James Gillespie with the mess halls under Major Jim Rinaman. There
were sixty six officers and 183 enlisted men. By July 1st there were
2,300 patients and by August, 2,500.
There were thirty wards (made to hold forty soldiers), often
holding up to one hundred patients. There were upper and lower decks
made of bamboo slats. Each patient was allotted a two-by-six foot
space. Seriously ill were kept on the lower decks.
By Dec. 1st, I had been appointed chief of the medical service; I
tried to see every patient each day. Since medicines were very scarce,
there was actually very little I could do, except give some hope of a
better tomorrow.
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.
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