Blood Brothers by Eugene C. Jacobs (i can read book club TXT) 📕

own vomitus and dysenteric stool.

Their chances of survival were just about zero. Flies walked casually over their leathery skin; rarely did a patient arouse himself sufficiently to threaten a fly. Most of the patients did not want to be disturbed, typically responding “Please leave me alone; I have suffered enough! Just go away!”

Exhausted and sick corpsmen moved slowly among the dying, trying to keep them clean, and giving them food or medicine, when available.

Operating Room: In the early days of the hospital, the Japanese permitted several medical officers to return to Bataan to retrieve an operating table, minimal surgical equipment and a field X-ray unit from the abandoned U.s. Army hospital.

Captives who had needed operations prior to the obtaining of the surgical equipment were operated in Cabanatuan city by Japanese doctors with 100% mortality.

Our American surgeons said, “We can do better than that!” The American surgeons had no mortality.

A Camera: Ingenious Americans built a camera: they used X-ray film, took pictures around the camp and developed the film in X-ray solutions. They, of course, had to hide the camera and pictures when Japs were in the area.

A Radio: After hearing no news during the early months of the camp some other clever Americans decided to build a radio.

Several of the captives operated the electric generating and pumping station. In the evening, when they suspected’ the Japanese were listening to their radios, they would run the voltage up high and blowout the Jap radio sets. The following morning, the Japs would bring their sets to the Americans and say: “You fix!”

After a quick examination, the Americans would exclaim, “We must get some new parts in Manila!” In Manila, they would get extra parts and eventually built a radio-in the bottom of a canteen; in the upper half was water that they could pour out, if the Japs became suspicious. Gradually, the captives became very knowledgeable concerning war activities; Jap guards contacted the Americans for the latest news.

Scuttlebutt (Rumors): The word “scuttlebutt” was an old Navy term probably antedating the father of the U.S. Navy and his first ship, the U.S.S. Alfred in 1775. The butt was a bucket or cask often placed near the ship’s ladder, where sailors congregated for a drink of fresh water, and to exchange rumors.

When the sailors joined the soldiers and airmen on Bataan, scuttlebutt soon followed, and usually referred to: Long convoys filled with food, vast supplies and equipment and loaded with troops-replacements-that President Roosevelt kept assuring us were “On the way.” The convoys always proved to be phantom, or arrived safely in Ireland, Australia or Africa, never in the Philippines.

In the Cabanatuan P.O.W. Camp, rumors were always rampant, especially in the evening when daily activities were finished. The scuttlebutt often referred to big Allied victories, prisoner exchanges, ships loaded with food, a new Ford for every prisoner, promotions, decorations, etc., etc.

They all proved to be figments of the imagination-just pure scuttlebutt.

Prisoner-of-War Status: About October of 1942, the Japanese removed our status of “captive” (criminal awaiting trial) and designated us as “prisoners-of-war!” We hoped that this meant that things would get better.

We began receiving pay-the same as the Japanese officers and soldiers of the same rank. I quickly learned that after receiving my thirty yen at the pay window, I had to move to the next window and deposit twenty yen into Japanese Postal Savings.

When I graduated from Prison Camp (Class of August, 1945), I had more than 30,000 yen in Postal Savings. They have never offered me any money, or a Toyota; in fact, they haven’t even answered my mail.

Post Cards: When we became prisoners-of-war, each prisoner received a yellow, printed form post card. He could fill in the blank places, sign it, and it would be sent home.

“Major Eugene C. Jacobs

I am interned at Philippine Military Camp No.1.

My health is fair

I am Uninjured

Please take care of Insurance

 

Love, Eugene C. Jacobs, 1897”

We were allowed to send one post card every six months during thirty-eight months. The last card was a fifty-word card.

Mail: About the same number of times shipments of letters and packages came into camp from the States. Censoring was extensive. I got one letter that was completely cut out, except, “Dear Gene,

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Love, Mother

 

Of course, these letters and packages were a Godsend. We passed the letters around to all of our friends, hoping there might be something of interest to them. We ate the cheese and malted milk in the packages-even when they had maggots in them. It was a great boost to our morale to know that someone loved us and was praying for our safe return.

Commissary: We were permitted to have a commissary; my ten yen each month bought a can of salmon or condensed milk, several bananas, a cup of mongo beans or peanuts. Once I was able to buy a live chicken and have a Thanksgiving dinner. The commissary was operated by Lt. Col. Harold K. Johnson (later to become the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army), Capt. Amos and Capt. Norton. Gradually inflation became so bad that the Japanese pay become almost worthless.

Chapel Service: We were permitted to go to church on Sundays.

The sermons had to be censored on Saturdays; there was often a Jap attending service-to keep the preachers honest. Lt. Col. Alfred Oliver, U. S. Army, was chief of chaplains in the Philippines by reason of seniority.

Two protestant chaplains built their own chapels with scrap lumber and prison labor. Capt. Frank Tiffany was a Presbyterian; I became an elder in his chapel. Capt. Robert Taylor was a Baptist. I became a deacon in his chapel. Other chaplains used mess halls, libraries and even barracks to hold their services.

Catholic chaplains were: Majors Stanley Reilly and Albert Braun, Captains Richard Carberry, John McDonnell, Stober, Albert Talbot, Tom Scenina, and Dugan, and Lieutenants McManus, James O’Brien, Mithias Zerfas, John Wilson, Duffy, William Cummings, and John Curran.

Protestant chaplains included: Majors John Borneman and Ralph Brown, Captains Sam Donald, Leslie Zimmerman, Morris Day, Arthur Cleveland, and Lieutenants Quinn, Herbert Trump and Ed Nagle (a missionary from Baguio).

