Our visits to the hospitals were frequently made on horseback.
As I rode along the trails, little Filipinos, noting my King George V beard, often amused me by doffing their big straw hats, bowing low and saying, "Buenos Dias, Padre!" For security reasons, and to keep rumors to a minimum, many of our trips were made after dark.
When patrols were going our on the prowl, medical aid men went along, carrying small amounts of medicines and bandages. Local physicians were used whenever possible. Civilians were very good to our sick and wounded, taking them into their homes and caring for them until they could travel, in spite of threats by the Japs.
Efforts were made to care for all sick and wounded civilians in our areas of operation. This paid dividends in many ways. It was the friendliness of the Filipinos that paved the way for MacArthur's eventual invasion of Luzon. Most of the time there was no question of loyalty among the Filipinos.
Diet and Sanitation: Our diet was good-obtained from the fertile farms and haciendas of the Cagayan Valley. When possible, water was obtained from the deep wells in each barrio. Most Filipinos were familiar with crude sand filter, made by digging shallow wells a few feet back on river banks.
Pit latrines were dug whenever troops remained in an area for more than a few hours. We had no venereal problems. The majority of Filipinos were good "family" people.
Tuguegarao Air Field Raid: Captain Minton selected some of his outstanding Scouts for his patrol. Under cover of darkness, Minton and his men surrounded the Japanese barracks at the Tuguegarao Air Field, killed some one-hundred Japanese soldiers as they emerged, and destroyed two planes on the ground.
MacArthur was delighted! He promptly decorated the patrol
and promoted Majors Warner and Nakar to Lt. Cols. and Minton to Major.
The following communiqué was quickly announced from Corregidor: "One of General MacArthur's guerrilla bands, operating in the Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon, scored a brilliant local success in a surprise raid on a hostile airdrome at Tuguegarao. The Japanese were taken completely by surprise and fled in confusion leaving 110 dead on the field. Approximately three hundred others were put to flight. Our losses were very light."