Escape from Davao

by John D. Lukacs

  role in the establishment of an operating base in Australia, one can only imagine what such a force could have meant in turning the tide of battle in the Philippines.

  33 pull-out from the Philippines: Eyre, The Roosevelt-MacArthur Conflict, 60, 66; a man who spent a considerable amount of time in the Philippines as MacArthur’s aide, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, concurred, stating that the peoples of the Far East “will be watching us. They may excuse failure but they will not excuse abandonment.” Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe: A Personal Account of World War II (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1948), 22.

  33 “There are times”: Manchester, American Caesar, 274.

  33 As mechanics on Bataan scrounged: Lend-Lease records, NARA, Records of the Office of War Information, RG 208, Box 968.

  33 In March, exports to the Soviet Union: Chicago Tribune, February 14, 1944.

  33 “following an intensive and well-planned campaign”: FDR, quoted in Time, January 5, 1942.

  33 On Christmas Day 1941: Toland, The Rising Sun, 318.

  33 “American war supplies were speeded”: Chicago Tribune, February 14, 1944; Eyre, The Roosevelt-MacArthur Conflict, 79.

  34 A vociferous campaign for a greater effort: Ibid., 67.

  34 In January, Senator James E. Murray: New York Times, January 29, 1942.

  34 That someone was an obscure: Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, 12.

  34 The two men met on December 14: Ibid., 16–22.

  34 “a problem that defied solution”: Ibid., 22.

  34 Submarines brought in some supplies: Ibid., 24–25.

  34 “I’ve been insisting”: Ibid., 22, 31.

  34 One Japanese general: Gen. Susumu Morioka, commanding officer of the Japanese 16th Division, quoted in Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 218.

  34 “battle-hardened, vicious”: Unknown officer quoted in Thaddeus Holt, “King of Bataan,” in Robert Cowley, ed., No End Save Victory: Perspectives on World War II (New York: Putnam, 2001), 159.

  34 The once maligned “dogfaces”: Lou Kolger, in an e-mail to the author on November 28, 2004, affirmed that the term “dogface” was a derivative of the discriminatory signs that adorned many business establishments in the prewar United States that read “No Dogs or Soldiers Allowed.” “Hence soldiers affectionately called one another Dog-Face,” explained Kolger. Although the term “GI,” which stems from the phrase “government issue” and came to describe anything such as clothing or equipment issued to military personnel, was reportedly in Army use since circa 1935, its meaning in terms of being a descriptor for an enlisted soldier or member of the armed forces “did not really take hold until the last half of the war.” See Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner, Dictionary of American Slang (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975), 213; Paul Dickson, War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases from the Civil War to the Gulf War (New York: Pocket, 1994), 163.

  35 So high was their morale: New York Times, March 2, 1942.

  35 They took immense pride: Henry Lee, “Vindication,” Nothing but Praise, 49.

  35 When General Homma attempted to land: For detailed information on the Battle of the Points, the Battle of Trail 2, and the Battle of the Pockets, see Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 296–332.

  35 Homma would request reinforcements: Ibid., 332; MacArthur, Reminiscences, 132; e-mail correspondence from Louis Read to the author, December 16, 2004.

  35 As MacArthur would later exclaim: Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 291.

  35 Unscrupulous quartermasters: Ibid., 372–73; Juanita Redmond, I Served on Bataan (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1943), 80.

  35 As the daily ration dwindled: Luzon Force surgeon Lt. Col. Harold W. Glattly estimated that defense of line required an expenditure of energy of at least 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day for each man, Morton, The Fall of the Phillippines, 377; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 48.

  35 In March, Wainwright: Schultz, Hero of Bataan, 194–95; Gavan Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific (New York: William Morrow, 1994), 68.

  35 The ravenous troops: Grashio, Return to Freedom, 18. Dyess, The Dyess Story, 39–40.

  36 Doctors, nurses, and medics: Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 376–84; Whitman, Bataan, 394, 397–99; Condit and Turnbladh, Hold High the Torch, 226; Redmond, I Served on Bataan; 56.

  36 Between bombings: Groom, 1942, 147–48; John Hersey, Men on Bataan (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1942), 283.

  36 One note—an attempt at alleviating: Letter from Dyess to parents, March 10, 1942, Texas Tech University Library, Lubback.

  37 They also tuned in music: Mallonée, The Naked Flagpole, 108; Redmond, I Served on Bataan, 102.

  37 It was on Bataan that the famous: Richard S. Roper, Brothers of Paul: Activities of Prisoner of War Chaplains in the Philippines During World War II (Odenton, MD: Revere, 2003), 90.

  37 The thunder bursts of sea storms: E-mail correspondence from Louis Read to the author, December 16, 2004; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 387.

  37 despite the best Japanese efforts: Toland, But Not in Shame, 267; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 384–85; Redmond, I Served on Bataan, 86–89.

  37 After reporting on the losing battle: Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 367.

  37 “The truth”: Hersey, Men on Bataan, 257.

  37 Edgy troops on Bataan: Schultz, Hero of Bataan, 159.

  37 Many were displeased: Ibid., 163.

  37 “Where the devil”: Lee, They Call It Pacific, 224.