Chaplains of unknown denomination: William Dawson, Joseph Vanderheiden.

Jewish cantor: Aaron Kliatchko.

Christmas Midnight Mass and Easter Mass were very colorful events attended by all healthy prisoners. On May 30th of each year (Decoration Day), the Japanese allowed one thousand prisoners to visit the cemetery. Chaplain Oliver led the services; Major Iwanaka Oapanese Camp Commander) presented a large wreath.

Chaplains took turns accompanying the Burial Detail from the morgue to the cemetery nearly every day-giving graveside services. Chaplains’ visits to the wards of the hospital were much appreciated by the patients-sick, depressed and underground dying.

Underground: After being in camp for several months, I discovered that some of the captives were leaving notes (addressed to friends in Manila) on their beds. In some mysterious way, they were picked up and delivered in Manila. In a couple weeks there would be an answer, also left on the bed of the sender.

Sometimes there would be money, medicine and even food.

Looked like a good idea! I didn’t inquire about the mechanics of the Underground. In fact I didn’t want to know. I had had amoebic dysentery with bleeding for four months-with a loss of fifty pounds weight. Here was a chance to get some medicine.

I had a Spanish friend in Manila, the president of an insurance company. When he had been in Baguio with his family prior to the war, he brought his eight-year-old son to me because of a chronic stomach ailment. I made the diagnosis of “peptic ulcer” and treated him with good results. The family was quite pleased.

So I wrote Jose Olbes a note explaining my predicament.

Sure enough, in two weeks, on my bed was a note, carbazone (medicine) and twenty pesos. In another two weeks I was feeling better and gaining strength. I never inquired further about the Underground, figuring that someday someone would get caught, and the penalty would be severe.

During the two years that the Underground operated, it undoubtedly saved the lives of hundreds of prisoners. After the war was over, I learned the mechanics of the operation:

In the early days of the war, a 31st Infantry Sergeant John Phillips married a Claire (?) on Bataan. Sgt. John survived Bataan and the “Death March,” but died on July 27, 1942 in the Japanese P.O.W. Camp No.1 at Cabanatuan.

A few weeks later his wife, Claire, received a note from Chaplain Frank Tiffany in Cabanatuan, verifying that Sgt. John Phillips had died of malaria, dysentery and starvation. Frank ended his note with, “I beg you do not forget the ones that are left; they are dying by the hundreds! God Bless You!” Everlasting (code name). To fill her emptiness, Claire vowed revenge. Claire returned to Manila; she obtained false Italian identification papers from the Japanese, stating that she was born in Manila of Italian parents.

Claire opened a nightclub, The Club Tsubaki (Camelia) and sang her heart out every night to high-ranking Japanese officers, all the while raising money to send to the sick and dying at Cabanatuan.

When the Japanese officers became “high and loquacious,” she pumped them for information concerning the movements of Japanese ships and troops, and forwarded this information to guerilla leaders.

Claire assumed the code name of “High Pockets,” because she kept her valuables in her bra. Once every two weeks, High Pockets “baked cookies!” (That is, collected notes, money and medicines from prominent citizens in Manila: Juan Elizaldi, Judge Riveria, Lopes, Dr. and Mrs. Romeo Atienza, Father Lopez, Judge Roxas, and many others.)

A Filipina mestiza, Evangeline Neibert (code name, “Sassy Suzie”), carried “the cookies” by train from Manila to the town of Cabanatuan, where she delivered them to the market.

Naomi Flores (code name, “Looter”), a brave Filipina, who had also lost a husband in prison camp, obtained a Japanese license as a vegetable peddler and worked in the Cabanatuan market. Naomi hid “the cookies” in the bottom of rice sacks to be taken to camp.

Once or twice a week, the “Rice Detail” from Camp #1, went to the market in Cabanatuan to get some hundred pound sacks of rice for the mess halls.

In the mess halls, the notes were removed from the sacks of rice, and delivered to one of the following:

Captain (Chaplain) Frank Tiffany-“Everlasting”

Lt. Col. Jack Schwartz, Hosp. C.O.-“Liver”

Charles De Maio (U.S. Navy)-“WOP”

Lt. Col. Mack (Inspector General)-“DITTO”

Captain (Chaplain) Robert Taylor-“Chap BOB”

Captain (Chaplain) John Wilson-“Left Field”

 

Helpers delivered “the cookies” to the beds of the senders of notes, and picked up notes for future delivery in Manila.

High Pockets also baked “cookies” and collected intelligence for the guerrilla leader-Major John Boone (code name, “Compadre”) for delivery to MacArthur.

The Underground continued for about two years. The Japanese became suspicious when the prisoners were spending more money in the commissary than they were being paid by the Japanese.

May 3, 1944: Six carabao drivers were arrested on their return trip from the market, and taken to jail in Cabanatuan city: Fred Threatt, Sgt. S.H. Bish, St. Sgt. Virgil Burns, Pvt. Reed Philipps, Tysinger and Rose.

The Japs seized the rice sacks with the notes, money and medicines in them.

May 10, 1944: Capt. Pat Bynes, Lee Baldwin, Capt. Jack LeMire, Lt. Bob Shirk, Sgt. Alexander, Walter Jasten, Bellew, and Cherokensky were picked up by the Japanese Military Police-along with all their belongings. That afternoon Gov. P.D. Rogers and Lt. Col. Mack were nabbed.

May 11, 1944: Sixteen Americans and eight Filipinos were taken away in a truck. All had their hands tied behind them.

May 12: Jack Shirk and Chaplain Tiffany were taken to Cabanatuan.

May 16: Five carabao drivers were returned to camp. Several prisoners were placed in