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December 1, 2012
I am sad about your memoirs of the war, but those stories should be told so that the young ones would know what the old ones had sacrificed. I was born long time after the war, but being a native of Bataan, the WWII history became my passion, especially the stories of the men and women who spied against the Japanese. I am so sad with your story of the liberation period, i.e. sack of Manila. In the book I wrote: Code Name High Pickets (true story of Claire Phillips, and American Matahari, and the resistance during WWII in the Philippines), I titled that chapter as "Death for Liberation." I reckoned that a lot of NOKs of the American soldiers who fought here detest Gen. MacArthur. I almost joined their club until I read more, about the Sixth Army under General Krueger. It is my understanding that anyone would never have guessed what would have happened if the Sixth Army skipped the Philippines and attacked Formosa instead.
-EDNA BAUTISTA BINKOWKSI, BATAAN
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November 10, 2001
"Thank you for having a website that helps others, who have endured the hardship of WWII in the Philippines, interact
with each other.
"I am a son of a Philippine Scout. My father used to tell me about the war, how he endured the Death March, and how
he and his buddies escaped together, but almost died in the process due to malaria. I met one of his friends by
happenstance in the Bay Area. I suppose it's fate that they survived out of that chaos."
-FLORANTE PATIO
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May 16, 2001
"What an account of a terrible period for the Philippines! My wife, Amparo, has
famiy who describe the Lingayen area when the Americans landed, with American bombs
destroying houses and their relative who was shot accidentally by Americans while
riding a bicycle to Lingayen.
"Thank you very much for sharing your memories of the great tragedy for the Philippines in WWII."
-RAY BACON, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
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May 6, 2001
"I was one of those 50 or 60 little boys that Jim Turner described who would show up at the U.S. Army field
camp and anxiously wait for food that would be ladled out to us. The field camp was at the bank of the Aringay
river in the province of La Union. We would run to the camp at mealtime and wait for our turn to be called and then
make a run for the front of the line. I can still smell the aroma and taste that 'mana from heaven.'
"Thank you, America, for your kindness."
-ISMAEL M. NAANEP, M.D., DES MOINES, IOWA
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April 6, 2001
"In February of 1945, I was sent to Lingayen, Luzon, from an army hospital in
New Guinea. I remember with considerable pleasure the unmatched hospitality of the
Filipino people I came to know.
"Your stories of the brutalities of the Japs are quite similar to those told me by
filipino kids and grownups.
"One of my memories is of a daily line of 50 or 60 kids with tin cans waiting for
leftover food we otherwise would have thrown into the garbage cans.
"It's my understanding from the few Filipino immigrants I've met that people in the
Philippines today generally don't feel the friendliness toward Americans that was
accorded me and my army friends. I wish it were not so.
"With cordial feelings,"
-JIM TURNER
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February 14, 2001
"My dad was in the Royal Navy defending Java from the Japs. The USS Pope was a slower destroyer than
the HMS Exeter, the cruiser my dad was on. Dad’s ship was crippled in the battle and the captain told
the USS Pope to run for it. The USS Pope put up a smoke screen around my dad’s ship so that the men
could get off her in relative safety. The Japs could not understand bravery such as that. In the
end, the USS Pope was outrun and sunk too. My dad was picked up by the Japs after three days in the
sea covered in oil.
"After six months in Makassar, Borneo, he was taken to Nagasaki, Japan to work as a slave laborer
on the docks of a small island on Nagasaki Bay. He was there for three years. The conditions were
terrible both at the docks and the camp. He broke his arm and ribs when he fell on the dry dock.
Punishment was meted out for the slightest offence and there were daily beatings with baseball bats.
Some men were held for days without food or water in a cage 4x4x4 feet. A man could not lay or stand
in it. Many survived, but some did not. One man was held in solitary confinement for two years for
striking a guard. He survived. My dad along with all the other men suffered lice, fleas, beri beri,
scurvy, dysentery and malnutrition. Most weighed less than 100lbs. On guy from the USS Pope was a
hunchback. The Japs beat his back until he died. Why did a brave sailor who was disabled need to
be beaten to death? Ask the Japanese. Only they know the answer.
"To this day, the young Japanese are not a bit remorseful for their country’s terrible treatment
of so many people. In fact they are very arrogant and insulting to people like me who, as a
young boy, had to live with father and all his problems. It has left a lifelong impression
on me. My dad died aged fifty in 1972. His life was cut short by three years of hard work,
savagery and starvation.
"That’s all I wanted to say and thanks for the website. Anyone can email me if they want, but
please no Japanese…I have had enough of them."
-PHIL TRIPCONY, UK [web page]
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December 31, 2000
"I enjoyed reading your story of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. I identified
with it instantly because I have been told almost the exact stories by my father. He too
lived through the occupation. He was eight years old at the time. He lost his father and
was kept alive by his strong-willed mother also and two brothers.
