With Only the Will to Live : Accounts of title: Americans in Japanese Prison Camps, 1941- 1945 author: La Forte, Robert S. publisher: Scholarly Resources, Inc. isbn10 | asin: 0842024646 print isbn13: 9780842024648 ebook isbn13: 9780585120324 language: English World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese, World War, 1939-1945-- subject Concentration camps--Asia, Southeastern, World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American, Oral history. publication date: 1994 lcc: D805.A785W57 1994eb ddc: 940.54/7252 World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese, World War, 1939-1945-- subject: Concentration camps--Asia, Southeastern, World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American, Oral history. Page III With Only the Will to Live Accounts of Americans in Japanese Prison Camps 19411945 Edited by Robert S. La Forte Ronald E. Marcello Richard L. Himmel A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint Wilmington, Delaware Page IV The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for permanence of paper for printed library materials, Z39.48, 1984. © 1994 by Scholarly Resources Inc. All rights reserved First published 1994 Printed and bound in the United States of America Scholarly Resources Inc. 104 Greenhill Avenue Wilmington, DE 198051897 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data With only the will to live : accounts of Americans in Japanese prison camps, 19411945 / edited by Robert S. La Forte, Ronald E. Marcello, and Richard L. Himmel. p. cm. Topically arranged excerpts from interviews conducted from 1970 to 1989 by the University of North Texas Oral History Program in Denton. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8420-2464-6 (cloth) 1. World War, 19391945Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 2. World War, 19391945Concentration campsAsia, South- eastern. 3. World War, 19391945Personal narratives, American. 4. Oral history. I. La Forte, Robert S. (Robert Sherman), 1933 . II. Marcello, Ronald E. III. Himmel, Richard L., 1950 . D805.A785W57 1994 940.54'7252dc20 93-42419 CIP Page V Contents Prisoners of War Interviewed VII Prison Camps, Work Sites, and Other Places Where XVII POWs Were Held Maps XXVI Introduction: Prisoners of the Sun XXIX I. Capture 1 American Attitudes toward Surrender 2 Frontline Troops of Japan 11 II. Adjustment to POW Status 21 Japanese Rules 23 Japanese Punishment 29 Escape 39 Guards and Camp Administrators 50 American Discipline 60 Interrogation and Collaboration 67 Resistance and Sabotage 74 III. Atrocities 79 Death Marches 80 Death Ships 91 Other Atrocities 105 IV. General TreatmentThe Physical 113 Transportation 116 Housing and Camp Layout 121 Work 131 Food 150 Clothing 167 Personal Hygiene 171 Page VI Health and Medical Treatment 177 Death and Burial 189 V. General TreatmentThe Psychological 197 Boredom, Holidays, and Rest 199 Recreation and Entertainment 201 Morale 208 Friends and Friendships 214 Faith in God and Country 220 Communicating with the Outside 223 Attitudes toward Non-Americans 231 American Air Attacks 236 VI. The Ordeal Ends 243 Liberation 245 Survival 263 Readjustment 269 Bibliography 275 Index 279 Page VII Prisoners of War Interviewed Captain William G. Adair, Alabama, commander of the First Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, was captured when Bataan fell on April 9, 1942. He followed the route of the infamous Death March but rode in an Army ambulance most of the way to Camp O'Donnell. During captivity, Adair was at O'Donnell, Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Zentsuji. Corporal Billy W. Allen, Texas, was with the 4th Marines in Shanghai, China, and shifted with them to Manila and then into the Bataan Peninsula. He was captured on Corregidor when the fortress fell on May 6, 1942. Allen was held at Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Tsuruga. Private First Class Roy Allen, Jr., Texas, was a member of the Seventh Materiel, 19th Heavy Bombardment Group, on detached duty at a new air base on Del Monte Plantation, Mindanao, Philippine Islands. He was captured there and spent most of his prison time at Camp Casisang and Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao. Allen was also at several locations in Japan, particularly at Yokkaichi. Private Roy G. Armstrong, Texas, a member of F Battery, Second Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, was captured on Java and held at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia. He later worked on the Burma-Thailand Railway and finally was transferred to Da Lat in French Indochina. Captain Leland D. Bartlett, Massachusetts, commissioned as a reserve officer in 1924, was called to active duty in April 1941 and was assigned to the Fourth Separate Chemical Company, Philippine Division, at Fort McKinley. He served on Bataan but was taken prisoner on Corregidor. Bartlett was held at Cabanatuan, Tanagawa, Zentsuji, and Roku Rushi.