The author is the uncle of my husband's aunt. She is so sweet and sent me a copy of this book. Thank you Judy Obert Janson.
Most of the things I will share are lines I highlighted in the book, lines that I found interesting, funny, sad, fascinating, and surprising. I will have side comments too about these lines and paragraphs.
This book is a part of a report submitted to the military by Major David L. Obert in April of 1945. He was awarded the Silver Star "for gallantry in Action in the Cavite area in Luzon, Philippines Islands, on 10 February 1942. The military document reports the facts, his diary allows the reader to feel and taste the war.
- From the Introduction
I couldn't agree more, reading the book on his perspective with vivid details made me imagine how it was. I used to live and teach in Cavite, my mom still lives there until now. I feel a sense of connection and pride knowing we have family relatives on my husband's side who fought in the Philippines during World War II in places where I used to live, places I went to and I'm familiar with. Andrew and I visited some of the places mentioned in the book like Fort Santiago and Clark Airbase.
The author didn't lose his humor even during the war. He wrote a lot of funny jokes and remarks in his diary like:
I have always said I am not the least bit superstitious, but I think I am. In flying school, I started flying in certain pair of shoes and from then on through primary I would never fly in any others. Subconsciously, I was afraid I would wash-out or something bad would happen if I changed. I still have those shoes, an old pair of perforated brown oxfords, and I guess I will always keep them. I started flying the first day of the war with certain things in my pockets and ever since I always carry the same things. I seem to think something might happen if I get rid of these old safety pins, coins, key chain, and medals, so I make it a point to keep them. Yes, I guess I am superstitious.
This paragraph made me smile. Interestingly, Filipinos (especially the older generations) are known to be superstitious. I also keep some things I think and feel that keeps me safe, the bags that I always use have one rosary bracelet in the secret pocket. I still knock on a wood whenever my husband made a joke I don't like, especially about things I don't want to happen.
The paragraph below made me feel proud.
Every barrio we passed through on the road we met crowds of Filipinos, and they would all hold up two fingers and shout, "V for Victory". Nearly all the men were carrying clubs or large bolos and had on medals designating them as Volunteer guards. The Japs will really have a fight on their hands if they try to take these people. They all seemed to be eager and ready to fight.
This line made me laugh when I imagine his half finished haircut.
One day, I was there (at Fort Stotsenerg) getting a haircut when the bombers flew over. The barber took off for cover, and there I was for about the next two hours with half a haircut looking for the barber so that I could get him to finish the job. Long after the bombers had gone, he came crawling out of a sewer manhole and finished my haircut.
This line made me sad.
This war has been one of waiting for reinforcements that just don't come.
A negative experience and comment about Filipinos.
Every night, we could see signal flares going up and it wasn't the Japanese that was sending them. It was Filipinos. Most of this work was done by some ignorant Filipino worker who probably got a few pesos for being a traitor. This could easily be understood because he had always lived in poverty and would live in poverty. A few pesos was probably worth more than life itself to hi. The fifth column activity of some of the rich, high-class Filipinos was what was hard to understand, and their activities did the most damage....
These fifth columnists had everything to lose and nothing to gain by such activity.
Just like every race and depending where our loyalty lies and what beliefs we have, there are always good and bad people. Loyal and traitors. Wise and ignorant. I understand the author being irritated to what this 'traitor' did for few pesos. My hint is it can be that simple or not, I think this Filipino is trying to survive and he thought he was doing what was best. Colonized by Spain for more than three centuries, America after and Japan, our country and history are filled with a lot of outside influences that made things complicated but also gave us a colorful culture.
It was quiet a treat to sleep in a warm bed after spending a week on a cot in the open at Clark. It rained nearly every morning before daylight where we were, and everyone would be soaked.
...in a few seconds I can hear more bombs falling. This time the first one hit close enough to make the ground shudder under me..
I have been through many other raids since and have had bombs hit within several feet of where I lay and shower me with dirt, but since that first initiation, I have always been more or less calm or unafraid of bombs. If you are in a hole, only a direct hit can hurt you, and your chances of being the target of a direct hit are so few there just isn't any need to worry.
