spoke the language. McCoy, I remember, started a class in calculus, having been somethin of a mathematics shark since his days at Annapolis. On one occasion a young regular Army lieutenant remarked, "Why don't we get up a ball game?" "We have no gear," one of us in the group pointed out. A request for baseball gear was put through. Much to our surprise the Japanese supplied us with a small quantity of softball gear almost immediately--apparently they had had it on hand, and just hadn't bothered or cared enough to issue it. There was very little of this equipment, so each man got to play on an average of about once a week. One of the star players on McCoy's team, by the way, was Captain W. E. Dyess, the Batash air ace, one of the ten of us who finally escaped. About once a week our chaplains arranged amateur theatricals or skits. The Japanese guards were usually the most appreciative spectators at these events, but all of us looked forward to them, despite what must be sadly admitted as a very low entertainment value. On an afternoon in late August, rumor quickly ran through the prison that the entertainment for that night had been cancelled. "Why?" I asked. "Our three escapees are back," I was informed. "The Japanese are making them put on a show." We did not know what turn this "show" would take, and we looked forward to it with foreboding. In this instance, however, - 51 - |