October 20, 1944
October 20, 1944
We heard today that Leyte landings were a reality, and we were certain that help was near.
Tressa Cates
(September 14, 1903 — May 6, 1991). Nurse at Sternberg General Military Hospital. Interned with her future husband in Santo Tomas, 1942-45.
October 22, 1944
October 22, 1944
In a morning Nishi-Nishi thrown over the wall by a brave Filipino, the editorial stated that: “A Grave Mistake Had Been Made by Landing at
October 26, 1944
October 26, 1944
Another smuggled Nishi-Nishi reported: “A large American convoy had been sighted northeast of the Philippines. At Leyte, the Japanese had retired to the hills to
October 27, 1944
October 27, 1944
When our bombers failed to show up today, we could have wept from disappointment.
October 28, 1944
October 28, 1944
The younger men in camp, who had been doing the heavy manual work, were informed by the Commandant that they would have to start another
October 29, 1944
October 29, 1944
Hallelujah! Our bombers came three different times today! Japanese guns barked frantically but ineffectively at our bombers. Seemingly unperturbed, our bombers taxied in and out
October 30, 1944
October 30, 1944
Our adult death rate was climbing, and many of the older ones who had no supplementary food were dead or on the critical list. There
October 31, 1944
October 31, 1944
The heavy rains beat into our lean-to with its three open sides, and Catesy and I worked frantically to protect our cooking equipment and small
November 3, 1944
November 3, 1944
The faces of the elderly people in camp had a drawn and fixed look and their legs, no longer resembling legs, were grotesquely edematous. The
November 5, 1944
November 5, 1944
This was a thrilling and exhausting day! Five air raids! During the first raid, we watched over two hundred of our bombers dropping their loads
November 7, 1944
November 7, 1944
At 4 A.M., my aide and I stepped out of the hospital door to watch our bombers dive-bombing into the Bay Area. It was a
November 8, 1944
November 8, 1944
Today was another day of tension and anxiety, as the Nips continued with their surprise raids on buildings and shanty areas. They hounded us to
November 9, 1944
November 9, 1944
The Military Police from Fort Santiago made another surprise raid on the camp. This time it was the Santa Catalina hospital. Again, they paid particular
November 10, 1944
November 10, 1944
Roosevelt won by a landslide and the Americans made another landing in the Philippines! This was the news passed around today, so we knew the
November 11, 1944
November 11, 1944
“Here she comes with her wee-wee can!” announced Catesy. Though he winked at me, he wrinkled his nose distastefully. It was Mrs. Greenshoes stomping belligerently
November 12, 1944
November 12, 1944
One of our neighbors near our lean-to became hysterical tonight after eating his tiny scoopful of watery rice and tainted fish. “I’m starving!” His loud
November 13, 1944
November 13, 1944
Our bombers raided the Bay area, and what a shellacking they gave the Nips! They came wave after wave and, like marionettes, they executed their
November 14, 1944
November 14, 1944
Enemy aircraft awakened me more efficiently than my alarm would have done at 2:45 a.m. I looked out of my window and saw that the
November 15, 1944
November 15, 1944
The reign of terror continued. We had another cut in our rice ration, and the searching of rooms and shacks was intensified. We now had
November 16, 1944
November 16, 1944
The rumor persisted that more landings had been made in Luzon. Surely, it wouldn’t be long now. Another death today.
November 17, 1944
November 17, 1944
How desperately we wanted to believe the Luzon landings! How closely we watched the actions of the Nips in here, in the hopes that they’d
November 19, 1944
November 19, 1944
We always expected our bombers on Sunday and they didn’t disappoint us today. Again, the Manila harbor area received a great deal of punishment, and
November 20, 1944
November 20, 1944
Who would have thought a year ago that rice would become so precious? We had another cut in our rice ration. Kay’s delicate sister sold
November 21, 1944
November 21, 1944
We had eleven new cases of bacillary at the kids’ hospital, and as I doled out the sulfa to the kids, I took twice the
November 22, 1944
November 22, 1944
The hungrier we became, the more we talked about the expected arrival of the Red Cross kits. The Nips were approached today by our patient
November 25, 1944
November 25, 1944
Distressingly tired and ill again, and though I tried to conceal it from Catesy, I knew that he knew. Knowing that he was worried about
November 26, 1944
November 26, 1944
The frequent visits of our bombers pepped us up. Today we watched many of our raiders diving and dropping their bombs, and when one of
November 29, 1944
November 29, 1944
Camp energy had reached a dangerously low ebb. School had to be closed as students and teachers were far too hungry and weak to concentrate