A Ringside seat to war by Filipiniana Online

A Ringside Seat to War

HERMAN E. STRONG

VANTAGE PRESS NEW YORK

WASHINGTON

HOLLYWOOD

ÂŠ 1965, by Herman E. Strong

Published by Vantage Press, Inc. 120 West 31st Street, New York 1, N. Y. Manufactured in the United States of America

DEDICATED TO THE MANY WHO URGED ME TO WRITE IT AND TO MY COMRADES WHO ALSO SHARED A RINGSIDE SEAT TO WAR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is to Major Herston Cooper BA-MA (USA-Ret.), author and dedicated educator, that lowe my sincere thanks and appreciation for his encouragement and guidance in the chronological arrangement of this article. It is with gratitude that I acknowledge William Letford, archivist, of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, for his spontaneous response and willingness to give me the benefit of his wide range of knowledge and experience which has been of inestimable value in smoothing out the ro~gh spots in this al'ticle. It is with great pride that I acknowledge my stenographer-typist, Mary Lee Sanders (now Mrs. Ward), for her enduring patience in typing and retyping the original manuscript and for the meticulous manner with which she corrected my wretched spelling and punctuation. Had it not been for the availability of so conscientious a person as Mary Lee and her desire to always keep busy., I doubt very much if this story would have ever been written. Mykki Marsh, a young and promising artist, who was born about the time the events in this story were taking place, has made a Significant contribution to this book with her realistic sketches. She had a remarkable ability, for which I am very grateful, to translate my oral descriptions of a given event into a realistic picture.

PROLOGUE The notes from which these pages have been written have long since turned yellow with age and for years since World War II, I had harbored the prayerful thought that this war would actually be the last. With the birth of the United Nations and the sincerity with which each nation pledged to work for peace-and the demonstrated potential of atomic conflagration-future wars looked unfeasible. With these thoughts in mind and the fact that America had emerged victorious, I was confident shortly after the war that the necessary policies would be initiated to insure peace for generations to come. I felt that it would not be in keeping with the spirit of this bright new world, now lulled into a state of complacency, to write of the atrocities of war and disturb the peace and tranquility that pervaded the land at that important period. With the passing of time, we now see hatred, envy and discord building up throughout the world, and we cannot, without apprehension, recall the wisdom of Matthew when he wrote in the 24th Chapter and 6th Verse: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . ." As we see these rumors developing into realities along our far-Hung front, we are concerned for our young citizens who could conceivably be brought under the domination of these evil forces. For these reasons, and the fact that my many friends have urged me to write it, I feel that it would be wrong to withhold information that might, in some way, benefit and assist others in coping with similar problems. Yet, it is my fervent hope that no one will ever be forced to suHer the indignities that were heaped upon the author.

CONTENTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Acknowledgments Prologue An Open City Protective Custody Room No. 50 Transition The Father's Garden The Fall of Bataan Camp Routine Memorable Friends and Events Debased but Undaunted. On Wings of Hope The Art of Bowing A Test of Endurance Liberation The Slaughter and Ravage of Manila From Deprivation to Exaltation Appendix

15 22 29 33

38 41

47 53 63 68

75 80

85 94 102

107

A RINGSIDE

SEAT

TO WAR

;V::';:~U;::' I !,"""Th' [

Âˇ.M F. R I TAG F.

11111111111111111111111111111111111

Roderick Hall CoR. I 13807 I 0787.487 1_ A Ringside seat to war f by Herman E. Strong

ILI BRA R Y

About the Author Herman E. Strong, born in Alex 'city, Tallapoosa County, Alabama, fulfilled a youthful urge for travel and adventure which eventually culminated in harmonious employment with the Benguet Consolidated Mining Company in the Philippine Islands (gold mining) and, in addition to satisfying his interest in the process of mining, milling, and refining gold, had opportunity for traveling the length and breadth of the Philippines in pursuit of his hobbies, fishing and hunting. His irreplaceable collection of hunting trophies were confiscated by the Japanese when they overran the Philippines in 1941. In January, 1942, he was interned at Santo Tomas University compound with other Americans and nationals of other anti-Japanese countries-for more than three years. After his return to this country, and his recuperation, he became an auditor with the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Birmingham, Alabama, where he married Miss Mary Sparks in 1950. Later he reentered the mine-accounting field in Colorado, then, returning to Alabama, became a financial accountant with the State Highway Department in Montgomery. His book reflects the experiences of a man placed in a unique position to observe the maneuvers of two conflicting armed forces during which his own ill-equipped. countrymen went down to defeat, then returned to deploy the most powerful war machine ever assembledand to victory. It is illustrated with sketches by a young artist, Mykki Marsh.

VANTAGE PRESS, Inc., 120 West 31st Street, New York I, N. Y.