"It is amazing how your story is almost identical to his. The part with the Americans and the
'Tommy Helmets', made me snicker because my father just told me today that the people he was
with thought that the Americans were Russians. Then he heard the American voices as they were
instructed to cross the street before more shelling occurred. I am 36 years old, have four children
and am documenting all of this down for my children. My father's memory fades in and out on
the horrific sites you both endured. But, every little bit he can remember is a piece of gold for
my children and their children. My only regret is that I did not get involved in tracing our family
roots until these past two years.
"As you have done, I am trying to convince my father to print up him memories. He is a very proud
and shy man and has not felt the need to do this yet except through me.
"I thank you for your heartfelt story, your details are amazing.
"God Bless,"
-CANDACE VACEK
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August 27, 2000
"Thank you for sharing this story with us. Your description of your experience is vivid. Your story touched me and gave me
further insight into what war was really like.
"I hope other people out there will take the time to share their experiences of the war with us.
Whenever I read my history textbook, I feel pity for the people who died during the war and those
who survived but suffered greatly. Although WWII was very tragic, it taught us that we must stand up
for our country and fight instead of depending on others to protect us. May your story
continue to touch the soul of the millions out there.
"God bless you,"
-STEPHANIE
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May 31, 2000
"I loved your article. It was very interesting.
"I was born on Clark Field in 1969.
"My mother is Spanish with some Filipino ancestry (her grandmother was
half). My grandfather was a tobacco grower and the family was
Isabella at the out break of the war. I have heard a lot about the war, mostly
through fragmented vignettes here and there. Recently, I saw a picture of my
Uncle sitting on a chair next to an old radio. The picture was from the
50's. I asked my mother about the radio, she said that the Americans had given
it to my grandfather. When I asked why, she said to talk to the Americans
about the Japanese. When I asked if that was dangerous, she said, 'Yes.'
Then she after a pause, she said that the Japanese had found out and
come to kill them. Apparently, by chance they were able to get away and went
in hiding in the mountains.
"Also recently, I watched a documentary of the war in PI that mentioned
how escaped Americans fought in the resistance. I remembered the names of
one of the men mentioned and when I asked my uncle about it, he said that my
Uncle Restituto was friends with that American during the war. It seems
that they were involved in guerrilla activities together. I also
learned the my uncle Juaning was smuggling Quinine to the Americans.
"All of what I have learned about the war I have learned in this way.
No one has ever had any sort of a narrative or detailed account of what
happened. It has been fragmented and broken up. I printed your story
to give to my mother. When I was a child in the Philippines, you could
still see the old battle emplacements, guns and
artillery were still in the towns and people still drove around in the
old trucks. The war was not forgotten at that point and it was very much
alive in that many clues to it's existence were clear. I think that it left
an impression on me that many had suffered to create the world that I lived
in...
"Thanks for writing the account of your experiences.
"Sincerely,"
-JOHN STUMBAUGH
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May 9, 2000
"Your are four years older than I am and I could really relate to your story. I was searching the Internet for information on World War Two when I came
across your web page. I had to read it all at once. God bless you. I was raised in the safety of New Jersey and did not know how hard things were for others.
I'm very glad things worked out for you, you did pay your dues. God Bless you.
"Sincerely,"
-BARBARA KUTZER
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April 16, 2000
"Your story had me riveted to my seat. Why don't you turn this into a movie? Thank you for writing this down for all of us."
-Si50@aol.com
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April 4, 2000
"I just read the fascinating memoir of your childhood experiences in Manila during WWII. My dad (Filipino/Chinese) came to the
U.S. in the late '20's, married my mom (Scotch-Irish) whom he met at UC Berkeley. Thus, I am also a mestizo, but born and raised
in the San Francisco Bay area. (By the way, it was fascinating to learn that your wife is from Indiana. My family and I were
transfered to Indiana in 1989, and we are now living in Fort Wayne).
"I was 9 years old when the war started, and was living not far from the Little Tokyo in S.F. Many of my friends and school mates
were Americans of Japanese ancestry, and I remember being confused when they were sent to relocation centers. Although my parents did
not talk about this with me, as kids we did not comprehend why these issues involved our friends and neighbors.
"Years later, when I was attending high school in Los Angeles (about 1948), one of my Nisei friends, Tom K., was elected our class president
by a rather large margin. Considering that the student body was made up of a rich mixture of Anglos, Chicanos, Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese
and Blacks, it is significant that Tom attracted such a wide margin of victory. We were still kids, and we had welcomed back our long
lost friends. Our parents, however, mine included, were a bit agitated as I recall. Another cause for confusion for me -- after all, Tom
was not the enemy."
-"Phil" SERAFIN L. LAZO
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January 8, 2000
"My name is Paul and I am 11 years old. I read your story because I was writing a report on the Philippines. I liked your story,
it made me cry.
"Thank you."
-PAUL GIFFORD
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January 1, 2000
"Your story was outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The war affected so many innocent civilians. We hear about the statistics of
dead or wounded soldiers, but some of the most moving stories are of those who did not serve, but lost so much.
"Thank you for this."
-ANDREW HEATH
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