Nakajima, Sukeo, 149, 180,251

National Geographic, 12 National Guard, xii, xx, 46, 47, 51, 54 National Rice Company, 96 Navy, British, 126, 152, 182, 186-87 Navy, U.S., 80, 203 in Bataan Defense Force, xxviii at Bilibid, 228 on Corregidor, 129 in Manila, 43 Nazis, 50,202,212,228 Nerve fatigue, 74 New Mexico, 46, 47, 51 New Orleans, 189,225 New York Cubs Athletic Club, 10

New York Daily Mirror, 3 New York Daily News, 3 New York Herald Tribune, I New York Times, 203 Nichols Airfield, 56,62,64 Nishigaki ("Boy Scout"), 177-78, 195, 199 Nishino ("One-Arm"), 193-94, 195, 196, 200 Nothing But Praise (Lee), 60 O'Connell, Helen, 180 O'Donnell prison camp, xxvii, xxviii, 23,

76,100,103-19,129 beatings at, 90, 91, 96, 97,145 deaths at, xii, 103, 106, 112-13, 11416,119,145 July 4th offficers' party at, 116-18, 119,228 memorial cross at, 104-6,258

O'Donnell: The American Andersonville of the Pacific (Olson), 105, 112

271

272

HORYO

Officers, xi-xii, xiii, xix, 24, ZZ8-29 attitude toward MacArthur, 79-80, 81 at Bilibid, 131-32, ZZ8 escape attempt of, 1ZZ-2 3 Japanese contempt of, 86 July 4th party of, 116-18, 119, ZZ8 in kitchens, 125 during march out of Bataan, 91, 9295 at Mitsushima, 169, 172, 175, 179, 180,186-88,200 on Nagato Maru, 134,135,136,139 noncommissioned (NCO's), 15, 30, 34-35,37,53,61,86,94,156,170 in prewar Manila, 28,34,37,40,4243 See also Discipline; Training; individual officers Oiwa, 160, 166-67, 194 Okinawa, 207, 209-10 Olson, Colonel John, 105-6, 112 Olson, Lieutenant OIVille, 61 Omori prison camp, 176, 181 , 182 One-Arm, 193-94,200 Orion Line, 62 Oryoku Maru, 1Z7 Pacific War Memorial, 254 Panama, 21-23 , 34 Parks, Corporal Elmer, 61, 76, 83, 85, 87 Pavia, Fred, 70, 111-12 Pearl Harbor, xiv, 55-56, 58,62-64,79 Pellechi, Frances ("Fanny"), ZZ4 Philippine Division, 46, 47,51,56,57, 61-62,65-67 Philippine Islands, xiii, 100, 138, 157 capture of, v, xviii, xxiii-xxvii, 20,37, 60,71-72,75-82,86,107-8,225,231 independence of, 38,45-46,49 liberation of, 185-86, 189, 194-200 See also Bataan; Corregidor; Manila; individual prison camps Philippine Scouts, 23,46,47-48,51,56, 61 Piel, George, 188-89,225,249 Pinatubo, Mount, 106 Pneumonia, 125, 160, 164, 172

Postal Telegraph Company, 8 Predators, American, xi-xiv, xviii, xix, 2Z7-29 at Bilibid, 131, 132 at Mitsushima, 170, 174-75, 179, 184,187,197,204-5 at O'Donnell, 110-11, 116-19,204-5 Prostitutes, prostitution, 39,42,43 See also Venereal disease (VD.) Punishment, corporal. See Beatings; Torture "Queenie," 128 Quezon, Manuel, 49 Quinine, 69, 74, 79,111-12, 2Z7 Rations on Bataan, 59,69,73, 77 on Corregidor, xii at Mitsushima, 154-55, 175, 180, 187 See also Food Red Cross, International, 207, 212, 219 at Cabanatuan, xii, 128 at Mitsushima, 159, 161 , 181 , 183, 184 Rice, 141-42, 145, 151 , 153-54, 167 Rifles, 16, 31 Garand Ml, 41-42, 76, 79 Lee-Enfield, 58, 79 Springfield, 41-42, 79 See also Ammunition "Rock, the," xxvi, xxvii See also Corregidor Romero, Captain Rufo C., 47-48 Roosevelt, Franklin D., xiv, 13,57,70, 81,199 Roosevelt, Theodore, xiv ROTC, xi, 33, 54, 130 Royal Air Force (RAF), vii, 152 Royal Navy, 182, 186 "Sack of Cement, A" (Olson), 105 Samat, Mount, 90, 100,258, 259 San Fernando, 65, 90, 97-98, 99, 100, 101,115 San Francisco, 24-26, 39, 217, 218, 219 Sato, Colonel, xxvi-xxvii