Reading lines like these made me realize that this is why we should be thankful to all our brave soldiers who continuously fight for our freedom and safety until today. The things they endure are way out of our comfort zone. Whiners here in America, especially those who can't even be responsible enough for their own lives, in my own opinion should spend sometime in a third world or war torn country to appreciate all the comfort they have here.
More funny side comments from the author.
It is funny what people will do when they get excited. I'll bet that more small caliber ammunition has been wasted by firing at high flying ships than was fired on the front lines.
I think a woman is in heaven when she goes shopping. There seems to be nothing they would rather do than shop.
LOL 😂
Brace yourself now for some of the worst the author experienced. What can be sadder than to part with your spouse during a war, knowing you might not see each other again? 😢💔
I hope I never see another scene like that. This seemed to be the end of everything. Nichols had been my home station ever since my arrival on the island. Everyone knew by this time that things must be very serious, but we didn't know what to expect.
Dorothy (the author's wife, they just got married when the war started) had more bad news when I got home that night. The Military Intelligence Department that she was working for was also moving to Bataan, and she had been laid off. No civilian employees where being taken.
That night we packed what few things I thought I would need, and we stayed up until late talking and trying to make plans because we both thought I would be away for a long time. It was impossible to plan anything though except that she would stay with her uncle, and I would see or get word to her as often as possible. I had a government car so I planned to leave my car with Dorothy. The next morning our parting came, and we both faced it with a thought that it might be forever. Few tears where shed; we were past that stage.
...I think we learned about each other and understood each other better during those few minutes that we ever had before. Life was taking a new meaning for both of us. Peace, love, and contentment seemed to overshadow everything else. That was happiness and all we wanted. When this war ends, and it must sometime, my only desire now is that we both live through it so that we can live the full and wonderful life that seemed to be ahead of us before December 7. It may seem stranger, but I feel that if Dorothy should not live through this, I would go through my whole life thinking of the past and dreaming of the future we so looked forward to. Yes, I think my world would end.
Good and funny news!
The Jap bombers had become famous for constantly missing what they aimed at.
Another bad comment about Filipinos, don't worry there are other good ones too. I'm sure in our own history books based on the Filipino soldier's point of view, we have a thing or two to say also about some Americans.
On the way back through the burning area I found that the firemen had abandoned their stations at the sound of air-raid warning and were still gone. One of the fires had started to spread and looked as if it weren't checked it might burn the entire business district of Manila. I stopped, grabbed a hose, and started playing a stream of water on the spreading flames. Part of the fire department returned from their bomb shelters soon after, and I left the scene feeling that maybe I had saved Manila from another large fire. I couldn't understand a fireman leaving his job even though he were threatened by bombers, but they were Filipinos and Filipinos are unpredictable and impulsive people.
A heartwarming line.
Dorothy was worried about me, and I was worried about her, but there was nothing we could do except hope and pray for the best.
A sad day and a glimpse on internal conflict/challenge within the army.
January 24th is another day that I will remember a long time.
There were about 20 P-40s left so the brass hats got together and decided that they would save these by sending them to Mindanao. First, though Captain Dyess was going to lead 18 P-40s against a flight of bombers and try to complete a successful mission by knocking down every bomber that they might find. So far during the was not one real pursuit mission has been accomplished because of the disorganized state of affairs that existed in our Army.
...contact navigation, which was the only safe navigation in the Philippines, was out and that I would have to go on instruments and fly a compass course.
After about two hours of blind flying...I was over the city of Cebu. My gasoline was so low that I doubted whether I could reach Del Monte, so I decided to try and go into Cebu. We had been informed on Bataan that Cebu was probably in enemy hands, but I had to go in somewhere...The runway was barricaded with gasoline drums which were quickly removed by Filipinos when I circled the field so I felt pretty safe when I landed. I only stayed in Cebu long enough to refuel, and then, I took on off for Del Monte.
He described a beautiful day below, something rare during the war.
The drive to the Del Monte plantation from Field 2, our hidden field, was one of the most beautiful drives that I have ever seen.
I thought to myself that after the war, when Dorothy and I could be together, again, this was where we would come for our second honeymoon.
The Southern Islands of the Philippines probably have some of the most colorful and most beautiful scenery in the world.
