I was suddenly aware that three planes overhead were diving! I
believed I must get away from the ship and fast. I ran across the deck
toward the nearest shore and jumped off-just like in, the movies. Some
five decks below, I hit the water and descended about twenty feet; it
was a desperate struggle through oceans of green water to reach the
surface and God's good fresh air.
The planes were pulling out of their dives-they had dropped nothing.
They had spotted the waving prisoners in the water, circled around,
dipped their wings, and disappeared. I saw a piece of bamboo floating
in the water, pushing it; I slowly paddled toward shore, about
one-half mile away. Lt. Toshino and Mr. Wata, still on the ship, were
shooting prisoners possibly the "coup de grace" rather freely.
As we neared shore we were rounded up in a group in waist-deep water;
there we remained all day-shivering from cold and fright.
We were in Subic Bay, a large and beautiful harbor, and the site of a
large U.S. Naval base (Olangapo). We were surrounded with the jungles
and mountains of Bataan. Cy Delong and I decided we would climb up on
the sea wall and rest.
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