INDEX

Saturday Evening Post, 60, 127 Schneider (Gordon's boss), 10 Schultz, Duane, 80 Seattle, 218-19, 221 "Sentimental Journey" (song), 215 Sharp, General William F. Jr., xxiv, xxvXXVI

Shimonoseki, 139,142 Shinagawa prison camp, 185 Short, Lieutenant General, 63, 64 Signal Corps, 60 Signal Hill, 75, 85 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion, 60 Skubina (American prisoner), 176, 181 Sloane House, 224 Snake, 156, 164 Standish, Bill, 143 Starvation, xii, 228 on Bataan, 59, 69, 73 during march out of Bataan, 95, 97 at Mitsushima, 169, 174-75, 180, 183 at O'Donnell, 107 Stimson, Secretary of War Henry L., xiv, 60 Sugamo Prison, 192, 196 Suicide, 44, 48 "Sun treatment," 2, 89, 90, 98, 109 Supplies and equipment of dental team, 129 for the Philippines, xiii-xiv, 33, 50, 57-58,74,78-79 Tagalog, 39,49 Taiwan. See Formosa Takao, 57, 127, 137 "Tangerine" (song), 180 Tarlac, 99, 101 Tawick, Colonel Jesse Jr., xxv Temperatures, cold in "Japanese Alps," 143 at Mitsushima, 149, 157, 164, 165, 171-72,173,177,183 on Nagato Maru, 137 Tenko, 170-71,172,178,193,194 31st Infantry Regiment, 12,23,188,257 in Bataan Defense Force, 56

in China, 37 in Manila, 20, 27,31-32,33,35,3751,53,54,256 at O'Donnell, 105 in Siberia, 29, 37 survivors of, xv, xvii, 263 training of, 15-16,42,44, 53, 54 weapons of, 41-42 See also Company F Tokyo, 190, 191, 192 See also Mitsushima Prison camp Torture, 202, 205 atCabanatuan, 123-24 during march out of Bataan, 2, 89, 90,97-98,107 at Mitsushima, 171-72, 178-79 at O'Donnell, 108-9 See also Beatings Tracy, Spencer, 20, 40 Training, 53 of Army Air Corps, 15-16, 55 of National Guard, 51 of Philippine Army, 49-50,54,58, 66, 77-78,80 of Philippine Division, 46,61-62 of ROTC, 54 of 31st Infantry Regiment, 15-16,42, 44, 53, 54 of 200th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 47, 51 of U.S. Army, xx, 28-29,33,41-42, 44-45,47,51,53,78 See also Discipline, military Truman, Harry S., 199, 202 Tsuchiya, Tatsuo, 160 See also Little Glass Eye Tsuenyoshi, Yoshio, 108-9 Tunney, Gene, 8 12th Military Police Company, 46,56,61 See also Philippine Scouts 29th Replacement Depot, 211-13 Twist, Lieutenant Commander, 187 200th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 46, 47, 51, 66 Tydings-McDuffie Act, 38,49

273

274

HORYO

Umeda Maru, 133 United States Shipping Board, 19 USAFFE (United States Forces in the Far East), 48, 49, 62 US AT. Gosper, 213 USAT. Grant, 19-24,26,73-74,214 U.S. government deaths caused by, xiii-xiv lack of support from, 33,41,42,50, 57-58,64,77-78,80-81 US.S. Bataan, 255 US.S. Hornet, 127 U.S.S. Houston, 182 US .S. Lardner, 206 US.S. Lexington, 199 U.S.S. Missouri, 195 U.SS. Randolph, 198-99 U.S.S. Rescue, 205-6

