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February 15, 1945

On the night of February 12, at around midnight a barrage of gunfire suddenly erupted and lasted until 7:00 a.m. without any interval! It was terrifying beyond words! The college shook from the cannon fire and trench mortars! Bullets were flying so thick that it sounded like a hailstorm! Everybody stayed in their rooms as the walls are of concrete and it was safe. Those people whose rooms were upstairs had to run to the stairwell which was made of concrete.

The next day was quiet. There was only an occasional shot. At 4:30 that afternoon I went to the chapel to attend the rosary, which was moved to the library downstairs. Then at 5:30 we ate our supper hurriedly for fear the shooting would begin again.

Eight o’clock had just struck and it was accompanied by a volley of shots. The shooting had started as we expected, and continued through the night with only a few minutes of interval. The USAFFE are trying to retake Jaro and Iloilo, but I do not believe they can, as the Japanese are reinforced and well entrenched. I cannot understand why they cannot wait for the Americans. They are doing more harm to the civilians and to themselves. Their casualties have been high, and the civilian homes are being burned.

It was quiet all day on the 14th, until 8:00 p.m. when the shooting started again. The shooting was not quite so heavy, and there were longer intervals. I made up my mind I must get some sleep and relax, so I took some cardiosedol and retired. I heard 10 o’clock strike and no more till 4:30 this morning. I remained awake for an hour, then slept again till 7 o’clock. The shooting was still going on, and Coné said, “It went on all night, but not so heavy as the previous night.”

As I am writing this, I can hear cannon fire and trench mortars a short distance from the college.