[Separate sheet with date; recto contains text, verso of this sheet contains typewritten document.]
Dec. 29th–
The man next to me fed himself a spoonful of mush this morning & two spoons of soup this noon – Then I fed him the rest – But it was the first step towards doing something for himself – How wonderful it is to see the rebirth of his will to live –
To offset this, the man in front of me is dying – Literally by inches – just when it seems he is going over, he grabs hold of some secret reserve and struggles back – The doctors have given up hope for him –
Out of the 37 patients in this ward 10 are dying & 15 more will not last another six weeks – Every day brings new cases – mostly heart & kidney defects aggravated by starvation –
[Separate sheet with date]
Dec. 29th (con)
Beri-beri and dysentery are on the increase.
6 planes flew over at 11:45 A.M. – A little anti-aircraft fire, but no bombing –
There are rumors that on New Years Day we are to receive packages from the neutral Welfare Committee – 1 kilo rice, 1/2 kilo sugar, 1/2 kilo peanuts, tobacco and cigarettes -We are skeptical – Everything points towards even worse conditions than we are experiencing at the present time –
It is two weeks now since the landings on Polillo and Mindoro – Soon something should break!