Ch 26 - Out of Kawasaki

CHAPTER 26

OUT OF KAWASAKI

One evening just after eating we were astonished to hear orders had been received for us to prepare to move out the following morning! Later we were told by Captain Cant we would be returning to Omori. Of course this was very disheartening to hear! Back to Watanabe, and who knows what else? With the intense bombing in process, Watanabe surely would be even more difficult to cope with. Our present camp had been a breeze compared to Omori, Nichols Field or Cabanatuan, and to go back to Omori was a real letdown.

We cleaned up the galley for the last time and walked over to the barracks hoping to learn anything new that might be circulating thru the troops. There was nothing new, but everyone was gloomy with the prospect of returning to Omori staring us in the face. I rested little during the night, even though it was uninterrupted by air raids, and dragged myself from my sack to face the morning, hoping I had dreamed the bad news. We were instructed to collect our belongings and be ready to move when the trucks arrived. As the trucks pulled out through the gates, I looked back at the empty camp and thought of the pleasant times with James Mac K Sloan and Freddie Harris.

The trip to Omori was drawn out by detours around bridges and numerous obstructions. Debris was piled everywhere, apparently pushed off the roads by heavy vehicles to allow traffic to proceed. Eventually the trucks pulled up to the small bridge that spanned the sliver of water separating the island from the mainland. After alighting from the trucks we were counted twice, then we marched thru the familiar gates and on past Watanabe’s building. The small porch was empty indicating that he was inside watching for any excuse to rush out and pummel some poor wretch for just being there! We were herded down between the barracks where we were split up and ordered into one of the buildings where we were to pick an empty bunk. I flopped my bundle of possessions down on a bunk and sat down dejectedly, and I wondered “what next?”. A man laying on the bunk next to mine gave me a pat on the arm.

“Hi there!”

I turned and was startled to see Monte Greenlee! Needless to say, I was very happy to see Greenlee! I told him those of us at the Kawasaki Camp had made out pretty well and were not very happy to come back to Omori. We dicussed events that occurred since we had parted. Monte told me that Watanabe had left Omori shortly after I went to Kawasaki, and the camp was a much better place without that assassin! Monte had worked on several work details during the past few months, and had managed to scrounge food frequently, which supplemented his camp rations. He related how numerous work details were often cancelled because of the intense air raids. He said on many occasions no one was able to leave the camp due to conditions outside.

The next couple of days passed uneventful, and I expected each day to be jerked out onto a work detail, but nothing happened until a rumor went through Omori like a bolt of lightning! The word was out that a large number of men would be moved from Omori very shortly! The question was “Where?”

I hadn’t seen Freddie, or Jimmie Sloan since our arrival here, and I tried to look for them whenever possible. I was to leave Omori without ever seeing either of them again! I was on the list, Greenlee was not on the list, and he said Lonnie Gray was also not on the list. I suggested to Greenlee that perhaps it might be an advantage to be leaving Tokyo because of the air raids, and their effect on the temperament of the guards. He then said a very strange thing.

“Yes, you know, it wouldn’t be so bad to go out to a quiet place in the country!”

I would look back on that statement later, and wonder what prompted Monte to think of such a thing.

After breakfast the next morning all men on the travel list fell out. I was surprised at the number of us that lined up! Later we learned we numbered approximately 200. We were crammed into trucks and were on our way to who knows where? The long line of trucks wound their way slowly through the rubble filled streets for almost two hours before drawing up to a train station. It remained to be seen just where we were going, but it was pretty sure thing we were going there by train!

It stood to reason also that we would need a big train for this many men! We were to wait for some time for the train to arrive, but when it did arrive we were overjoyed to find it had passenger cars, not box cars! The cars were old, but they were equipped with seats. We would be traveling in style, that was for sure. When we were loaded into the cars we soon found that some of us would not have a seat, which triggered a mad rush for a place to sit down! I was fortunate to cop a seat next to a British soldier sitting just inside the door. I learned that his name was Dix, and he had been a member of the British Army in Hong Kong. During the next few months we were to become very good friends. A short time later we felt the train jerk, then begin to move.

“Well,” said a man behind me, “here we go again!”

