Eugene C. Jacobs

“ The Japanese seemed very little concerned that more Americans and Filipinos died as their prisoners, on the "Death March," in prison camps, on labor details, hell ships, and working in coal mines and munitions factories, than died at the hands of the Japanese on the battlefields. Those of us, who were guests of the Nipponese Emperor, have little doubt that some of the treachery was learned from the German Kulture.
We, who were captives and prisoners of the Japanese, will never be able to forgive them, but knowing their background did help to explain some of their vicious actions. ”

“ Knocking out the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor could clear the way for Japan to conquer the Philippine Islands, without any outside interference. Of all the Pacific territories of the United States, the Japanese most wanted the Philippines. General MacArthur, as well as the Japanese, believed that the Philippine Islands were the 'Key to the Orient'; Japan would have to take the Philippines before attempting to conquer any other countries in Southeast Asia. ”

“ It appeared that the Nips would put up a good fight to retain the Philippines.
There were many ships in the bay-destroyers and cruisers as well as transports. Same had been sunk; many were nearly submerged or listing badly; yet others appeared to be unharmed.
Tugs and tenders moved briskly about the bay; derricks strained aver damaged vessels. All in all, there was entirely too much activity far a supposedly blockaded port!
There were many Japanese civilians, mostly women and children, milling
about Pier Seven. They were short and stocky, dark and expressionless. ”

“ We quickly learned that we couldn't eke out an existence in the jungle. There was too much competition. The birds and animals were extremely mobile and agile, getting to any available food much quicker than we could.
The Japanese cavalry and infantry were making daily trips up and down the highway. They entered houses along the road and slapped the Filipinos, demanding, "Where are the Americans?" The natives remained loyal and gave them no information.
Peeking through the bushes at the Jap units going by, I began to wonder why and how studying medicine had gotten me into such a mess. ”

“ Many Filipinos are fleeing south through the central plains with all their belongings. I came up to Baguio yesterday; soldiers had dynamite boxes ready to blow the bridges on the Naguillian Trail. I saw Major Ganahl and asked him what happened to our North Luzon Forces. Joe answered, 'Hell! We are the North Luzon Forces!"
We never saw Clark Lee again, but later learned that he found a short-cut through St. Nicholas and Tayug to the central plain, where he had a brush with the Japs on his way to Bataan. He proved an old saying, "He travels fastest who travels alone!" ”

“ We could hear the big guns booming on Bataan and Corregidor, 125 miles to the south. We located a hunter's lean-to and camped there for several days. We grew accustomed to the many strange noises in the jungles: birds, monkeys and many other animals, but were having trouble with the ants, spiders and mosquitoes. Camping in the tropics was quite different from camping in the States. In the Philippines every square inch of soil has its menagerie of insects. One of the things I feared the most was being eaten to death if I should be unlucky enough to be wounded. ”

“ The Jorgensens still had telephone service to their friends in Baguio. From them, we learned that many of the Japanese civilian prisoners, whom we had interned at Camp John Hay, when liberated by the Japanese-army, were putting on uniforms, private to colonel, and joining the occupying forces. The invading army had government money, already printed, when they arrived. When the Jap soldiers presented their "play" money to the Filipinos in order to buy food, the natives laughed and said, "No good in this country!" They soon learned that it was backed up by the full faith of the Japanese bayonet. ”

“ Many men were bleeding badly! There was much confusion, much moving around. Everyone was trying to get in a safer place, to get bandages, to apply pressure to wounds it was hopeless; everything was covered with dirt and dust.
The planes were diving again, spraying their deadly missiles. (I have neither the will nor the talent to describe the gory details.) "Would this be the explosion that would blot out our existence?" Then it was over! Complete silence!
Stunned, we moved into the center of the hold to get better air to breathe and to thank God for surviving. ”

“ Actually, the thoughts of war hadn't bothered me too much; a farmer had once told me, "If you are going to get kicked by a mule, it is best to be close to the mule!" Over the last forty years, we knew the Japanese had been preparing for war, taking scrap iron and raw materials from the Philippines to Japan. ”

“ As the Japanese Imperial Army advanced up the mountains toward Baguio on both roads, the Naguillian Trail, and the Kennon Road, our two companies of the 43rd Philippine Scouts, outnumbered ten to one, were becoming more and more desperate. We could hear the big explosions as they blew bridges and oil tanks.
Finally, we were aware of rifle fire-it sounded like corn popping. Realizing that Camp Hay would soon be overrun by Japanese troops, we prepared and loaded our equipment on hospital vehicles. We were not anxious to be the first military
unit in the Philippines to surrender. ”

