When we boarded, everyone threw their Japanese clothes into the bay! That bay was loaded with Japanese military uniforms!

Was the ship's crew surprised to see you?
No. They were expecting us. I suspect the Japanese told them. "The One-Armed Bandit" helped us get to the hospital ship. He had caused a lot of misery, but compared with other Japanese, he wasn't a bad guy.

Was he tried as a war criminal after the war?
Yes. Lieutenant Sense went back to Japan for his trial and testified in his behalf. As a result, he was exonerated and freed.

What happened when you got on board?
They gave us a physical and put us to bed. We stayed in the bay for about a day and one half.

I'll bet it was nice to stay in bed and take it easy.
It was. We stayed in bed and rested for about a day. After that, we could get up and walk around. We were getting three meals a day. We were headed for a rest and recuperation camp outside Manila. The ship had to slow down and wait because they weren't ready to receive us in Manila.

How long did it take the ship to get there?
It took about four days.

How did you feel when you arrived at Manila Bay? What did everything look like?
There were still sunken ships in the harbor. I was surprised because we hadn't seen much of Manila the last time. The Japanese had transported us in trucks from Clark Field to Manila and then directly to Bilibid prison. This time we were transported in open trucks and we could see everything was devastated from bombing and shelling!

How did you feel coming back to a place where you had been a prisoner of the Japanese?
It brought back some very unpleasant memories as well as some pleasant memories. However, everybody was euphoric when we sailed in. The Army had built this camp especially for military personnel's rest and recuperation and we were anxious to get there. It was located about twenty miles south of Manila. After we arrived, the officer in charge said we couldn't leave, but, if we were hungry, we could to go any kitchen at any time and request whatever we wanted. If the cooks had it, they would fix it for us! They did, day or night!

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