Click Here To Go To Part One
Home
Click Here
To Go To
Part Two
Home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pork Stew | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It was probably in 1943, that somehow the Japs had been connned into giving us a little pig to raise. Where the extra food came from to feed the pig is a question I can't answer, because we had little enough for ourselves. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The plan was to feed him and butcher him at Christmas time and cook him for our Christmas dinner. You can imaging how a little pig could feed about 2000 starving prisoners! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The long-awaited meal finally arrived! I can remember looking down into a glorious stew in my mess tin. It was about one inch deep, no lean meat, but bits of rind with a few bristles, floating in a greyish, oily liquid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I had saved some salt, and had carefully picked the balls of mud out of it. I fully intended to enjoy this meal! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Well, I did enjoy it. Like everyone else, I sat on the edge of my bed in the hospital ward and silently savoured the delicious stew. Then, like everyone else, I scrubbed out my dish with sand and water, hung it up over my bed and went to sleep. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During the night I awoke with an uneasy, urgent feeling. Before long I realized that a system accostomed for so long to a diet of rice and greens, and not much else, would react violently to a sudden dose of "fat" food. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 34 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I got to my feet, slipped on my wooden clogs and my old "kahki drill" jacket, and set out with all muscles clenched. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The latrines were a good distance from our hut, past the morgue, past a sweet potato patch, past the showers, and over by the sea wall. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 37 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There was a curfew in the camp, of course. No one was allowed outside after dark, but the Jap quarter guards recognized certain emergencies, and permitted access to the latrines if necessary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 38 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 39 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On this particular Christmas night it was dark: so dark that I couldn't see anything when I stepped outside.It was also cold. I would guess about forty degrees, which is cold when all one has on is a fandochi and a cotton jacket. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 41 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The darkness didn't bother me. I knew the way to the latrine, about two hundred fifty paces away, and knew I had to cross the floor of a burnt-out building. .Fifty paces beyond the showers lay the object of my journey. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I had hardly taken ten steps when something cold and hard caught me across the throat, accompanied with a loud "KURA"! Those Japs moved as silently as mice on their rubber soled sneakers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 46 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My clenched muscles faltered a little, but I recovered before much was lost, and answered, "BENJO,BENJO, BIOKI". Toilet, toilet, sick! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 47 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After a few more "kuras" from the guard, and a few "benjo, benjo"s dommy, dommy, bioki, from me, I was allowed to move on. I crossed the old cement floor and headed for the potato patch, a little faster now, because I had lost precious time with the guard, and my needs were becoming more urgent. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Page 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Photo Gallery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Suddenly my wooden clogs struck something unfamiliar, and I realized that the owner of the potatoes had chosen that day to dig them up. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click Here To Go To Part One Home |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My muscles failed me again, but again I was able to recover enough to make the rest of the trip worthwhile. I decided that the best thing to do was to detour around the potato patch, rather than to risk stumbling through the middle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I went past the showers at a fast clip, and headed into the home stretch. Only forty or fifty yards to go! By the time I reached the door of the latrine, I was breathing a sigh of relief. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Latrine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click Here To Go To Part Two Home |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The latrine was a long narrow building, with about twelve or fifteen stalls, each about three feet wide, on each side of an aisle that ran the full length. Each stall had a supporting bar, and under the bar was placed the "honey bucket". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All of the stalls were not in use, and the practice was to remove the buckets daily, dump them and wash them out, wash the floor and place the buckets on the other side of the aisle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The next day the latrine detail would reverse the process. The vacant stalls would be barred off with a strand of barbed wire, leaving only the operating stalls open. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Links | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This arrangement was further complicated by the fact that not all of the stalls were in use, only about six of them. Three or four stalls on each end of each side were permanently barred off, so that only five or six on each side were in regular use. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In my anxiety, as I turned into the pitch-black interior of the latrine, I bolted immediately for what I thought was the side in use for that day. I ran into a strand of barbed wire and realized my mistake, but not before suffering another minor mishap in my fandochi. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please mail me | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please View My Guestbook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||