We practically lived on pineapples. Those fresh sun-ripened pineapples were one of the most delicious fruits that I have ever tasted.
January 14 was my birthday and January 18 was Dorothy's birthday.
The author also don't like MacArthur and I understand his arguments.
On January 18 we received a startling message from General MacArthur's headquarters. It read: "Four P-40s will return to Bataan as soon as possible." "That can't be right," we told each other. "That would be a waste of pilots and planes." From what few reports we could pick up, Bataan was supposed to be given up as a lost and would be in Japanese hands in a very few days. Even though we did hold Bataan for the moment, what possible use could anyone have for planes there? The Japanese could easily outnumber us one hundred to one and it seemed as though it would be suicide even to try to operate on Bataan.
General Sharpe must have thought the same thing; he also wanted very much to keep what few planes he had, so he radioed back for confirmation on the message. The confirmation came that night. There was nothing to do but carry out the order.
...four of the eight of us were staring death in the face. None of us got much sleep that night.
I was the only one of the four who ever got back to Del Monte and that was just luck. 😢
The picture of why we came back to Bataan began to clear up for me now. General MacArthur evidently thought that he could hold Bataan for a while and the pursuit would serve as reconnaissance and maybe could be used for sudden raids on the enemy...but the odds were certainly against us.
A paragraph about a town in Mindoro, the island where my mom's hometown is too.
It was a surprise to find American troops at San Jose. I don't think anyone in the Philippines knew that they (American Troops) were there until we carried the news out. Lt. Bagget and a detachment of sixty mean had been sent there about the time of the evacuation from Manila and had been there, cut off from the world since.
Another comment about the Philippine Scouts, Filipinos and Quezon.
True, the Philippine Scouts which were under white officers were some of the best fighters that we had.
The Filipinos haven't got a damn thing to be proud of except a small part of their air corps and their Scouts.
Quezon wasn't a man to be exactly proud of either. I hear he went over a big way back in the States.
On their love and respect to General George.
General George was happy as could be when we gave him our reports. He dug out a quart of bourbon and passed it around among us.
The more we were with General George the more we liked him. Before long I think we all loved him as much as we did our own fathers, and he never seemed to tire of having is around his quarters and talking with us.
He seemed to have so much faith in us that we felt we couldn't let him down on anything.
We all learned a lot about pursuit tactics and combat flying during our bull sessions with General George as floor leader. He laughed with us when we were happy and mourned with us when we lost one of our members. I have never seen closer comradeship than we had among our little handful of pilots there at Bataan field.
I admired General George more than any man I have ever met.
Sad fact and author's disappointment to MacArthur.
We probably had the Air Corp's best mechanics here in the Philippines, men with years of service and training, and they were being expended on the front lines as infantry. Even though Bataan might not have held out so long as it did, had the Air Corps troops been removed, the United States Army would have been much better off to have saved these highly trained men. That is one of our shortages now and to think that we uselessly lost several thousand in the Philippines. They could have been gotten out and should have been gotten out but General MacArthur said no. We also lost many well-trained pilots there that we could have saved, but it seemed that MacArthur wanted no one to live.
Observed that the last time he mentioned MacArthur he didn't address him anymore as General, a sign of disappointment and lost of respect.
Alarming news about San Jose, Mindoro.
General George got a radiogram from San Jose saying that twelve enemy bombers had landed on Waterous Field, a field about five miles from San Jose. That worried us quite a bit because San Jose, Mindorows a very good alternate field to have when we were operating off Bataan.
...we decided to land at San Jose and investigate the radiogram. When we landed we were picked up by Lt. Bagget and were taken to Mr. Lobragard's home for breakfast. He was the manager of the big sugar mill there at San Jose and had one of the finest country homes in the Philippines. He was Spanish but had a Filipino wife who was one of the nicest woman I have ever met.
We ate a breakfast of eggs and venison which was the best feast we had had in weeks. We all wished we could spend the rest of the war here. San Jose with its lovely Spanish Filipino girls was heaven compared to the life we were leading on Bataan.
As for the radiogram, it was not sent from San Jose. Evidently the Japs had sent it with purpose of sending us out on a wild goose chase. We went, poor suckers.