It seemed most were relieved to get out of Omori, but I think we were all wary of the unknown. Always lurking in the back of my mind was the possibility of being sent to the coal mines! I had listened too often to some of the men in Omori relating their experiences in the coal mines of northern Japan. The very thought of descending down into the depths of a mine was enough to chill me!

The word spread that a toilet (Japanese style) was located at front end of the car, and that was a welcome relief! Of course, to reach the benjo, one must find a method to penetrate the solid mass of men crammed in the aisle. Knowing the urge would strike each of the occupants of the car at one time or the other, those incarcerated in the narrow aisle were determined to find an arrangement of arms and legs that would allow passage of a human body with the minimum resistance. When my turn arrived to challenge this obstacle course, I shrugged my shoulders and took my first step! Amazingly, as I put each foot forward, a small space would appear, and I was capable of slowly negotiating the length of the car to the benjo without mishap! The return to my seat proved to be an adventure in balance, but I made it without falling on my face!

The train moved very slowly, stopping often, switching on several occasions, then again moving, perhaps avoiding bomb damage. It took the train nearly four hours to reach the outskirts of the huge city. Finally we saw hills off to the west, and the dense habitations were lessening, changing rapidly to small farms and fewer villages. As the train chugged onward, still moving slowly, the terrain changed into low foothills, and it became more obvious we were headed for, or through, the mountains. Small villages could be seen near the railroad, and sometimes off in the distance, but these were becoming fewer and farther between. Just after noon, rice balls were passed out to each man. I was hungry, perhaps from the excitement, or the fear of moving to a more dreadful existence in some new camp. As the day wore on, we became more apprehensive of the future. Once again the train stopped and appeared to back onto a siding. We were to sit here for more than an hour before moving on very slowly.

We moved at a snail’s pace, and it was late in the afternoon when we again stopped, and this time two or more cars were dropped on a siding, then we slowly labored up a grade until almost dark when it once again stopped near a small village, and backed onto a spur where we were to sit for the night.

Rumors and conjectures were rampant, but information was nil. We were told to rest. That was easier said than done, as we were cramped in the small seats made for the smaller Japanese people. Many of the men were sitting, or lying on the floor since they had no seat, and in some ways this was more comfortable than trying to get comfortable in the seats, where it was impossible to stretch ones legs out.

The night passed immeasurably slow, but finally, even though still dark, the train began to stir. People began rustling about and clanking sounds could be heard, the sounds transmitted from car to car. As we began to move some of us began standing up and stretching, loosening muscles long cramped from the endless night. As the light overtook the darkness, and I eased my cramped legs I felt better and I looked forward to another of the rice balls which were being distributed nearby. After eating, I began to look out the window. Low, flat clouds of smoke were visible, each pointing a tapering finger downward to a chimney, sometimes discernible, and at times hidden in a copse of trees. It reminded me of my early days in West Virginia when we lived there for a short time.

In mid morning the train stopped once again. On the left side stood a small train station. The platform ran along the track, much longer than the station itself. It appeared some of us, or all of us were going to disembark from the train! It seemed one car was being unloaded, then the next. It was a slow process, but our car finally began to discharge its contents and I soon found myself standing with the other occupants on the right side of the train. There was a narrow dirt road running parallel to the railroad track. I saw that my car was located near the center of the train.

I could see another dirt road leading off to the north. The entire area was covered by trees and I could see a line of trucks parked on the other road leading away from the railroad. I wondered if the these vehicles were for us. Very shortly men from the rear cars began to climb aboard the trucks and we heaved a sigh of relief. We were going to ride to wherever we were going.

The first trucks began to move out and as they turned onto the road heading north, away from the railroad, I recalled Monte Greenlee’s remark about going out to a quiet place in the country! This area was certainly quiet, and for sure it was in the country! Dix and I were on the same truck and we both guessed we were headed for a coal mine. My thought was, “If it’s a long ride, better to be on this truck than walking to who knows where!” When walking past some of the vehicles before loading, I realized they were all very old. I wondered aloud why the Japanese would have so many vehicles this far out into the country?

“They must use these things for something out here!” Dix said. We all nodded.

“I have a terrible feeling that at the end of this road we’ll run into a mine!” I mumbled.

“Why did you have to bring that up?” Dickie chirped.

I could offer nothing but a shrug.

CHAPTER 27

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