The morning paper had this to say about Corregidor: LUXURIOUS BEYOND WORDS.
In the editorial section entitled “Corned Beef and Corregidor,” the Japan Times commented on the American excuse that the fall of Corregidor undoubtedly was caused by lack of food.
The correspondent who explored the Rock after its capture described the underground stronghold in Malinta Hill as not only intact but “luxurious beyond imagination,’ with elaborate offices containing more than one hundred typewriters, air-conditioning plants, well-filled ammunition stores, a well-stocked dining room presided over by Chinese cooks, and a canteen with an abundance of coffee, tea, Camel cigarettes, and candy.
The Japanese troops were treated by the Chinese cooks to a sumptuous meal, including corned beef, which luxury the Japanese soldier could hardly imagine.
When Belle went out on a pass today, I asked her to inquire about the hams and bacon I had stored with a Swiss and Free French family. When she returned late that afternoon, empty. handed, I knew that something had gone wrong.
“What did the French people say?” I asked excitedly
“They said that the worms got into them!’ replied Belle sadly,
“I’ll bet they were Vichy worms!” remarked Catesy.
I felt like weeping when I thought of all that good bacon and ham. It was almost priceless in the present-day market. Many days passed before I had the courage to tell Catesy that the bacon l had stored with the Swiss family was also gone.
They told Belle that it had been stolen, but later we found out that instead of being Swiss, they were Germans, and ardent Nazis, at that.