“ Some Navy admirals had recently remarked that the 'Pacific Fleet belongs in San Diego!' If the Japanese should sink one ship in Pearl Harbor (the so-called Mouse Trap) , they could bottle up the entire fleet. Now, with the Pacific Fleet crippled, there could be no rescue attempt. For several years we had been aware that in the event of an invasion, all our defending military forces would hole-up on the Bataan Peninsula, where supplies and equipment had previously been stored, until the U.S. Navy, the most powerful in the world, could come to our rescue (Orange Plan-WPO III) . ”

“ There were several dead on the floor of each car. We spent the remainder of the night on the gravel terrace about the station. Most prisoners had dysentery, so the area was soon filthy.
As the sun rose, we were lined up and marched through the streets. Japanese soldiers, hanging out many windows and doors, were laughing and joking as they spotted us odd characters passing by. We were taken to a school yard. The school house became our hospital. Every survivor was extremely weak. We were given a half cup of cooked rice for our Christmas dinner. ”

“ To the Japanese, surrender was a violation of military morality. In any defeat, a loyal Japanese soldier would commit hari kiri.
Discipline in the Imperial Army was enforced by frequent slapping, beating and kicking of junior officers and enlisted men for rather minor offenses. For serious crimes, discipline was more complex. The victim could be turned over to a Judo expert for suitable punishment. He could be given the water treatment. He could be tied to a fence post, and slapped beaten or kicked by each passing soldier. He could be used for bayonet practice by recruits. ”

“ Ted had arrived in a Jap plane from Manila with a Japanese pass. He continued, "He has ordered all Fil-American troops to surrender. If any unit does not surrender, all of the captives on Corregidor will be severely punished (probably slaughtered!) " For my benefit, he continued, "There are thousands of Americans in internment camps that are extremely sick and desperately in need of medical care. Any American who does not surrender will be considered a deserter of the United States Army!" (Several weeks later, Ted died of cerebral malaria while looking for Americans who had not surrendered.) ”

“ Again, the Japanese ordered our medical officers to examine all prisoners in Bilibid, to determine those healthy enough to complete the trip to Japan, and those sick enough to remain behind the stone walls-to be recaptured by MacArthur's troops in a few weeks. My better sense told me it would be smarter to be sick and be rescued, but my conscience kept telling me I should go along. ”

“ The Jacobs family remains a very proud Army family, having had a representative in every war since the American Revolution. Even little Alex is a proud G.I. Joe with a complete field uniform.
(Lindsay is a Smurf.) The Jacobs family thinks we have a great country that is worth fighting for, a great U.S. Army that can fight with the best when they have proper intelligence and equipment. May our Army always be strong, and our country, free! "'Peace is our profession." ”

“ Our group, now 189, was composed mostly of medics and civilians. The ship's cabins, dining rooms and parlors were crowded with several thousand women, children and elderly Japanese civilians. We dropped our packs into the hold and quickly descended the long ladder into darkness hurried by the grunting guards and their "vitamin sticks."
There was not enough room for everyone to sit down. Our group of medics crowded together in the center of the hold. The floor was filthy, covered with horse manure. The stench burned our eyes; our roof was the darkening sky. ”

“ Hitler was the enemy to be stopped Japan and Italy could come later.
It was Roosevelt who said, "In politics, nothing happens by accident!
You can bet it was planned!"
In July, 1941, Roosevelt again placed sanctions against Japan to keep U. S. oil, scrap iron and raw materials from reaching her shores. He issued several executive directives which made war between the U.S. and Japan inevitable. He froze all assets in the U.S. He closed the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping.
In August, 1941, Roosevelt placed an embargo on all goods except food. ”

“ The Nipponese merely occupied some of the larger cities and controlled the main roads for three years, during which time they established much ill-will of the Filipinos, only serving to strengthen the resistance movements. Who could have ever dreamed that World War II in the Philippines would both begin and end at Camp John Hay, a Rest and Recreation Center? ”

“ My medics and I climbed down a steep bank to the east, crossed over a wide, rocky, river bottom keeping our ten paces between men-and entered a thick jungle. Within ten minutes, several Japanese tanks rumbled to a stop on the road, where our truck had been parked, turned their machine guns toward the jungles and sprayed the area. ”

“ John Beall further stated, "You say a lot of things that need to be said, lest the United States forgets the horrors of the way the Japanese treated our prisoners."
In writing Blood Brothers, I found it necessary to resort to frequent flashbacks; and to keep the reader aware of the history taking place around the world, I tried to make reference to these events as they happened, even when they were merely rumors.
This story has not been pleasant to write; I'm glad it is finally finished.
In Blood Brothers, there are no heroes. ”