Vancouver, B.G, 217-18, 219 Van Warmer, Captain, 194-95 Venereal disease (VD.), 32, 38-40 See also Prostitutes, prostitution Villamor, Jesus, 64 Visayan-Mindanao Forces, xxiv Voice of Freedom, 71 Wainwright, General Jonathan, 44 in Bataan Defense Force, 46, 56, 59, 62,75,81 on Corregidor, xx, xxiii, xxiv-xxvii horses of, 23-24, 73-74 on U.SAT. Grant, 20,26 War Department, U.S., 20, 50, 57, 190 Watanabe ("The Bird"), 162-63, 195-96, 197 attempted murder of, 188-89 beatings by, xix, 182, 187-89, 190-91 friendship toward Gordon, 190-91, 192 Machida and, 192 Water during march out of Bataan, 90, 9192,95,97,98,101-2 at Mitsushima, 150 on Nagato Maru, 134, 135, 136

at O'Donnell, 110-11,228 Webster, Jock, 155 Weinstein, Dr. Alfred, 183 Barbed Wire Surgeon, 169,195,228 and Dr. Whitfield, 176, 178, 179 and Mach ida ("The Goon"), 196 on U.S.S. Rescue, 206 and Watanabe ("The Bird"), 162-63, 181-82, 188-89 Western Union, 9 West Point, 11,48,117,225 See also Military Academy, US .

Whitfield, Dr., 176, 178, 179, 183, 188, 195 Williams, Pinky, 162 Williams, Private, 179 Women's Army Corps (WACs), 212 Wood, Nathan & Virkus, 9 Work details, 125, 126 at Cabanatuan, 117-18, 121 , 122 in Manila, xvii at Mitsushima, 148, 152, 154-56, 157-59,160,162,166-67,172,173, 175-76,177-81,193 on Nagato Maru, 137 at O'Donnell, 105, 110, 112-13, 11416,119 World War I, 19,29,37,75 freight train cars of, 98 weapons of, xiy, 58, 79 World War II, xi, xviii, xx, xxi ii Presidential citations during, 51 50th anniversary of, xxix weapons of, xiv, 16, 31,41-42,58,76, 79 YMCA, 25, 42, 224 Yokohama, 164, 197,202,206,207,252 Yoshizawa, Kunio ("Mush Mouth"), 151, 163,252

.

RICHARD M. GORDON became a commissioned officer in the Army two years after his release from prison in 1945. He retired at the rank of major. Following military retirement, he worked as an investigator for the District Attorney of Suffolk County, New York. Later he became Administrator of the County's Mental Health Board. Next, he served as Assistant Director of the Drug Control Board. Following retirement from Suffolk County he became an Assistant Professor at St. PetersburgJunior College in Florida. In 1978 he was appointed Executive Director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and Director of Vermont's Police Academy until 1986. Gordon has remained active in the organization, "The Battling Bastards of Bataan."

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memoirs clan AmerIcan POW I Richerd M. Gordon

with \he -.Iatanoe cI Benjamin S. LIIImzon

ufan American PON

RICHARD M. (fORDON,

M..Yor, us. Army, Ret.

With the a5Slstance of Benjamin 5. Llamzon, ph.D.

... a brutally honest book. .. . Gordon takes an unflinching and unsparing look at the human toll exacted by captivity, slave labor, starvation, and torture.

-Gavan Daws, Author of Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific ... a poignant, honest account of a tragic experience unique in the annals of American military history. It is also a sad commentary on the depths to which men may sink when- confronted with unimaginable horrors and privations.

-Stanley L. Falk, Ph.D. Former Chief H' author Bataan: e March of Death and ot

Few know of

rian,

u.s. Air Force, and ks on World War II its Philippine

Mi1W~:aJI~ ensued in captiv-

my.own conduct and in the light

members James When readin Clavell's power g R t and an D istorical masterpiece Prisoners of the Japanese. Gordon pulls few punches about his wartime trauma as a Pow. -Scott Harrison, State Department Career diplomat and military historian

Richard Gordon recalls and describes those endless days and nights of the military action and the almost three and a half years of both being despised by the Japanese and victimized by fellow Americans and other prisoners .... This is a true and unexaggerated account of what it means to be a horyo.

-John Browe, Survivor of Camp O'Donnell, Camp Cabanatuan, and Camp 4-R

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