The American Military Experience Series John C. McManus, Series Editor The books in this series portray and analyze the experience of Americans in military service during war and peacetime from the onset of the twentieth century to the present. The series emphasizes the profound impact wars have had on nearly every aspect of recent American history and considers the sig- nificant effects of modern conflict on combatants and noncombatants alike. Titles in the series include accounts of battles, campaigns, and wars; unit his- tories; biographical and autobiographical narratives; investigations of technol- ogy and warfare; studies of the social and economic consequences of war; and in general, the best recent scholarship on Americans in the modern armed forces. The books in the series are written and designed for a diverse audience that encompasses nonspecialists as well as expert readers. A POW’S Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II David L. Hardee Edited by Frank A. Blazich, Jr. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS Columbia Copyright © 2016 by The Curators of the University of Missouri University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65211 Printed and bound in the United States of America All rights reserved. First printing, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-8262-2082-0 Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2016937789 This paper meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984. Typefaces: Frutiger and Minion Contents Editor’s Preface vii List of Acronyms xi Editor’s Introduction xiii Foreword by David L. Hardee xxiii Section I: Fighting on Bataan 1 1. The War is On 9 2. The Billion Dollar Christmas Tree 19 3. Many Pilots and No Airplanes 27 4. The Last Days in Bataan 39 5. The Death March 49 Section II: Death’s Prison Camps 67 6. Camp O’Donnell 75 7. Cabanatuan 83 8. More Prison Life at Cabanatuan 91 9. En Route to Dapecol 97 Section III: Survival on Mindanao 105 10. Life at Dapecol 113 11. A Hernia Saved My Life 125 12. More Life at Dapecol 135 13. Final Days at Dapecol 143 14. A Hellship Trip to Bilibid 153 v vi Contents Section IV: Liberation and Return 157 15. Manila and Bilibid 165 16. Life at Bilibid 171 17. Final Days of Imprisonment 181 18. Liberation 191 19. Homeward Bound 195 Appendix: Military Decorations and Medal Citations 205 Notes 213 Bibliography 267 Index 285 Editor’s Preface In many respects, this current work is only available due to a series of coin- cidences and instances of good fortune, not the least of which being Colo- nel Hardee’s survival. I stumbled on his memoir in the course of my doctoral studies. While researching the civil defense history of North Carolina in the fall of 2009, I happened upon a small item in the November–December 1969 North Carolina Civil Defense Agency newsletter, mentioning the passing of the colonel. Two sentences about Hardee’s life caught my eye: “His distin- guished military career lasted from World War I to 1949, when he retired with twenty decorations, including the Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Star. He was a survivor of the Battle of Bataan, the infamous Death March and three years as a prisoner of war.” Thus began my journey back to the dark days of World War II. After an ini- tial internet query proved disappointing, a reference in the footnotes of Duane Heisinger’s Father Found pointed to a copy of the Hardee memoir located at the U.S. Military Academy Library. Out of sheer curiosity, I hunted through the collections of the various state and university libraries in North Carolina, but I could not turn up a copy of the memoir. It was through working with two fellow graduate students, Geoff Earnhart and Will Waddell, that I finally got my hands on Hardee’s text. Geoff obtained the memoir for me to transcribe, and Will proofed my typing. Locating Hardee’s family initially proved challenging. After finding Hard- ee’s 1969 obituary on microfilm archives, I located his son- in- law, Dr. Lee Remmers, who had married Hardee’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, at INSEAD graduate business school in Fontainebleau, France. I emailed Dr. Remmers on April 9, 2012, coincidentally, the seventieth anniversary of Bataan’s surrender. vii viii Editor’s Preface In his reply, he acknowledged awareness of the manuscript but noted the amount of editing required had thwarted previous publishing attempts. Eliza- beth Frances Hardee Remmers had passed away in 1979, but Dr. Remmers put me in touch with his late wife’s sister, Mary Hardee Stutz. From my first phone call in April 2012 to the present, I have had the greatest pleasure in working with “Miss Mary” to bring her father’s story to press. My first visit in June 2012 was an absolute treat as we spoke at length