Yesterday morning, Cav. Maning Gomez ’41, my irrepressible ExO, after coming from our Bulletin Board excitedly exclaimed, “Eureka, we will be liberated from Capas tomorrow.” I went to the BB and saw a long list of officers alerted for transfer to Camp Dau, Pampanga. All from our Malolos Group are included in the list.
And so at 0800 today, we assembled with our belongings at the Camp’s main gate where we boarded trucks for Capas Railway Station. This is a big group, all officers who all seem healthy the way they marched. We boarded the southbound 1100 H train and debarked at Mabalacat, Pampanga RR Stn., thence transported a short distance to nearby huge former FA Training Camp Dau where we saw several cattle grazing that whetted our appetite for steak dinner. We were systematically assigned to our respective barracks with spacious living quarters, running water and toilet facilities that made us feel like human beings again. The food is better than Capas and we, POWs from Malolos, are very thankful we only stayed eight days in Capas.
The entire day is devoted to setting us up in our new place –organization and familiarization. I learned that our group is about 1,400 not so sick POWs and the main purpose of our being here is to undergo “Rejuvination Training” starting tomorrow. I am suspicious what this rejuvination is all about and what will happen after. However, I am happy to see many classmates and officers I know personally with this group I had no time to locate during my short eight days in that big sprawling and frightening Capas POW Camp.