All Quiet continue in all fronts. Major Sidney Huff summoned me to USAFFE HQ and his purpose is to “borrow” the inflatable rubber raft of Q-112 to serve as sample for additional such rafts he will order. I learned that my raft is the only one still usable among the Torpedo Boats and so I left it at Malinta Tunnel.
I also learned from Maj. Huff that USS Swordfish that took Pres. Quezon and party from Corregidor four nights ago, for reasons unknown to me, unloaded her passengers at San Jose, Antique, returned to Corregidor, picked up U.S. High Commissioner Francis B. Sayre and party and quietly departed last night presumably for Australia. It was my presumption also that when Pres. Quezon and party left, they were headed for Australia. It seems his desire not to abandon his countrymen is still paramount in his mind so he is still in the Visayas.
While our troops apparently appear to have good morale, the non-arrival of expected reinforcements — that imagined miles and miles of convoy of ships — plus the food shortages, difficulties in the Bataan jungles with its fierce mosquitos, all these contribute to doubts and apprehensions. Due to lack of food, the Cavalry horses were all eaten by this time and many edible items are being discovered in Bataan forests. A group of young American soldiers calling themselves “Battling Bastards of Bataan” even composed a song which goes something like this: “We’re the Battling Bastards of Bataan. No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam. No Aunts, No Uncles, No Cousins, No Nieces. No, Pills, No Planes, No Artillery Pieces. . . . . And Nobody Gives a Damn.”
Now that Q-111 main engines are being overhauled to take advantage of the lull, Q-112 and Q-113 will alternate in the nightly patrols of Manila Bay. The officers and men of USS Canopus well-camouflaged to blend with Gorda Point west of Sisiman Cove are of invaluable assistance keeping our torpedoes charged and their shops ready to help us anytime. We, from OSP, are very grateful to them.