tenor. Butch Manke, Hank Ruhl, Chuck Kaelin and Louie Baller were vocal soloists; and Sgt. Becher, Al Roholt, Hank Ruhl and Harry Mock formed a barbershop quartet called the Four Bees.
When the Cats played "Rhapsody in Blue," you could close your eyes and imagine Paul Whiteman's complete ensemble performing on the stage-they were that good. For a few brief moments, the horrors of reality vanished.
Because of the large number of prisoners from Texas and New Mexico,
"San Antonio Rose," "The Eyes of Texas," and "The Yellow Rose of
Texas" always received great applause.
Nearly every ambulatory prisoner placed his blanket out in front of the stage in the afternoon to reserve a seat for the eight o'clock performance. As soon as the music began, many Jap guards gathered around to listen.
Favorite songs were: "Stardust," "Tennessee Waltz," "A Pretty Girl Is
Like a Melody," "Mood Indigo," "Deep Purple," "Sleepy Lagoon,"
"Sentimental Journey," "Fascination," "Tenderly," "Sweet and Lovely,"
"In My Solitude," and many others. A native song, "Planting Rice," was
popular. And once in a while, they even got away with "GOD BLESS
AMERICA!" of course without words.
In October of 1944, the orchestra was ordered to Japan on a prison ship; the ship was unmarked, and after a few days out, was sunk by an American submarine. All members of the orchestra were lost!
Stage Shows: The first few months of camp, we had so many captives transferred to Group IV (the cemetery), that the future seemed very bleak. To raise the camp morale, Lt. Col. O.O. (Zero) Wilson began a variety program in Group I; Lt. Bill Burrell started a medicine show in Group II and Captain Bleich initiated shows in Group III.
In October, 1942, Col. Zero combined the shows into a central casting office, and every Saturday night put on a super colossal by the Cabanatuan Mighty Art Players.
Some of the actors were: Al Manning, Robin Swann, a Britisher, Don Childers, Ben Mossel, Bill Nealson, Robert Brownlee (a Negro and camp favorite), Bill Burrell, Eddie McIntyre (female impersonator), and many others.
Some of the fifty-four productions were: Casey Jones, The Drun kard, Gone with the Wind, Journey's End, Uncle Tom's Cabin, etc.