CHAPTER 21

 

NOTO MARU

 

Two days later I was in a truck, headed for the docks! As we waited nervously to board the rather small, rusty freighter, I felt I would not see home again. The very thought of going to Japan was quite unsettling, and I had the urge to jump from the dock and hide! It was August 27, 1944.

The Jap guards began yelling, something we were quite used to, and men ahead of me were forced up the gang-plank in single file. Eventually it was my turn to advance up the narrow walk-way which was steep and tottery. When I stepped down onto the deck, I saw the man ahead of me disappearing down a very steep ladder into one of the holds. I had to turn around and go down backwards because the ladder was almost vertical. Glancing down, I saw that it was very dark and gloomy, and I couldn’t see the bottom.

Halfway down the ladder I began to see the floor of the hold. Upon reaching the deck I was pushed back into the gloomy interior. I was ordered to turn around, and sit on the deck, my back against the knees of the man behind me! The air was already stale and odorous, and it was quite obvious this undertaking would not be a pleasant voyage! More men groped down the ladder and the hold rapidly filled. Turning my head, I found I was one third of the way from the back of the hold. The only light came from the hatch above, which was partially open. One of my neighbors told me a large, bamboo tub near the ladder was our only benjo’. 

The man next to me muttered, “It’s going to be a very long journey!” 

My neighbor, just in front of me laughed and said “I think this will beat walking or swimming!” He introduced himself as Lt. Peter Perkins. We were to become good friends as time progressed.

Shortly before midnight the ship raised anchor and we were on our way! Some of the men were very resourceful, and quickly devised ways to hang blankets, shelter-halves and other materials up above a shelf that ran around the inside of the ship’s hull. These make-shift hammocks looked comfortable from below, but some of them broke loose during the voyage and the man often fell onto the “shelf” or plunged down on the men below. It is needless to describe the chaos caused by these “accidents”.

By moving up off the deck, those defying gravity and the pitching of the boat, opened up more space on the crowded deck, allowing the rest of us to spread out a bit. It was anything but the Ritz, but certainly much better than before. There were 1035 men crammed into the tiny hold, and  Lt. Perkins laughingly said, “It’ll be just cozy, and we shan’t worry about the cold, night air!”

We were quickly aware when the ship reached the China Sea! The freighter was small, and the waves began pitching it about. As the ship pitched, likewise the contents of benjo pitched! The majority of the men were in very poor health and many grew ill as the ship rolled. I thought to myself, “and this is only the beginning!” The following morning we received our first meal. I was very hungry and I wolfed the stuff down. 

“What is this stuff?” Someone said aloud.

“Barley”, answered a voice. The voice explained that his father planted barley on their farm, and he didn’t know people ate the stuff! He thought it was grown for stock to eat, not people.

Later that day I learned eating barley created gas. I also  learned the gas created stomach cramps! Lots of them! I knew I had to eat the stuff, first, because I was hungry, and second because I would starve! We did not know how long we would be on this tub, and it was obvious I must follow the same philosophy, eat anything I could get down, and stay alive. Most of us had squeaked through numerous, life threatening situations, and this was not the time to quit! We ate the barley. One comment often heard, “If I get out of this, I’ll never eat this stuff again!” Sixty years later I still cannot eat barley! I am revolted when I see it in soup.

If the whole group here on the “Noto Maru” could have been aware of the conditions on other ships conveying POW’s to Japan, and those soon to embark on various “Hell Ships” bound for the shores of Nippon, I am quite sure we would all have leaned back amid the `luxury’ of the Noto Maru, and savored our ocean voyage! To the standards of the “average” American, the Noto Maru was indeed a “Hell Ship”, but compared to many of the prison ships, the Noto Maru was “a piece of cake”!

On a few occasions, I was among one of the small groups allowed to climb the ladder and stand near the partially opened hatch. On these marvelous ascensions to the deck of the ship, I could breath the clean, salt air. I found just looking forward to an excursion to the deck was enough to keep me going. Twelve to fifteen men were permitted up to the main deck on these occasions. Some sat on the hatch cover just forward of our hold, and some just stood around, each  breathing the fresh air.

Down in the hold was indeed, another world. The sick and the weak were becoming weaker. The dysentery and diarrhea problem among the men had advanced to the critical stage. Compared to many of the POW’s, my condition was rather miserable, but minor. I think if the voyage continued much longer, we would surely begin losing some of the very ill.

I learned Lt. Peter Perkins was a polo player before coming to the Philippines and the two of us spent long hours talking of life before our entry into the service. Pete explained to me all the technicalities involved in the game of polo. These periods of discussion pushed our presence in this grubby hold, and our hunger, to the background and whiled away many long hours. Our ramblings generally returned to our favorite subject, food. Each of us would describe our favorite dishes and restaurants.

One of our profound round table discussions on various subjects was interrupted by heavy explosions in the distance.

“That...sounds ominous!” Pete Perkins said in a low voice, “Could be depth charges.”

“You think a sub is after us lieutenant?” one of the men asked. Lt. Perkins shook his head.

“If it’s a sub, they’re not after us, too far away. If this tub is a part of a convoy, they may be after a ship in the convoy and we’ll just hope the sub stays on the outer perimeter of the formation!”

“Won’t an American sub know us prisoners are on here?” another man in the group asked.

“I don’t know,” Pete Perkins said, “they might if the Japs are flying a POW flag, or have the ship marked.”  Shortly, more distant explosions could be heard, seemingly farther away. After a considerable pause, more rumbling echoed through the hull of the ship. 

“I don’t like the sound of this!”, one man said loudly, and Pete Perkins told him to hush before he roused others. The man quieted down and we resumed our discussion.

Days rolled by and the freighter plodded along northward toward Japan. Some of the men were growing weaker, and their condition was becoming grave. One of the officers attempted to contact Japanese officials for aid and was rebuked. We could only hope we would reach our destination before any of the men expired.

The following morning I was one of twenty or thirty men permitted to climb to the deck above. I sat down on the hatch cover and scanned the horizon. I discovered we were indeed part of a convoy! Several freighters were in sight, and also two destroyers were less than a mile from our “ship”.

“I see we are not alone,” I said to no one in particular, “and that makes our odds a little better!”

 

CHAPTER 22

Preface | Frontispiece | The Road to Adventure | Angel Island | Across the Pacific | Corregidor April 22, 1941 | Duty Assignment | Battery Hartford | To The Field | War | Surrendered!| 92nd Garage | The Spoils | Goodbye Corregidor | Bilibid | Cabanatuan Camp III | Pasay School | Nichols Field | Feet on Fire | Survival | Goodbye Pasay | Noto Maru | Moji Japan to Omori | Kawasaki, Nishin Flour Mill | Air Raid | Fire Bombs! | Out of Kawasaki | Suwa in the Mountains | The War is Over | The Yanks and Tanks | In The Air To Where? | Luzon? Again! 29th Replacement | Gray Cruise Ship to Home | Madigan General Hospital, Seattle | Last Leg to Home | Fletcher General Hospital, Cambridge Ohio |

 

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