  37 Lt. John Burns of the 21st Pursuit: Burns diary entry (unpublished), February 15, 1942.

  38 While they never completely gave up hope: Toland, But Not in Shame, 186;

  Mallonée, The Naked Flagpole, 111, Ind, Bataan, 303.

  38 On Corregidor, Quezon became combustible: MacArthur, Reminiscences, 138.

  38 They also resented MacArthur: Whitman, Bataan, 389; Breuer, The Great

  Raid, 19.

  38 After the arrival of a newborn: Schultz, Hero of Bataan, 164.

  38 Some soldiers attempted to raise money: New York Times, February 25, 1942.

  38 Months earlier, some soldiers: Toland, The Rising Sun, 387.

  38 At 1125 hours, a mysterious voice: Ind, Bataan, 306–7.

  39 While en route to George’s quarters: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 51–52.

  39 Dyess bounded up onto the porch: Ibid., 52; Ind, Bataan, 307.

  40 Lt. John Posten commenced the mission: Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 329.

  40 At 1350, a crowd gathered: Ibid., 329–30; Ind, Bataan, 309–10.

  40 Thirty air miles: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 52–59; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 330.

  41 Safely on the ground at Bataan Field: Ind, Bataan, 310–11; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 52–59.

  41 Twilight was fast approaching and Dyess: Ibid., 312–13; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 332.

  42 George was hesitant: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 55.

  42 Entering his dive at sundown: Ibid., 55–58; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start,

  332–34.

  43 “It was like flying down Broadway”: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 58.

  43 “It was stuff much too strong”: Ind, Bataan, 317.

  43 including Lt. Sam Grashio: Ibid., 314.

  43 Dyess’s individual exploits were staggering: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 58.

  43 Radio Tokyo reported: Ind, Bataan, 323.

  43 cement Dyess’s legend: For more information on Dyess’s exploits as an infantry commander on Bataan, see The Dyess Story, 40–45; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 310–12; and Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 295–302.

  43 The price of the victory: Ibid., 335.

  43 Crellin’s death: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 59.

  44 “At least the death of our little air force”: Ind, Bataan, 322.

  44 It was later discovered that George: Ibid., 320–22.

  44 George wasted little time: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 50.

  44 That evening, a silvery tropical moon: Ibid., 50–5
1; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 336.

  44 “Had forgotten”: Burns diary entry.

  44 By Dyess’s accounting: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 60.

  44 “Jesus Christ”: Anton Bilek, author’s interview.

  44 Surveying the scene: Bilek, No Uncle Sam, 40.

  4. GOD HELP THEM

  PAGE

  46 “I felt my way with weary”: Henry Lee, “Awakening,” Nothing but Praise, 37.

  46 “How are things going over there?”: At the request of 20th Century–Fox studio chief Darryl Zanuck in early 1944, Jack Hawkins prepared a 377-page treatment of the story of his capture, captivity, and escape from the Japanese in the Philippines in anticipation of making a feature film. The project, however, was never greenlighted. Nearly two decades later, the unpublished, uncensored film treatment became the basis for Hawkins’s 1961 memoir, Never Say Die. The cornerstone of this narrative, this unedited source was discovered by the author in the personal papers of Austin Shofner in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be cited hereafter as Jack Hawkins, film treatment. The material that corresponds to this particular notation is found on page 6.

  46 Unlike most of the 4th Marines: Condit and Turnbladh, Hold High the Torch, 201; Miller, From Shanghai to Corregidor, 11–14.

  46 “It looks kind of bad, Jack”: Hawkins, film treatment, 6–8.

  47 twenty-five-year-old, straight-shooting Texan: Ibid., 2.

  47 An Annapolis plebe: Jack Hawkins, author’s interview.

  47 While growing up in the northeastern Texas: Ibid.

  48 For Mike Dobervich: Lois Dobervich and Robert Dobervich, author’s interviews.

  48 “Minnesota Yankee”: Hawkins, film treatment, 4–5.

  48 “He talked”: Ibid.

  48 They would be roommates: Jack Hawkins, author’s interview.

  48 since the late 1920s: Marine Corps Gazette, November 1946.

  48 By late 1941, the Japanese had encircled: William R. Evans, Soochow and the 4th Marines (Rogue River, OR: Atwood, 1987), 35; The Marine Corps Gazette, November 1946; Jack Hawkins, author’s interview; Austin Shofner, Smallwood interview.

  49 “Gee, that was good”: Hawkins, film treatment, 8–9.

  49 As the chief mechanic: Leo Boelens, “Diary” 18.

  49 It would not be Boelens’s first: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 60; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 338.

  50 “I predict the beginning of the end”: Boelens, “Diary,” 18.

  50 Sunk in January off Mariveles: Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 338, 348; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 46–48; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 30.

  50 The Duck, though, had delivered: Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 366–67.

  50 Leo Boelens, the youngest: Thelma Kost, author’s interview; e-mail correspondence from Thelma Kost to the author, November 21, 2004; J. Tom Davis, Glimpses of Greybull’s Past: A History of a Wyoming Railroad Town from 1867 to 1967 (Baltimore: Gateway, 2004), 15, 151, 154, 167, 305.