One of the saddest lines:
I was the only one to return from that mission (in San Jose). They had just disappeared into thin air right under my nose. I will always wonder what happened to them.
Woolery and Hall were both good friends of mine and them the thought of being the lone survivor from a mission rather have me the jitters.
I was the only pilot that knew the latest flying conditions on the trip to Del Monte, so I was ordered ro report to General Akins. He had some secret code that he wanted delivered to San Jose, Cebu, and Del Monte and said that it was a matter of life and death to get it through.
Another comment about his disappointment on the higher officers:
It seemed that everyone expected us to protect the Philippines against all comers, and thought that we had failed miserably in our jobs. Maybe we didn't do as well as we should have, but a lot of this blame can go right on the shoulders of the higher officers that were criticizing us. It was their damn tampering and trying to tun the Air Corps, about which they knew nothing, that got us into the jams we were caught in.
Another nerve wrecking experience.
I had awful bad weather between Del Monte and Cebu.
That was the worst weather that I have ever flown through.
There was a saying that the clouds in the Philippines are filled with rocks and trees.
My plane dropped almost to the bottom of the canyon before I could pick up enough speed to climb. That was a close one.
Sad and longing lines.
Manila seemed so close to us and yet so far.
If only Dorothy could get home or if I could only find out that she was well and let her know that I was still alive and well.
Frustrations, realizations, greatest and saddest losses.
We felt that we had to take all the rough missions, damn it. I guess we should have considered it a compliment to be picket for all the tough jobs, but some of those missions used to make me wish I could be brave enough to admit I was a coward and didn't want to be considered as one of the dire-eating boys who just loved going up and getting shot at.
Posten came in later from San Jose but Stine didn't show up. We never found him. He was probably our best pursuit pilot on Bataan and he was one of our greatest and saddest losses.
That night we got our remaining liquor stock and drank a farewell toast to Stone. I think we all shed a few tears. He is one of the unsung heroes of Bataan.
War is funny though, you lose your best friends and after the first or second time you become hardened to grief and shock.
Life seems so cheap that except for the passing moment of a loss you hardly seem to notice it. You begin to realize how wonderful life really is and how much you want to live. Yet you unfalteringly face death everyday without realizing how very near it is to you. You think about the future at first, but you soon stop that--- it bothers you too much. It is the same with the past. The present is all that seems to matter, so just live from hour to hour.
Killing doesn't bother you either. In fact there is a certain savage enjoyment in doing it. Your glory in your power of destruction when you point your guns at a target, living or otherwise, and watch it disintegrate before you. That is the killer's spirit that a good soldier must have. I would say that a good fighting man becomes a machine when in combat. Some unknown force seems to control you; there is fear, but that is secondary. Destruction is the main object that guides your actions, even to the loss of life.
Another 'silly' mission from MacArthur's Headquarters:
An order for another mission came from MacArthur's Headquarters. The order was for a patrol ship to search the ocean for submerged friendly submarines south and west from Corregidor. I was assigned the mission.
That is one of the silliest mission I have ever heard of. If you could even see a submerged submarine, (which you can't do) then how in the hell can you tell if it is a friendly submarine? I questioned the sanity of the order, but General George said to go on the mission anyway as it was ordered by Headquarters.
Another paragraph about Philippine Scouts and guerrillas.
The Philippine Scouts were the only one of our bunch that didn't even try to take prisoners. As far as they were concerned, it was a fight to the death for them or for the Nips. In one case, an officer was present when two or three Japs surrendered to the scouts. The scouts wanted to kill the Japs on the spot, but the American officer ordered them to march the Japs back to the road where they would be taken to prison. One of the Scouts on the march back kept talking to the Japs in Filipino. The officer asked another scout what was being said. The other scout said that his friend was telling the Japs they should try to escape. He wanted them to make an attempt so that he could shoot them and be done with them. The Filipino scouts were good soldiers, probably the best we had for the jungle fighting that was going on.
Several supply missions were also flown to a band of guerrillas in northern Luzon. This band consisted of a bunch of cavalry and Filipino troops that were cut off from the main army when the Nips came in. They gave the Nips no end of trouble.
I'm so glad the author don't really give awful gore details like chopped head etc. This is the closest that made me feel sad for those soldiers.
