Back From The Living Dead - Bert Bank (best big ereader .TXT) 📗

the meal. T

think everyone enjoyed bread and butter more than

anything. The nurses all cried and felt sorry for us

as we were ravenous and ate like animals. However,

it did not take us long to regain our former table

manners. I was actively engaged in devouring bread

and butter when a nurse came up to me and asked me

if I had ever heard of Frankie Sinatra. I turned to

someone sitting next to me and seeing the expression

on his face, I knew the same question was in his mind.

I voiced it, “Who is this guy Sinatra?” and she told

me that he sings and makes all the girls swoon. At

that I yelled, “Pass more bread and butter, please.”

 

Embark at Leyte for U.S.A.

 

We remained at this place for two days and were

then moved further to the rear to the Fourth Replacement Center where we remained for five days. Some

remained there longer. We were fed royally and given

beer each afternoon at 4 o’clock. We all picked up

weight and began looking more like humans than

skeletons. Many of us could not recognize each other

because of the amount of weight we had gained. After

being wonderfully entertained here, we flew to Leyte

and remained there two days before we boarded ship,

U.S.S. Anderson, and started for the good old U.S.A.,

the country that we had been dreaming of for three

years. It took us a week to get from Leyte to Hollandia,

New Guinea, because we were in a 40-ship convoy,

Imt from Hollandia we made it to the U. S. in 14 days.

At Hollandia we were aboard ship for two days and

the people there certainly entertained us. They had

clothing, food and entertainment. These Red Cross

girls and nurses certainly looked good to us, as they

were the first women we had seen in three years.

 

Meets Brother at Hollandia

 

I had a pleasant surprise at Hollandia. The Air

Corps officials ascertained that I had a brother at

Morotai and they flew down to get him and flew him

back to Luzon. Finding that I had already left they

flew to Leyte, and I had left there, too. They heard

that we were stopping at Hollandia, so they flew him

there and he was the first person I saw when we

docked at Hollandia. We spent two days together and

he gave me the first information of the homefolks

that I had in three years. After leaving Hollandia we

were on the water 14 days and on March 8th we

passed under the Golden Gate bridge. I don’t think

that there was an American P.W. who did not come

out on deck and cry as we passed under the bridge.

We were witnessing a sight that we had been dreaming of for three years.

 

San Francisco Welcomes Returning P.W.‘s

 

San Francisco had a wonderful reception for us.

They had a large parade and luncheon and we were

all taken to Letterman General Hospital, where we

were processed and sent out to any General Hospital

we chose. I selected Northington General since it was

located in my home town. We were told that after we

were dismissed from the hospital we would be given

a 90 days leave, after which we would have two weeks

at a redistribution station and then be given any post

we desired as long as we were qualified for the job.

 

The only thing that marred the liberation at Cabanatuan was the fact that two prisoners died just as we

reached the American lines the morning after the

raid. They both died from a heart attack as a result

of the march during the night. It was certainly a

tragedy that they had to die so late in the game. However, they did have the satisfaction of dying while in

the hands of Americans and being accorded a funeral

usually given to Americans instead of being thrown

in a hole with 20 other bodies as the Japs had done

during our imprisonment.

 

It is useless to try to describe how wonderful it was

to these Americans to be back in the States. Nevertheless, I don’t think that the hell that we have gone

through for the past three years will ever be completely forgotten. Occasionally now I wake up during

the night, having dreamed about some atrocity in

camp, and it is hard for me to realize that it was an

actual occurrence. I am sure that if these Americans

had known what was in store for them when they

began that horrible March of Death, very few would

have been taken alive.

 

PART II Horrors of The March of Death From

Bataan Peninsula; Prisoners Denied Food, Water;

Buried Alive

 

When Bataan fell those men who were not fortunate

enough to get to Corregidor began this March up the

National Highway which was to mean death to many.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive this

march were to see many days of hell at the hands of

the dastardly Japanese.

 

The lines on Bataan disintegrated about 4 o’clock the

afternoon of April 8, 1942. The American troops were

driven back to Mnrivales, which is the southern tip

of Bataan. the little peninisula where so many Americans held a vast army of Japs for four months in one

of the greatest defenses ever staged in the history of

America.

