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Picture of Elizabeth Vaughan

Elizabeth Vaughan

Elizabeth Head Vaughan (1905 - September 29, 1957) journalist and Sociologist. Interned in the Bacolod Internment Camp and Santo Tomas internment camp in Manila, 1942-45.

Thursday, January 22, 1942

First air alarm today. Twelve two-motored bombers flew directly over the Central at 2:30 P.M, Servants saw planes approaching and came running in house calling

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Monday, February 9, 1942

Sugar mill reopened after having been closed two weeks while bodega was being built to house extra sugar. All available space, including at present unused

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Sunday, February 22, 1942

Planes—one or two at a time—several days last week. Everyone looking up but not able to distinguish whether Japanese. No doubt about lone plane yesterday

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Thursday, February 26, 1942

Quezon (Pres.) and Osmenia [Osmeña] (Vice-President) arrived in Bacolod by submarine for a conference with sugar mill owners and managers. All mills must close on

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Sunday, March 1, 1942

Cebu and the coast of Negros (near Dumaguete) shelled by Japanese destroyer. Cebu shelled because Japanese thought Quezon was there, but he and his party

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Saturday, March 7, 1942

Mr. Worster (son of Dean Worster) and Mr. Wilson (owner of Wilson Building, Manila) here today. Now in Marine Reserve Corps. Many prominent business men

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Sunday, March 8, 1942

Javat off the air, Batavia has fallen. Mindora [Mindoro] in PI. occupied. All are talking of fleeing to the mountains. Still no evacuation houses built,

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Tuesday, March 17, 1942

Saint Patrick’s Day—but a big day—100th day of war and General MacArthur placed in command of all forces in Far East. Optimism high. We’ve felt,

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Sunday, March 22, 1942

Bacolod, our home, and La Carlota, on this island, machine-gunned by four low-flying Japanese planes. A bus in Bacolod riddled but all passengers had fled

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Monday, March 23, 1942

Two cables from the States—first messages since the beginning of the war—from Emestine, who asked if I needed anything (nothing, not even money, can be

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Friday, March 27, 1942

Trainloads of boxed goods going to the end of the sugar cane track line and thence across gulleys and mountainsto our evacuation camp. A cable

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Sun., Mar. 29, 1942

Sunday dinner at the Yangco hacienda, “Floencia,” named for Mrs. Yangco, Flora. Such quiet and peace here. None of the signs of war hysteria as

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Wed., Apr. 1, 1942

The air offense against Corregidor is lessening. Japanese first sent 64 planes, then 47, then groups of three. Now only two planes come at a

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Thurs., April 2, 1942

Amah disappeared today, did not return from her breakfast. She’s been singing and humming last year’s love ballads all working hours and getting herself into

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Wed., Apr. 8, 1942

Easter has passed. It was another stretch of daylight in our unending series of lightness and darkness. Except for the calendar and a few hastily

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Thurs., Apr. 9, 1942

“the Voice of Freedom” from somewhere in the Philippines, broadcast last night at 7:30, and news from KGEI, San Francisco, at 8:00 were both gloomy

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Fri., Apr. 10, 1942

The things that go through one’s mind in a crisis. During the long hours last night, I recalled standing on the deck of the Greystone

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Tuesday, April 14, 1942

Left Central at 7:00 a.m. for evacuation to camp in the hills. In the group: six women—Mdmes. Woods, Conant, Brown, Gibbs, McMaster, Vaughan; five children—June

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Fri., Apr. 17, 1942

Wife of one of carpenters came to wash children’s clothes today. Surprised to find she spoke a little English. She set own wage, 6 pesos

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Mon., Apr. 20, 1942

Motherhood is a strange phenomenon. Today I gave myself entirely to my children, responding to their every whim and wish. In the afternoon I gasped

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