The people who had just lost arms and legs were what sickened me. I felt awful after the visit and never went back. I just couldn't take it.
He barely made it in Mindoro.
There is a mountain range about 1000 feet high on the northern end of Mindoro. I couldn't get the plane high enough to get over the mountain
My plane started to act up about this time. It started to losing power and sparks were flying from the engine in showers. I finally made it to San Jose, though I fully expected to have to set down on the beach any minute during the last part of the trip.
The trip to San Jose was a success so several more trips were made to bring in supplies.
Tropical Trots, Food, and Malaria.
General George wanted to keep us in flying condition, but we were all losing weight and were getting in bad shape. There was quite a bit of dysentery in camp and that really knocked us out. "Tropical Trots" as we called it and that is a very appropriate name for it. When you had to go, you had to go and sometimes you didn't make it. It was not unusual to see someone walking towards the latrine with a clean pair of shorts and shamefaced grin.
Another cause for resentment on Bataan was the difference of food issued on Corregidor and Bataan. Corregidor had much better food that we did and no attempt was made to remedy this.
A few days later I came down with an attach of malaria that practically left me a walking corpse.
The men were in very bad shape. They were all just walking skeletons. Some of them had become paralyzed from lack of nourishment. Most of them were unable to do any work at all. Nearly everyone had either dysentery or malaria or many had both.
We talked about food while we were awake and dreamed about it at night.
General George vs General MacArthur vs General Wainwright
General George sent the planes out that day without orders from MacArthur, which peeved General Mac very much. He raised a lot of hell about it until he was informed of the damage inflicted upon the Nips. He couldn't say very much then.
Later that evening we heard that General Mac, General George, and several others had left for Australia.
The last week of March General Wainwright was publicly announced as the new Commanding General of the Philippines.
...all seemed to think he would make a much better general than Mac had.
That week was the beginning of the end for the Philippines.
Training Diet
Twenty-five pursuit pilots were put on a "training diet," as it was called. We all had become so starved that we just couldn't fly anymore. The hospital, which still had some food left, agreed to give enough food to the Air Corps to feed twenty-five of the more experienced combat pilots for one week. This was to put us back in a little better condition.
We ate it, but I will say again that it was had to do when men were actually starving around us.
Camaraderie
All of our enlisted men at Bataan Field practically worshiped the pilots. We were flying the planes, but without the superhuman efforts of those men, we wouldn't have had any planes to fly. Nearly all the planes we had were built from the salvaged parts of planes that had been wrecked. I think those men were more worried about our safety than we were ourselves.
We laughed a lot there on Bataan though. At times I would catch myself laughing at something and would wonder what in the hell I had to laugh about. I guess it was from the nervous strain because we all did it. Getting bombed and having to dive for our fox-holes was even funny.
Suicide Mission
Here is what the mission was.
In Cebu, seven transport ships had been loaded with food. These ships were going to try to get through Bataan. Along the route they had to take the Nips had about seven destroyers and three cruisers with which they were blockading Bataan and also several other points. Our job was (with the help of a squadron of bombers which was supposed to come from Australia) to get the convey safely through Bataan.
Ours was a suicide job at the best.
At first I was sickened and dumbfounded at the hopelessness of the situation.
We went back to our quarters feeling like condemned men.
I began to see red. I didn't want to die.
I think that is the one and only time I have ever felt like giving my life to try and help someone. It still made me mad to think that we were the only ones that were sacrificing while the people in the U.S. sat smugly back and told us what heroes we were for doing it.
Now that the escort mission had been called off I began to feel as if I had a new lease on life and began to be my old self. I could feel another attack of malaria coming on and felt rotten physically, but I did not want to refuse to fly.
Bataan has fallen, the soldiers left behind
Upon my arrival at Cebu I was met by Lt. Krieger who told me the sad news about the fall of Bataan.
At six o'clock the voice of freedom came over the radio. It started with, "Bataan has fallen." That was enough. None of us cared to listen anymore of it. We could just see the soldiers there on Bataan, starved, tired and most of them sick, all in the hands of the Japs. I know they were a disappointed bunch. They had waited and waited month after month for help that they knew must come and had never given up hope even until the last day. Now it was all over. Help had not come. Maybe they even felt relieved. Now they could quit fighting and maybe, if they could get a little food and medicine from the Japs, they could just sit by and let the world finish this awful war. I hope the Japs treated those men as heroes they were and I even think maybe the Japs did as best they could.