 

The following morning. General King, who was our

commander, went forward to ask the Japanese for

surrender terms. At approximately 9 A.M. the American Headquarters received word that the surrender

had become official, but the Japanese continued to

bomb and strafe the Americans on the island. We were

in terrific confusion. During the day the Japs discontinued the air activity and we began this March up

the National Highway which for myself lasted five

days and five night. All Americans were congregated

at Marivales and started marching north. T fortunately

happened to be a little farther north at the time and

was on this march for only five days, but many

marched as long as 10 days and 10 nights.

 

No Water Permitted for Entire March

 

The Japs had just sent up 80,000 troops fi-om Singa-pore to put on this final drive and when they were

successful in forcing us to surrender they were very

bitter. They were crack Jap front line troops and this

was the first opportunity that they had had to inflict

cruelty on the Americans. They did everything: possible to make us feel inferior to them. They lined the

Americans four abreast and made them stay in the

road. We were surrounded by guards on bicycles and

other vehicles. We were told when we started that we

would not be allowed any water at all, and it was

very difficult to restrain from getting water as there

are hundreds of artesian wells along the highway. All

one of us would have to do would be to step u few feet

either to the left or right and we could drink all the

water we desired. But we had strict orders to drink

no water. If anyone of us attempted to get water, we

would be shot, just as we would be if we accepted food

from the Filipinos.

 

We found out that the Japs meant this order. They

took everything they desired from us when we started

this march. They took all the clothing that they wanted

for themselves, all watches, fountain pens, etc. During

the noon hour every day they would give us ‘about

face’ and march us for five or eight miles to the rear,

between noon and 2 P.M. when it was terrificly hot.

 

Hundreds were killed by the guards or died from

exhaustion.

 

The Japs were moving vast amounts of equipment

south and installing guns along the beach preparatory

to landing on Corregidor. During this march the

Americans on Corregidor were firing at the Japs and

we had many men who were injured from this shell-ing from our own lines.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Bayonetted for Falling Out

 

We saw atrocities committed by the Japs that we

thought could never happen to Americans. They would

not let the strong help the weak. If a strong man attempted to help the weak they would shoot both of

them, so we were all reluctant to help anyone who

fell out. One day I was assisting a lieutenant colonel

who was very large, and he kept telling me that he

was going to fall out and I was pleading with him to

continue marching because they would kill him if he

fell out. I held him as long as I could and finally T had

to let him fall. When he fell a Jap sentry came and

pushed me on, and as I looked back I saw him bayonetting the colonel through the stomach. This was a

habitual occurrence. Anyone who fell out on the march

was instantly killed. Many Americans and Filipinos

were buried alive on this march.

 

American Prisoners Forced to Bury Filipino Alive

 

One day during the march, I, along with other

Americans, was called out of the line by a Jap, whom

we thought was an officer, and forced to dig a large

hole at the point of a bayonet. Then, we were forced

to bury a Filipino alive. Just before throwing the last

shovel of dirt on his body the Filipino moved and a

Jap guard was ordered by this officer to bayonet him

through the stomach. Many Americans were buried

alive also. (Every incident related in this story was

either seen by me or told by some responsible person

after we arrived at our first prison camp). Many men

on arriving at O’Donnell were actually stark crazy

from witnessing such atrocities. One man was required

to bury an American officer alive after the officer

had passed out on the march.

 

One Rice Ball Ration for Five Day March

 

On this March, I was with my very good friend

Lieutenant Colonel Dyess who escaped in 1943 and

successfully reached the States and gave the American

people the first information concerning our prison

life and the March of Death. The third day of this

march, Dyess and I were very thirsty and we stepped

to the right a few feet and attempted to get a drink

of water from an artesian well. A guard shot at me

and misKed, but killed a Filipino standing right next

to me. This was not an unusual incident, as many of

us were desperate for water. For the entire five days

the Japs gave us no water at all. After seeing so many

killed in the attempt, few of us would dare to try to

get the water.

 

On this march we were given one small rice ball

about the size of a 50 cent piece. Our lips were so

blistered and raw that we could not eat even this small

amount of rice. That is all the food the Japs gave us

during these five days and nights of horror. I reiterate,

many were on this march as long as 10 and 12 days,

but in my group we were only marching for five days.

I will never understand how those few made it for

10 days and longer.

 

The third night it rained very hard and about midnight the Japs said we could rest, but the minute we

sat down on the road they screamed “Forward march.”

This was very difficult, as the moment we sat down

our limbs became so stiff we could hardly rise again.

During this second of rest, 1 fortunately sat in a mud

hole and I drank this water in the hole, even though

animals and humans had marched through it for days.

 

Along the highway