The death of a prisoner by any means was considered
preferable to capture by the invading troops Japanese thinking).
"Hell Ships": The "hell ship" journey began at old Bilibid Prison.
December 13, 1944: Long before dawn, we were awakened by the ringing
of a large bell at the prison guardhouse. The day we had been dreading
for many months, had arrived; 1619 of us would depart from our
uncomfortable quarters and start a long journey to Japan. Thoughts of
riding on a prison ship filled us with apprehension; several prison
ships had already been sunk and many of our friends had been lost.
We lifted our emaciated bodies from the concrete floor, showered and
shaved in the dark; we didn't know when we might experience such
luxury again. We put our few worldly but worthless possessions into
our packs. Breakfast was the usual half-cup of lugao.
As the first light of day peeked over the high stone wall, we were
lined up with our baggage; we stood for hours as Col. Beecher, USMC,
our commanding officer, and a Japanese guard wandered through our
ranks-trying to get a head count. The guards, a rather ignorant group,
were completely puzzled by such a large number - 1619.
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