Text Version


 
     One enlisted man from the 200th Coast Artillery escaped
 
from the hospital in late July or early August. This man, a
 
Mexican, went to Cabanatuan and, passing as a Filipino, worked
 
for the Japs. Our grapevine soon informed him that the other
 
nine men of his squad had been marked for execution, so he
 
voluntarily returned and gave himself up.
 
     This man was first beaten by the guards, then shackled
 
loosely so he could walk. Then he was put on permanent latrine
 
duty, and was always followed by a guard who held a rope which was
 
tied around the prisoner. At night he was locked up.
                                           
     There was another flurry in early August when the Japs
 
reported that two prisoners had escaped from the hospital. The
 
"shooting squads" of these men were immediately isolated for ex-
 
ecution, and the execution date was set, when the bodies of the
 
men who had supposedly escaped were fortunately discovered. One
 
had fallen into a latrine, and the body of another was found 
 
behind a barracks. Both apparently had been delirious when they
 
died.
 
     On another occasion five enlisted men were arrested by
 
the Japs on the charge that they had been dealing through the
 
fence vrlth friendly Filipinos. Two of these Filipinos were also
 
caught, and all seven of the men freely admitted their guilt,
 
pointing out that their only crime was an attempt to get more food.
 
happened to be present when these men were questioned
 
by Mr. Niimura, the civilian Japanese interpreter. His only
 
interest seemed to be in what the Filipino civilians had told the
 
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