What did you do while waiting to be rescued?
We didn't do anything! There was no place to go. We just sat around the camp, talked about old times and, mostly, what we were going to eat when we got out. You would be surprised with the concoctions we cooked up! Our food supplies from the Japanese increased. We received more rice, fish and soybeans from Japanese civilians who delivered our food daily by truck. American cooks prepared all the food we ate. One day a guard who had been in charge of us at the machine shop came and invited the two of us from the shop to dinner at his house. Other than that, I never left camp.

Weren't you getting frustrated and anxious to get out of there?
Yes. We wondered when the team was coming. That sergeant landed in the later part of August 1945. We never saw another American until we left on our own and got on board the hospital ship. As long as we were in camp, food and essential items kept coming by airdrop. The planes would drop notes giving us a variety of information about what was going on. They even told us about the WACs and the WAVES. We had no idea there were women in the service! They also told us about a point system and how you earned points. A soldier needed so many points to be discharged. Well, everyone that was a POW had more points than they knew what to do with. (Laughter) When we started totaling points, we thought we could sell some of our points to someone else. We stayed in camp until September 15, 1945. Finally the camp commander, Lieutenant Sense, went to the Japanese camp commandant, "The One-Armed Bandit" and made it very clear he expected a train at the siding the next morning. That day, September 14, 1945, everyone was issued new Japanese military uniforms.

How did you feel about putting those on?
We didn't mind because our clothing was pretty dingy. Surprisingly enough, everybody got a pretty good fit although the pants were baggy. The next day, on September 15, 1945, the train was there. We got on board and took off!

What kind of train was it?
It was a passenger train with good accommodations. The cars were day coaches, but we didn't care. We had food! Periodically the train would stop and pick up box lunches, rice balls, apples, fruits, vegetables, and other items.

How did you know where to go?
We had no idea where we were going but the Japanese did. "The One-Armed Bandit" came along and told the train master where to go. He knew there was a hospital ship in the harbor. In fact, there were several U.S. hospital ships and other types of ships in the various bays or ports in the area.

How long did it take the train to get to the hospital ship? (Jane)
It took about a day and one half to get there. We had the right of way completely through! We went through Tokyo, (it was all burned out) and down to a bay where the hospital ship "Mercy" was waiting for us. Ferries took us out to the ship.

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