 if we had achieved the greatest degree of privacy one can manage in an open compound containing thousands of weak weary dispirited prisoners and a goodly number of sharp-eyed Japanese guards I mentioned the thing closest to my heart Steve huh have we a chance of escaping escaping oh maybe Mac I don't know that you can't be done I suppose what's the matter with you man huh oh nothing I don't want to hear you watch this against the world American stand at the wall according to the laws of this camp this sentence is carried out two of your squad of 10 have escaped the other eight must die do you wish to be run for that or do you have the courage to face the firing squad you got no right to do this to us fire I won't I can't you those stupid did not escape you were too sick to try it quiet EG stop it stop it stop it wait a minute wait a minute there you end up in action of the imperial Japanese army who we found them the two men you said escaped they were so weak they fell into the between ditch where are they bring them here at once I can't they're dead lieutenant colonel melding I shall never forget a little vignette that met my eyes every day at kebuna to one and again at another camp to which McCoy and I were later transferred to one at deval picture a man walking around a compound enclosed in barbed wire he massages his fingers constantly as he walks and stops now and then to massage his toes a Jap guard follows him with his eyes smile on his face the man is suffering from very very and maybe sturdy as well the pain in his joints and extremities is excruciating medicine is what he needs but a balanced diet would help enormously fresh fruits and green stuffs would do the trick and out there in front of his eyes green stuffs and berries growing abundance but the barbed wire stands between the Jap guard stands and fondles his tommy gun a smile set thinly on his face the Jap guards don't need those berries and green stuffs but the prisoner can't have them you look at the poor devil's eyes as he passes you you notice again the smile of the Jap guard and you reflect that certain parts of the orient have developed rare refinements of cruel commander McCoy not long after my arrival at kebuna to one I walked one evening in the compound with melding poor wretches squatted everywhere within my sight their star body is slumped over suddenly I saw a familiar face say Steve isn't that gun over there the chap sitting with that small group by the fence right yes that's good well how long has he been here he got here a few days before you did he did but why didn't you tell me he was here you know we're friends yes I know but you were so weak yourself when you arrived I I thought you ought to rest up a bit before meeting him wonder Steve melnik didn't want me to see gun till I fell up to it I looked down at this friend of mine this man I'd known for years I felt ill it was as though someone had thrown acid in his face searing it discoloring it taking all the life out of it the same was true of the other man with him I looked at gun fascinated I could only stammer you you look awful well enough I was out of a ton I made the death march I was afraid to ask him about it I sat down Steve sat down I tried to collect my thoughts and stared straight ahead towards one of the barracks good God well or you'll you'll get used to that I had already become aware of the awful stench about the camp but for the first time I noticed that outside of each barracks there was a neat row of bodies somehow I knew the bodies had been there for some time clouds of flies arose from them when groups of prisoners walked nearby yeah mac you'll get used to that but but why don't they bury them they you're gonna jabs well then why don't you bury them gosh mac you must have had a soft time of it till now you don't know the jabs they should bury them they should let us bury them before the ciders see it and desecrate our souls I tell you you don't know the jabs mac why before we came here we we spent some time in another hellhole Campbell Donald at least 2200 men died there in two months that I know of the jabs wouldn't bury them the Americans and Filipinos are so weak there weren't enough healthy men to take the graves as a result the camp became so litter with bodies that you could hardly tell the living from the dead with all of that all the running water around the camp became polluted it's made more sick more than good god oh yeah yeah you can gasp there are thousands of American witnesses to tell the truth what I'm telling you once once we decided to stand in our rights as prisoners of war we insisted on seeing the camp commander complaining to him I can hear them all both inch now sticking on his major little chest shouting I tell you this to your face swine I do not like Americans and I do not care how many die now how they die you don't know the jabs you don't know the the dirty state but I know the mac these fellas here will be another we made the death march from the 10 and then gun told us about the death march a blade man jabs took 10,000 Americans and 45,000 Filipinos prisoners they marched to send for an end of the panga distance of 120 miles 120 miles we were marched to different groups we were without water for days at a time and without food for most of the time personally didn't have a bite for days I don't know how many days I lost count my nose was over a week and then he gave me a mess kid of rice oh we often pass running streams the Japs seldom allowed us to drink a few prisoners tried it mostly Filipinos they were shot down cold blood oh yeah the Japs didn't mind when we drank from bloody caribou while I was though no no they like to see us do that that's where we got all the disentery I suppose at the end of every day mac the Japs dispatched those of us who looked too weak to make the march the following day but they committed murder with a new twist they made the condemned dig their own graves and brother no matter how sick or wounded or near to dying you are with a jab with a sharp band it tells you to dig your own grave dig how you dig jab shut up shut up shut up fight dad stand it it was one of the kids who had made the death march with gun gun passed out casually but without smiling gun will never smile again Johnny he doesn't like to think about it gentlemen but I can assure you on eyewitness testimony a jab with a helpless man in one hand and abandons me or there is a supreme modest as if you didn't know I'll kill I'll kill every last one of them the dirty wife never quiet Johnny quiet boy do you want him to hear you oh no try to forget it son try to forget it I can't forget it commander I can't boy and get it out of your system talk about it and that's what he chose to do happened a lot of times the first time it happened I didn't know what was up the prisoner had keeled over he'd been stumbling for hours the Japs dragged them out of the line to a ditch by the side of the road and they took me out of line they took me to where the poor guy was lying in the ditch one of the Japs handed me a shovel another jabbed a bayonet in me and shouted an order in Japanese I didn't know what they wanted better Jack grabbed the shovel out of my hand and showed me he threw a few shovels full of earth from the unconscious soldier that he had to be the shovel dear god it doesn't help to tell myself he was more dead than alive the worst time was once when a poor guy with six inches of dirt over him suddenly regained consciousness and tried to sit up he clawed away at the dirt trying to save himself and the Japs bayonet some stories which it is better not to finish you're right mag there are stories but it's better not to finish at least not through a medium which is welcomed into the homes of a people raised in the principles of christian charity but don't think america that such stories as you've just heard of the outstanding examples of japanese atrociousness as a matter of fact they are the least shocking of the hundreds we have caused to be printed or could tell and the 513 men who are rescued from kabanata one the other night by the rangers will undoubtedly have fresh horrors to add to the list unless the Japs have changed but if your imagination fails you think of the doings of the nazis and the ghettos of poland cast your minds back to the unholy times when tyrants impaled the heads of those who displeased them and on the gatepost of the castles dwell upon the gentler arts and forms once practiced in the inquisition torture chambers imagine the starvation of Athens the filth and hopelessness of devils island add all these up you'll have a good picture of the japanese treatment of american military prisoners in the philippines we were there we know tonight inspired by the rescue last week by american rangers of the last 513 prisoners of war in the notorious kabanata one prison camp words at war has brought you dramatic excerpts from the book ten escaped from tojo by lieutenant wellburn kelly the radio script was prepared by richard mcdonough and featured kenneth daynews commander mccoy ted jewitt as lieutenant colonel malnick and ned weaver as gun the music was by william meeder and the entire production was under the direction of anton m leader next week we'll present the controversial book what to do with germany by louis neiser words at war is brought to you in cooperation with the council on books in wartime by the national broadcasting company and the independent stations affiliated with the nbc network jack costello speaking this is the national broadcasting company