About one year after the end of the war, I received them in poor condition (being buried in the moist ground) from a Spanish priest, who probably had had great difficulty in locating me; (he wanted money to help him build a new church).
14th Infantry, Philippine Army: On April 1, 1942, USAFFE HQ on Corregidor seemed to have learned that guerrilla type warfare was not in accord with the rules of land warfare. Our regiment received a new title-we were the" 14th Infantry of the Philippine Army." Our regiment now controlled the Cagayan Valley, from Tuguegarao in the north to Balete Pass in the south, and from Kiangan in the west to Palanan and Casiguran ports on the east coast.
Bataan: The Bataan situation was becoming desperate; rations had been cut a second time. Soldiers in foxholes were having trouble getting food. The 26th Cavalry was eating its horses. The 65th Pack Train was eating its mules. Other soldiers ate trapped dogs, monkeys, lizards; in fact most anything they could catch.
On Good Friday, 1942, General Homma opened up with his biggest offensive-all his artillery supported by heavy bombing.
The front line of General Lim's 41st Division was pulverized. Nearly 100,000 seasoned Jap troops were overrunning the cadaverous defenders of the "American Way of Life." A few terrified and bedraggled remnants of the native companies were managing to filter back.
General Edward (Ned) King's 11th Division was too exhausted
to plug holes in the 41st Division. The Japs were now penetrating in large numbers.
On April 8, Gen. King called all his officers together; he tried to spare his starved, diseased, wounded, and exhausted troops such things as marching to internment camps; he requested conditions of surrender:
1. A four-hour armistice.
2. Japanese forces to remain in present positions during armistice.