“ We were greeted by other prisoners: "American planes have been making daily bombing raids on the port area only a few blocks away and on the ships in the harbor - Manila Bay." We thought, "That's good! Maybe they won't be able to get
us out."
"MacArthur must be getting close! When the air-raid alarms sounded, the guards have been chasing all of the prisoners inside the buildings."
"We were able to find peepholes where we could watch the U.S. planes dive down through heavy flak of anti-aircraft guns, to drop their bombs on important targets." ”

“ With food from every available source, the daily diet rarely reached one thousand calories. Fat and salt were almost never available.
Slow Starvation: Starvation, the scourge of the Orient for centuries, devastated the captives held by the Japanese; it was not a starvation bred of poverty, but starvation bred of brutality, sadism and neglect. Murder would have been more humane; execution more legal. A slow, tortured death, however, was more in keeping with the desire of the Japanese to make the "Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor pay dearly for having challenged 'Dai Nippon." ”

“ With a chuckle, he liked to quote Confucius: "Make enemy think you are far away when you are near! Make enemy think you are near when you are far away!"
About Nakar, Capt. Arnold remarked, "He means to get ahead!" After knowing him for a few days, I began to get the feeling that he would someday be President of the Philippines. I asked Major Nakar: "How come this barrio seems to be named, 'Jones,' after an American? I don't know of any other named for an American." ”

“ Mr. Wata, the diminutive and deformed Japanese interpreter, appeared at the top of the hold, and shouted down, "Abandon ship! Remove all clothing! Wounded must come up first! All of you leave ship!"
As the first fifty wounded reached the deck, back came the planes strafing and bombing. Many of those reaching the deck were killed or further wounded. In a few minutes we got a second opportunity to go up the ladder. ”

“ Sunday - At dawn, we moved out of the harbor in a convoy of six or seven ships. Everyone had dysentery. The latrines were two boxes hung over the side of the ship. Only two persons were allowed on the deck at a time. Many were too weak to climb the stairs. The floor soon became filthy, making walking in bare feet very unpleasant.
Our ship zigzagged generally north at a speed of about eight knots.
One-quarter cup of rice; no water! Another thirty prisoners died. ”

“ Now only 34 of our original hospital group alive. Air raids becoming very frequent, especially at night; there were sirens in many directions. We could hear high-flying planes; in the distance we could hear heavy bombing. Food was becoming very scarce. The 'In Charge' came by and told me: "You have given up; you are yellow; get up and walk around!"
It made me mad probably just what I needed.
April 1, 45: I seemed a little stronger; could take several steps, but each step caused much "bloody" pain. The American patients
are all confined to bed. ”

“ Dire Economy: In the early days of the hospital, the Japanese issued a few cartons of condensed milk that they had captured on Bataan for the benefit of the seriously ill. Unfortunately, most of the recipients of the extra milk proceeded to die in spite of the extra nourishment taking the milk with them. We quickly learned a harsh but valuable lesson: "Do not give extra nourishment to dying patients!"
From then on, the extra food went only to patients who possessed the possibility of recovering plus the will to live.
Malaria: Fully 50% of the 2,400 patients had malaria. ”

“ Captives who had needed operations prior to the obtaining of the surgical equipment were operated in Cabanatuan city by Japanese doctors with 100% mortality.
Our American surgeons said, "We can do better than that!" The
American surgeons had no mortality.
A Camera: Ingenious Americans built a camera: they used X-ray film, took pictures around the camp and developed the film in X-ray solutions. They, of course, had to hide the camera and pictures when Japs were in the area.
A Radio: After hearing no news during the early months of the camp some other clever Americans decided to build a radio. ”

“ The Japs insisted that the natives take off their big straw hats and bow deeply each time they encountered a Japanese soldier. This was not the Filipinos' idea of independence and freedom. They'd had it much better with the Americans. We later learned that in most every barrio, especially in Mindanao, a Japanese store owner put on a uniform, when liberated, and took charge of the barrio. ”

“ We got to see two World's Fairs (New York and San Francisco) . It was really our honeymoon, as we had previously been too poor to afford one.
During the six weeks we were on the high seas, history had been taking place. Hitler's armies had blitzkrieged through Holland, Belgium and France; the British Army had a forced evacuation from Dunkirk in an armada of small boats. Mussolini had declared war on Britain and France (actually stabbing France in the back while she was on her knees) . ”