On May 21st, in the third week of this concentration, we received a torrential rain at night. Everyone stood up all night in water up to their ankles, holding belongings on their back to keep them dry as possible. The next day, May 22, the Japanese informed us we were leaving. Only that. Where or to what we did not know. The next morning May 23, we were columned (always column of fours) and marched down to the south Bottomside Dock area. We were kept in the sun all day getting loaded on a transport out in the bay. We were taken out by small motorized sampans. The one on which I rode out was full of bilge water and would list until one rail would go under water. The boats in the bay were short of what was needed to transport all of the captives, and we were crowded about 3000 men on each transport. They had only standing room, and only six latrines were available on the whole boat. There was no food except what we carried with us. I slept on the floor of the aisle part of the night with cockroaches running freely over me. We were kept aboard the boat all night and did not sail until morning. The Japanese wanted a daylight march for us through the streets of Manila for the benefit of the Philippinos (we learned that we were going to Bilibid prison.) At this point, on the boat, we could individually buy Army medicines from Japanese or American corpsmen, if you had the price. A damned disgrace if I ever saw one. I was loaded with a musette bag, two blankets, two shelter halves, two canteens, 37 cans of food, and an extra blanket roll of a Lieutenant who had gotten separated from me on the boat.

On May 24th, we were moved by boat to Manila, along the shore front at Dewey Boulevard. They anchored the large ships off shore, herded us on landing craft, ran us toward shore to water over our heads and kicked us off. We waded ashore, wet and with wet packs. We came ashore on the east end of Dewey Boulevard (now Rizal avenue) and were marched down through Manila, over Quezon Bridge and to Bilibid Prison by guards on horseback, a distance of about 6 miles. They must have gotten the desired effect of showing off the bedraggled Americans to the Philippinos. It was a real ordeal for me since the packs and clothing were all wet, and it added strain to the fast march.

I remember my knees buckling a little as I marched over the incline to Quezon bridge. I imagine we looked a beaten, sorry, bedraggled spectacle that wormed through the streets of Manila to Bilibid. I had a 60 pound pack, wet, and a blanket roll, wet that belonged to another Lieutenant. Any one straggling or attempting to stop on the way was severely beaten. All during this march I went on sheer nerve alone. My body took a severe shock, but thanks be my legs were in good shape and held up.

In Bilibid prison, it was crowded, in fact jammed - with no hospital facilities. Sick bays had to be established in empty buildings on cement floors. We had already began to accumulate a large number of sick and ailing. We had drinking water. Bathing and laundry were not possible. The fare was steamed rice and very weak onion soup. I doubt very much if it would have given anyone a bad breath. A Colonel died from the march to Bilibid. Another Colonel very nearly died. A Captain died from double pneumonia as a result of the march. A Master Sergeant also nearly died of pneumonia. When we later left Bilibid, many were left who were too sick to move as a result of pneumonia, dysentery and other serious diseases. We received no medical care from the Japanese at the time. In fact you could buy American medicine from the Japanese, if you had money. A small bottle of sulpha drugs was 27 pesos.

We ate plain rice three times a day with some hot tea. We could buy a few things from the Japanese guards such as sugar, candy and bananas. The buildings at Bilibid were fair with inside plumbing.

There was a high stone masonry wall around the Bilibid prison. It had been used in the past as a civilian prison for the Philippine Commonwealth. This was before the U.S.Army contracted to work the civilian prisoners on Corregidor. During the stay here we spent most of our time waiting at the wall to contact some sly Philippinos who threw vegetables, pies, candy over the wall for pesos. While in this camp I purchased a small bottle of medicine from a Japanese which contained sulphathyzol, cathartics, bismuth and pepsin capsules. It was really a joke, I found out later, to take cathartic tablets into a prison camp where dysentery and diarrhea were rampant. However at the time, I took the deal to get the sulpha drugs. The medicine came in handy many times and it would have been fortunate had all of us been able to take much more.

One week later on May 29th, at 5 AM we moved out in column under guard early in the morning and trailed to the Manila Railroad station. There we were jammed into Philippine railroad box cars which were narrow gauge and small, 100 to 150 men in each car. After they became crowded, more were gotten in by prods in the rear with bayonets. The yellow devils could be mighty brutal. It was funny (later) how more space could be made available so fast. These narrow gauge railroad cars were smaller than standard gauge cars, about 3/5 as long and about 2/3 as wide. We were packed too tightly to lie or even sit comfortably. Some, by rotation could get into a half squat part of the time, and it took eight hours to cover the 130 kilometers to Cabanatuan, Neuva Ecija Province, Luzon, P.I. By and large, you assumed one standing position only for the entire trip. During this trip of agony, many people sought lavatory privileges urgently, but which were denied until two short station stops later. One fellow writhed in agony of stomach cramps most of the way. Those who came into the car last and were near the door, got some fresh air and a little scenery. Others in the ends of the cars got sweat and near suffocation. It was near dusk when we reached the Cabanatuan Station.

We were in those cars from 6:30 AM to 2 PM. A Lieutenant got stomach ache and was deathly sick all the way. On arrival at Cabanatuan we were we were herded out of the cars and into line and given a chance to urinate or defecate in public view of the town if we so desired. We had to abandon pride and fall to. Later we were driven in a line to a small field (an old rice paddy) and given plain rice. It was wet and dirty in the paddy. Here again we had a urinal next to the fence of a public street of the town. This area turned into a hog pen and was about 100 feet from where we were to spend the night. For the night we were marched in the field in columns of fours, halted and told to eat and go to sleep in that formation. Very cramped quarters. We dug food out of our packs, ate, and spread shelter halves to sleep upon the wet ground. Japanese officers sold fruit and vegetables to anyone who had money. Even Japanese officers were not above the little cumshaw racket. We were issued some plain cooked rice.