Another near death experience
That take-off, I think, was the closes I have ever come of death.
The old malaria was about to get me down, but I was holding off as long as I could hoping that maybe I wouldn't have to go to the hospital.
Choosing to save Filipinos, again, like that fire in Manila
You get a certain enjoyment out of killing and destruction and I was doing my best to do both. I came across a small village and could see soldiers in the streets below but didn't fire because the place was crowded with Filipinos.
Saddest realizations
That mission made me realize one thing. I had become a killer. Cooly and deliberately, not in the heat of battle, I could shoot a human being just because the foolish laws if warfare said it was no crime. I think I killed a lot of Japanese that day, but does my conscience bother me? No. Six months before that, I shudder at the thought of killing anything. I even felt bad when I shot a rabbit or a bird.
We at last realized that nothing was going to come in to help us and that all of the Philippines would soon be in Japanese hands.
Breaking down
The malaria had hit me full force again. I was loaded into a car and taken to the hospital where I was put to bed and started on a heavy dose of quinine.
Lt. McDaniels had cracked up and had been killed trying to land on Field 2. That coming after the events of the past few days just got the best of me. I broke down and cried like a baby. Bataan had fallen, two of my best friend had been killed, I so sick with malaria that I was nearly out of my head, and there we were, apparently just waiting for the end.
Lt. McDaniels should never have flown that plane that day. There are several who where there at Del Monte whose conscience should bother them. They lost my respect for superior officers and I'm sure many others felt the same I did.
We had gotten no thanks or credit for what we had done so far, so why would we stick our neck out and get it clipped for sure? There is a wise old Army saying, :Never volunteer for anything." It is the voice of experience too, because you seem to get in trouble every time you go against it.
There were three of us with malaria who weren't able to fly so we weren't to draw. Gee, I was glad I was sick and yet felt very much of a heel for not being able to take my chance with the rest of them.
Captain Bradford had taken the duce before the draw so that he would be sure to go. That is the biggest, the most selfish, and bravest thing I have ever seen or hope to see a man do. Captain Bradford is my hero of the war.
We didn't know if he survived or not. We felt like murdering the people who had ordered that mission.
Hello Australia, goodbye Philippines:
I felt rather said as I saw the Philippines passing beneath me. We all realized that it would be long before we got back. Probably never.
Dorothy was still there. There was no way I could help her. There never had been any way to help her, and yet I know that I felt much better knowing that I had stayed there until the last doing everything I could.
If ever we set out to retake Philippines, I want to be there.
A few days after our arrival in Melbourne, General George was killed in an aircraft accident. That was an awful blow to us. We felt like orphans. We lost a man we all loved, admired, and respected. Above all we lost a friend we knew, would stand by us through anything. The Air Corps lost one of its greatest men.
Corregidor fell shortly after we reached Australia. That ended all organized resistance in the Philippines, but I know that those men wherever they are have not given up hope but are still waiting for us to come back.
The outside world heard about Bataan and Corregidor, but there were other men in the Philippines, and they deserve just as much credit. They did their job well.
I enjoyed reading the book, not too long but informational. It's written as diary entries, the author allowed us to have a glimpse on his personal feelings and opinions. Written like it was, it felt like the author was talking to me, sharing his painful experiences in the war, making me laugh from time to time on his jokes and witty remarks. Though I needed to consult Google from time to time on some of the military terms I am not familiar with.
Many soldiers are unsung heroes and this books made me appreciate them more. We can appreciate them more if we know their names, it is human nature to feel like we know someone better when we know their names. I'm glad the author put names on these heroes, his heroes. The last line in the book opened up my eyes and make me more curious about the historical characters less known in history.
To those whom history wasn't able to record your names, I hope you are written in someone else's personal diary, a hero in someone else's story passed down to their grandchildren. I pray for your souls, we thank you our brave soldiers who fought for our freedom and safety. And to the soldiers of our present time, we thank you for your continued bravery.
