11Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, pp. 2–3, Sugamo Prison. National Archives, Record Group 331, Box 1276. Some accounts list Yoshikazu Sato as Masahiko Sato.
12Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 100.
13Ponce de Leon, The Puerto Princesa Story, 129.
14Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 21.
15McDole Oral History, 43.
16Tillman, Barrett. “Two Coconuts and a Navy Cross,” Naval History Magazine, February 2010 (Vol. 24, No. 1), 36–37.
17Ibid., 37.
18Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
19Tillman, “Two Coconuts and a Navy Cross,” 38.
20Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 187; Mrs. Triny C. Mendoza to Hubert D. Hough, January 7, 1946.
21Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 105.
22de Leon, The Puerto Princesa Story, 142.
23Edwin A. Petry August 12, 1948, testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 167.
24Fern Joseph Barta testimony of February 14, 1945, transcript, 3; Fern Joseph Barta affidavit of August 28, 1946. Record Group 331, Manila Report No. 49, Entry No. 1214-UD, Box 1111, Folder 6.
25Rufus Smith Oral History, 11.
26“Death and Wound Reports Compiled and Maintained at Palawan, P.I.” RG 407, Entry 1072, Box 184.
27Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, pp. 1–8, Sugamo Prison. National Archives, Record Group 331, Box 1276.
28Edwin A. Petry August 12, 1948, testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 168.
29Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 104.
12. “ANNIHILATE THEM ALL”
1Tillman, “Two Coconuts and a Navy Cross,” 38.
2Mrs. Triny C. Mendoza to Hubert D. Hough, January 7, 1946.
3The four aviators were from Bombing Eighteen. (VB-18: Ensign Ralph Beatle, radioman Ralph “Bud” Johnson, Ensign Everett Bunch Jr., and his radioman, Edwin Cunningham. They were assisted by Filipinos and spent weeks being shepherded toward safety on Palawan Island.)
4Tillman, “Two Coconuts and a Navy Cross,” 38; Forsyth, Hell-Divers, 120.
5Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 106.
6Ibid., 105.
7Ibid., 107–108.
8Michno, Death on the Hellships, 244–249.
9Ibid., 249–250.
10Ibid., 251–258.
11Henderson, Rescue at Los Baños, 170.
12“The Palawan Massacre,” May 15, 1946, RG 331, Entry 1214UD, Box 1112, Folder 7, National Archives, 13.
13Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 109.
14Ibid., 110.
15William J. Balchus statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
13. THE GAUNTLET
1Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 111.
2Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 23–24; Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 8.
3Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 111.
4Coons, “Massacre at Palawan,” Liberty, August 18, 1945, 27; Summers, The Japanese Story, 22; Edwin A. Petry August 13, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 186–187.
5Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
6Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
7Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
8Edwin A. Petry August 13, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 187–188.
9Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, pp. 8–10, Sugamo Prison. National Archives, Record Group 331, Box 1276.
10Ibid., 10–12.
11Ibid., 12.
12Ibid., 20.
13Nielsen Oral History, 25.
14Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
15Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 12.
16Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, p. 13.
17Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
18Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 14.
19Balchus, William J., May 28, 1945 affidavit, RG 331, Manila Report No. 49, Entry No. 1213-UD, Box 1098.
20Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, p. 13.
21Ibid., 14–15.
22Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
23Edwin A. Petry August 13, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 190–191.
24Fern Joseph Barta testimony of February 14, 1945, transcript, 3.
25Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 115.
26Bogue testimony from E&E Report No. 23.
27Douglas Bogue statement of January 23, 1945, RG 331, Box 1111.
28William J. Balchus statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
29Puerto Princesa During the Second World War, 91; Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 179–182; Manlavi, Palawan’s Fighting One Thousand, 99; “Interrogation of Escapees from Bataan and Corregidor,” January 7, 1945, RG 331, Box 1111, Folder 7-1, 5.
30Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 14.
31Fern Joseph Barta testimony of February 14, 1945, transcript, 3.
32Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 26–27; Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 9–10.
33Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
34Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 117.
35Summers, The Japanese Story, 23.
