Nov. 17th
What I have expected has come to pass – our camp reserves of rice are exhausted. And starting tomorrow we will receive only 225 grams of cereal daily – nothing else – This is equal to about 950 calories – 1/3 of what we need – The children will have some milk and vegetables, so that they will have about 1100 calories, about 55% of what they need – Of course, the diet is mostly carbohydrates – there is little protein in rice & corn – But we get no meat, no sugar, almost no vegetables, no fruit, no coffee, no tea – three scoops of mush for breakfast, 1 scoop of soft boiled rice (lugao 4) for lunch and 1 scoop of rice or corn for supper –
I weigh 110 today – Down 18 pounds in 17 days – 81 pounds below my prewar weight –
“Good humor is the finest mark of courage” There is
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one thing we have that the Japanese have not: Hope – I would rather have 950 calories a day & hope than 3000 calories & despair
And many people, millions are starving throughout the world. In Poland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France China & here in the P.I. The Japanese are not eating well.
So the struggle enters its crucial stage – The Marines against Starvation –