  50 At five foot seven and a half: “Individual Deceased Personal File, Leo Boelens,” Identification Data, Identification Section, Memorial Division, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO; Jonathan Davis, author’s interview.

  51 No sooner had Boelens ducked: E-mail correspondence from Thelma Kost to the author, March 7, 2005.

  51 Boelens and his crew: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 64; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 367.

  51 Dyess then continued: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 63–64; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 363; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 35.

  52 Not long after Dyess’s convoy: Carlos Romulo, I Saw the Fall of the Philippines (London: George G. Harrap, 1943), 178–82; Boelens, “Diary”, 18; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 368–69; Schultz, Hero of Bataan, 241.

  52 “Never did a 4th of July display”: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 65; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 460.

  53 Surrender orders had begun to trickle down: Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 459–60.

  53 Lt. Sam Grashio had never: Grashio, Return to Freedom, 35–37.

  53 Dyess had created a cult of personality: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 61. Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 341; MacArthur, Reminiscences, 145.

  54 But whereas MacArthur’s pledge: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 61.

  54 His pilots barely had enough strength: Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 343–44; Joe Moore, author’s interview.

  54 In late March, the brass: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 61–62.

  54 Dyess’s convoy motored into Mariveles: Ibid., 65; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 39; Bartsch, Doomed at the Start, 375.

  55 As his two-jeep caravan: Holt, “King of Bataan,” 155–73; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 463–64.

  55 On April 3, Japanese guns: Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 421–53; Toland, But Not in Shame, 292.

  56 King arrived at the town of Lamao: Ibid., 303–5; Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 464–66.

  56 Ed Dyess was seeing otherwise: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 66–68; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 39.

  57 Luckily for the passengers: Romulo, I Saw the Fall of the Philippines, 183–86.

  58 “God help them”: Boelens, Diary, 19

  5. THE HIKE

  PAGE

  61 “There was a blazing road: Lee, “Awakening,” Nothing but Praise, 38.

  61 According to a witness. Dyess, The Dyess Story, 70–71.

  62 “A Philippines Times Square”: Ralph Levenberg, quoted in Donald Knox, Death March: The Survivors of Bataan (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1981), 119; Jack Donohoe, author’s interview.

  62 Some Japanese soldiers, similarly exhausted: Knox, Death March, 114.

  62 They had not conquered Bataan quickly: Lawrence Taylor, A Trial of Generals: Homma, Yamashita, MacArthur (South Bend, IN: Icarus, 1981), 96; Stanley L. Falk, Bataan: The March of Death (New York: Jove, 1983), 64–66, 233.

  62 And though they despised their adversaries: Falk, Bataan, 230.

  62 According to the code of Bushido: Ibid., 230–32; Lamott, Nippon, 180; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 58.

  62 In the oppressive heat: Dyess, EXPERIENCES and OBSERVATIONS as a P.O.W. in the P.I., Sworn statement of Major William E. Dyess, August 16, 1943 (Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 1; Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese, 74; Bert Bank, Back from the Living Dead (Tuscaloosa, AL: Self-published, 1945), 19; Falk, Bataan, 127–30.

  62 Determined not to let his Randolph Field ring: Grashio, Return to Freedom, 40.

  63 “There still was plenty of fight”: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 68.

  63 Flanked by soldiers: Manny Lawton, Some Survived: An Eyewitness Account of the Bataan Death March and the Men Who Lived Through It (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin, 1984), 18. Mario Tonelli, author’s interview; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 73; John Olson, author’s interview; Toland, But Not in Shame, 315–16; Falk, Bataan, 131–32.

  63 But it was no sightseeing tour: Jack Donohoe, author’s interview; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 48; Hunt, Behind Japanese Lines, 37; Mario Tonelli, author’s interview; Knox, Death March, 130; Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese, 78.

  63 Even rest breaks: Lawton, Some Survived, 19; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 76; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 49, Falk, Bataan, 133. The best description of the all-pervading heat on the Death March, in the author’s opinion, comes from Pvt. Leon Beck in Knox, Death March, 133: “And the weather was hot, hot, hot. The sun comes up hot, and it goes down hot, and it stays hot all night. It was just plain hell hot.”

  64 The passing motorized processions: Toland, But Not in Shame, 312; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 73, 75; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 48; Bert Bank, author’s interview.

  64 While most of these hapless prisoners: Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese, 77; Knox, Death March, 121.

  64 One prisoner: Mario Tonelli, author’s interview.

  64 While their minds struggled to process: Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese, 77; Grashio, Return to Freedom, 49; Dyess, The Dyess Story, 76.

  65 The demoralized, dehydrated prisoners: Grashio, Return to Freedom, 46, 48;
Mario Tonelli, author’s interview; Knox, Death March, 130–31; Bank, Back from the Living Dead, 21.

  65 As morning melted into afternoon: Dyess, The Dyess Story, 71, 13–14.