Blood Brothers: A Medic's Sketch Book

The purpose of Blood Brothers is to acquaint the reader with a series of harrowing incidents experienced by the isolated U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East during World War II.

We might well be voicing the words of Saint Paul which were recorded in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter I) verse 8:

"For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life!"

Of his First Guerrilla Regiment, General Douglas MacArthur stated that "He had acquired a force behind the Japanese lines that would have a far reaching effect on the war in the days to come"; that it had kept "Freedom's Flames burning brightly throughout the Philippines"; that it had produced a "human drama with few parallels in military history"; and later, during the landing in Lingayen Gulf, had "accomplished the purposes of practically a front line division."

MacArthur further stated that "the courageous and splendid resistance maintained by you and your command filled me with pride and satisfaction."

Of the Hell Ship Oryoku Maru, Gen. James O. Gillespie stated "it was probably the most horrible story of suffering endured by prisoners of war during World War II."

Gen. John Beall further stated, "You say a lot of things that need to be said, lest the United States forgets the horrors of the way the Japanese treated our prisoners."

In writing Blood Brothers, I found it necessary to resort to frequent flashbacks; and to keep the reader aware of the history taking place around the world, I tried to make reference to these events as they happened, even when they were merely rumors.

This story has not been pleasant to write; I'm glad it is finally finished.

In Blood Brothers, there are no heroes. The survivors of the Philippines arrived home in 1945, quietly and without recognition, to be admitted to hospitals near their homes.

With winners and heroes everywhere, there was no time for "Losers."

Eugene C. Jacobs

"Our senses can grasp nothing that is extreme! Too much noise deafens us! Too much light blinds us! Too far or too near prevents our seeing! Too long or too short is beyond understanding! Too much truth stuns us!"

Blaise Pascal

*General Harold K. Johnson, a former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, had been a former Japanese prisoner-of-war, had experienced each and every event as it happened to other P.O.W.s, and had been an excellent friend through more than thirty years of Army service; he had agreed to write this PREFACE; unfortunately, this was followed by a long hospitalization ending in terminal cancer.

CONTENTS

I Bombs Fall on Camp John Hay, Rest and Recreation Center, in the Philippines

II The Orange Plan (WPOIII)

III MacArthur's First Guerrilla Regiment

Col. Warner Surrenders the 14th Infantry

Japanese Prisoner of War Camp No.1, Cabanatuan

IV Japanese Atrocities

V Americans

VI "Old" Bilibid Prison

VII Japan Detail - Oriental Tour - Strictly Third Class

X Japan

XI Camp Hoten, Mukden, Manchuria

XII Japan Surrenders

XIII Start Home

XIV The Good Old U.S.A

XV Borrowed Time

Appendix

Acknowledgments

*MY SKETCHES

During the first few weeks of our incarceration in Japanese Prisoner-of-War Camp No.1 in the Philippines, 1,500 (25% of our 6,000 captives) died of starvation, malnutrition, various vitamin deficiencies, malaria, diphtheria and various wounds that would not heal. I knew that within another 6 to 8 months, we would all be dead, and there would be no record of it. There was no paper to keep any record of events.