Last few days have had some excitement. Last evening we, Pvt. Cronnell from Bks 7, Group I escaped from the farm. We proceeded to a small barrio, a five kilometer from camp where we were detected & held by Filipino constabulary. The Nips were called, they proceeded to give him a very tough beating, breaking both arms and legs. This is not being enough, they bayonnetted him in the legs, stomach and neck. One bayonetted wound through the side of the head tearing out the eye.
They then beat his head with a club, flastering it out from his nose upward. He was then finished with by 3 or 4 shots through different parts of the body. His body was brought in the camp, placed in the hospital morgue & tagged “Do not bury this man yet”. This order was to enable others with ideas of escape to see the body. The body was so mutilated that the men was unrecognizable. Due to the colonised condition that the men in the camp had gradually reached such unmerciful & inhuman treatment has no effects upon them. O’Connell was very stupid in entering a barrio so close to the prison camp to begin with. He was out of the 4th pursuit Squadron U.S. Corps. Mel Morgan came over to visit me this afternoon. He showed me a note he had received from a friend in Manila. By name of Papaya, a Filipino common who has helped over 90 popkin this camp in the way of money food & clothing. She was the only Filipino woman member of the Manila Stock Exchange. In the note she informed me that a neighbor of his (not a friendly one) had pointed out his home to the Japanese military authorities. Mrs. Del Rocca is her name. Probably is an informer to the Japs. They proceeded to take everything inside the house and dispose of it. He was very blue over it as it meant the loss of many valuable articles plus valuable stock & paper on mines in the Philippines. Also a couple of expensive rings. Of sentimental value which had been in his family for well over 200 years. Also some of the most beautiful furniture in the Philippines. Also received news that his former secretary Watanabe had been killed in an auto accident. One of the few good nips.
Nips beat up a men this morning. Some too seriously, but bad enough, 2 boys out of my barracks, Lt. Debrere, & Col. Bur, were 4 of them. They get medicine as hell ever so often, why I don’t know. Read Jap papers, “Memories of Guadalcanal” was a laugh. Told about a.m. pilots chasing a lone Jap officer around and around a tree and straffing him.
Detail hasn’t left yet some as though it may go to Japan.