Ilongots, an uncivilized tribe of headhunters living in this area, told Dr. Jones, 'We have come to like you and respect you. We do not want you to go, but to stay here with us!' Jones explained that he liked them and appreciated their hospitality, but he had finished his work and must return home.
"With chilling logic, the Ilongots cut off Jones' head so that his spirit might always remain, and named the barrio after him, Jones."
When I learned that "Christian heads" were at a premium, I always kept my .45 and my newly acquired M-l rifle handy.
Supply System: A supply system was organized. Owners of rice mills, farmers and politicians were cooperative-furnishing food, clothing, equipment and even one-hundred small Filipino ponies for our cavalry squadron. For these, they were willing to accept IOU notes-hopefully to be honored by the government after the war.
Communications: A small nipa shack housed our two-way radio set up by Captain Arnold. Contact was established with USAFFE HQ on Corregidor, and a regular time set for transmission. News could be obtained several times each day, making the shack a very popular place. A relay telephone system using existing lines along the highway reached all outposts.
Air Strip: Troops with the help of civilian labor constructed an air strip in the vicinity of Jones, adequate for light planes. It was concealed by placing several portable buildings on it. On two occasions a light plane from Bataan dropped boxes of medicine, ammunition and shoes. This bolstered our morale more than our warehouses. General MacArthur became intensely interested in his first Guerrilla Regiment, probably because things were not going well on Bataan.
Medical Service: As former C.O. of the station hospital at Camp John Hay, I became the Regimental Surgeon and organized a medical service with one dental and four medical officers, all from the Philippine Army, as my assistants. We had a dispensary at the Regimental HQ in Jones and two small hospitals in abandoned schools in neighboring barrios Minuri and Dibulwan hopefully out of bombing range.
In the absence of a regular source of medical supplies, our treatment was often quite primitive. We were able to get some medicines and surgical instruments from local hospitals, but only after the Japanese had raided them. Local physicians and civilians
gave freely of their time and care.
Since malaria was prevalent in the Cagayan Valley, our anti-malarial drugs were quickly consumed. Under the guidance of native officers, the bark of certain tall trees was gathered and boiled in water. The resulting extraction caused cessation of active malaria symptoms for a few days, and then had to be repeated. A similar potion was made from the bark of guava bushes, and was reputed to relieve diarrhea. We were fortunate that most Filipinos seemed to have considerable immunity against tropical diseases; our morbidity rates were low.