about her father’s service. With her permission, I drove home that evening transporting the personal papers and artifacts her father had carried throughout the war in the Philippines and oversaw their donation to the State Archives of North Carolina and the North Carolina Museum of History, respectively. Through a contact in the U.S. Army Awards and Decorations Branch, I assisted Miss Mary in submitting paperwork for a review of her father’s military service record. This effort resulted in his retroactively receiving the Prisoner of War Medal, a second Purple Heart for gas exposure in World War I, and other additions to his service decorations. Tragically, Miss Mary passed away on October 11, 2016 while the memoir was being typeset, but she went to the Lord knowing her father's story would be told at last. In presenting this memoir, every effort has been made to retain Hardee’s original text and structure. Using a blend of primary and secondary sources— especially other prisoner memoirs— I have attempted to provide for Hardee’s story a thorough contextual underpinning. I intentionally placed an emphasis on using published memoirs and other scholarly works to make this story as accessible as possible to both general readers and scholars. As is often the case with an early draft, names and geographical locations were frequently misspelled in the original manuscript, and where I could con- firm the appropriate names, these have been amended. In the interest of con- sistency, terminology and abbreviations have been standardized throughout the text. Other vestiges of the memoir’s origins as a seemingly spoken text, such as paragraphs composed of one or two sentences or idiosyncratic punc- tuation or spelling, have given way to complete paragraphs and regularized punctuation and spelling. In rare instances, subtle editing has provided clarity for inexplicable word choice or sentence structure. Fortunately, little of Hard- ee’s writing required modification. Readers may take issue with the decision to retain the period language, no- tably Hardee’s references to the Japanese as “Japs.” Hardee’s animosity and racist descriptions of his captors are the products of his experiences during the Editor’s Preface ix conflict, and he rarely shares such attitudes toward Filipinos or other cultures in his writing; therefore, I have chosen to leave them as written by Hardee. Hardee’s story would not now be in the light of day without the time, energy, and support of countless people. I wish to express my gratitude to my former colleagues at the Ohio State University— Major Geoff Earnhart, for obtaining a copy of the memoir from West Point’s library, and Dr. William Waddell, for assisting in the location of source material, proofing the manuscript, and assisting in the editing process. Without their work and good counsel, this project would never have advanced beyond an internet search. In addition, no book comes together without the assistance of the family. From the Hardee family, I wish to thank Dr. Lee Remmers for sharing memo- ries of his father- in- law. Most of all, I am indebted to Mrs. Mary Hardee Stutz, who opened up her home and warmly welcomed me, generously giving her time to provide invaluable insight into her father and clarification of facts about points in his life. My own family has supported me throughout this project. My older sister, Joan, assisted with editing oversight on the text and notes, and my brother- in- law, Brian, always had a good word when I hit a wall. My father died unexpect- edly before this book’s publication. A keen historian in his own right, he took a great interest in Hardee’s story and made editorial suggestions after review- ing the manuscript. My mother listened to my research quandaries, supported trips to the archives, and could always be depended upon for an encouraging hug and a supportive chat. In the course of my work, I crossed paths with a number of archivists, histo- rians, researchers, colleagues, and friends who have all contributed to the final product. Dr. Robert Doyle, Mr. Kenrick Simpson, Dr. Joe Porter, Dr. John Mc- Manus, Ms. Sara Davis, Mr. Clair Willcox, Ms. Diann Benti, Ms. Kim Anders- en, Mr. Phil Zubiate, Mrs. Mary P. Johnson, and Mr. Wesley Injerd helped with research, literary, or technical questions. To the friends from graduate school and federal service with whom I have shared this memoir I express my deepest appreciation for keeping my spirits up and faith strong. Notably, a gracious thank- you to Dr. James Bartholomew, the late Dr. John “Joe” Guilmartin, Dr. Peter Mansoor, Mr. Zack Fry, Major Shauna Hann, Mr. Tom Reilly, and Mrs. Sharon Reilly. Finally, a hearty salute to Colonel Hardee for saving his part of the past, thus granting me the privilege of sharing his story with you.