14. HUNTED
1Fern Joseph Barta affidavit of August 28, 1946. Record Group 331, Manila Report No. 49, Entry No. 1214-UD, Box 1111, Folder 6.
2“Survivor Tells How Japanese Murdered Yanks.” The Fresno (CA) Bee Republican, Monday, March 5, 1945, 10.
3Barta statement from E&E Report No. 23.
4Fern Joseph Barta, August 12, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 147, 150. Barta’s account says age twenty-one, but Hamric was born on December 14, 1920.
5Ibid., 148.
6Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 27–28; Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
7Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 29.
8Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 117–118.
9Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 15.
10Rufus W. Smith Oral History, 1983 Interview with Colonel Arthur Kelly, University of Kentucky.
11Sommers, The Japanese Story, 23.
12Glenn McDole Oral History, Admiral Nimitz Museum and University of North Texas Oral History Collection, No. 1317, October 10, 1996, 56.
13Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 29; Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
14Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 118.
15Ibid., 119.
16Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 29–30.
17Ibid., 29–30; Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
18Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 119.
19Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 30.
20Ibid., 30–31; Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 14.
21Interrogation of Tomisaburo Sawa, July 31, 1947, 15.
22Ibid., 14, 17.
15. FIGHTS AND FLIGHT
1Sommers, The Japanese Story, 23.
2Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 17.
3Ibid., 18.
4Sommers, The Japanese Story, 23.
5Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 31.
6Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
7Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 11; Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
8Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 31–32.
9Koblos narrative of January 17, 1945, from Terada trial documents, RG 153, Box 1353.
10Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 14.
11Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 32–33.
12Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 15.
13Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 122.
14Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
15Fern Joseph Barta, August 12, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 148.
16Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
17Rufus W. Smith, 1983 University of Kentucky Oral History; Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 19.
18Rufus W. Smith, 1983 University of Kentucky Oral History.
19Sommers, The Japanese Story, 24.
20Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 20.
21Elmo Deal was the son of Floyd Joseph Edward Deal, who moved his family to California in the 1930s. Mo was working at the Mayers Brothers automotive shop in Modesto when he enlisted in the Army, where he became an expert marksman with both a .30-caliber rifle and a .45-caliber pistol.
22William J. Balchus statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
23Ibid.; “Interrogation of Escapees from Bataan and Corregidor,” January 7, 1945, RG 331, Box 1111, Folder 7-1, 5.
24Several sources report that Deal was both shot again and bayoneted before being left for dead by his assailants: Manlavi, Palawan’s Fighting One Thousand, 99; Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 182; Poweleit, USAFFE, 139. Colonel J. K. Evans of the War Department reported on January 13, 1945, that he had information from Palawan guerrillas that Elmo Deal had suffered “24 wounds from a blunt instrument and third degree burns.” See Evans to Major C. B. Warren Jr., January 13, 1945, in Terada trial documents, Record Group 153, Box 1353.
25Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
26Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 34.
27Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 15–16.
28Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
29Alberto D. Pacheco statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
30Summers, The Japanese Story, 22.
31Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
32Ernest J. Koblos testimony of January 19, 1945, from “American POWs” transcript, 6th AAF Combat Camera Unit documentary film. National Archives, Record Group 153, Box 1353.
16. SWIMMERS AND SURVIVORS
1Fern Joseph Barta testimony of February 14, 1945, transcript, 5.
2Bondad, Rufino G. “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944, and Rescued by Colony Officials and Some Prisoners from the Japanese.” Record of American escapees aided by members of the Iwahig Penal Colony. Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2.
3Edwin A. Petry statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6. Petry testimony of January 19, 1945, from Terada trial documents, Record Group 153, Box 1353.
4Beck, Mary. “Dreams Come True. $4000 Back Pay Given Liberated Sergeant.” El Paso (TX) Herald Post, April 10, 1945, 5, 14; Summers, The Japanese Story, 22.
5Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 21.
6“Palawan Massacre” report of March 14, 1948. RG 331, Box 1276, Folder 3. Kojima invited members of Captain Tsuneji Shoji’s Kempei Tai military police unit to join in the celebration, as well as First Lieutenant Rokumi Obayashi’s 4th Company, 174th Independent Infantry Battalion.
7Pedro S. Paje, September 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 403–406, 426, 441.
8Ibid., 408–416.
9Manlavi, Palawan’s Fighting One Thousand, 99–100; Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 182.
10Ponce de Leon, The Puerto Princesa Story, 126.
11Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 16–17.
12Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 35.
13Ibid., 36; Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 18.
14Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6; Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 38.
15Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 39.
16Ibid., 40; Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 21.
17Ibid., 39–40; Eugene Nielsen statement of March 16, 1945, from Manila Report No. 49, RG 331, E 1214, Box 1111, Folder 6.
18Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 39. Nielsen says it was Petry and Koblos in his 1989 recollections, but Filipino records show that the other American was Pacheco at this time. Nielsen, in “World War II Stories,” transcription, 21, says Petry and Pacheco.
19Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2.
20Fern Joseph Barta testimony of February 14, 1945, transcript, 5; Fern Joseph Barta, August 12, 1948 testimony from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 151.
21Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2. The colonists Smith spotted were Inteng Moro, Rogelio Martino, Dayato Moro, Francisco Ulina, Gregorio Sato, Tumanbud Moro, and Pedro Sacoso.
22Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 22.
23Ibid., 23.
24Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2.
25Rufus Smith Oral History, 23.
26Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 126.
27Statement of Celerino O. Poyatos, circa 1947, for the war crimes trials, Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2.
28Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 26–27.
29Pedro S. Paje, September 7, 1948 testimony, Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 439.
30Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2.
31Koblos narrative of January 17, 1945, from Terada trial documents, RG 153, Box 1353.
32Ibid. They were Anacleto Canada, Dioscoro Rivaldo, Dionisio Ando, and Macaraya Moro.
33Ibid.
34Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 41–42.
17. MAC’S ODYSSEY
1Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 124.
2Glenn McDole Oral History No. 1317, 58.
3Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 124–125.
4Ibid., 125.
5Ibid., 126.
6Filipinos later said that the Allies had bombed the Catholic church in Puerto Princesa, exploding ammunition and explosives the Japanese had stored inside.
7Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 127.
18. ELEVEN AG
AINST THE ELEMENTS
1Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 28.
2Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 42–43.
3Ibid., 43.
4Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History, transcription, 29.
5Nielsen, “World War II Stories,” transcription, 22; Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 43.
6Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 44.
7Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 128.
8Glenn McDole Oral History No. 1317, 61.
9Bogue, “Survivor Tells How Japanese Murdered Yanks,” 10.
10They were Kirin C. Lim, Maximino Liwag, Ponciano Bautista, and Alejandro Bautista.
11Glenn McDole Oral History No. 1317, 63.
12Ibid., 129–130; Glenn McDole Oral History No. 1317, 64.
13Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2. The men were Mayor Kirin Lim, Maximino Liwag, Ponciano Bautista, and Alejandro Bautista.
14Ibid., 130.
15Rufus Smith, UNT Oral History No. 788, transcription, 30.
16Eugene Nielsen Oral History, UNT No. 802 transcription, 44–45.
17Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 183.
18Poweleit, USAFFE, 139.
19Manlavi, Palawan’s Fighting One Thousand, 100.
20Mrs. Triny C. Mendoza to Hubert D. Hough, January 7, 1946.
21Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 188; Elizabeth Clark Alba account in Ponce de Leon, The Puerto Princesa Story, 126. “He was very badly cut up,” Alba wrote, “having around 23 wounds all over his body.”
22Villarin, We Remember Bataan and Corregidor, 182.
23Fern Joseph Barta interview transcription, 4.
24Bondad, “American War Prisoners Who Escaped the Massacre at Pto. Princesa on Dec. 14, 1944,” Record Group 331, Box 1112, Folder 2; Fern Joseph Barta, testimony of August 12, 1948, from Seeichi Terada et al. trial, Record Group 153, Box 1354, 151–152.
19. EXODUS FROM BROOKE’S POINT
1Wilbanks, Last Man Out, 130.
As Good As Dead Page 37