Only A Matter Of Days The World War Ii Prison Camp Diary Of Fay Cook Bailey

Merriam Press Military Monograph 64 . Third Edition (March 2012). "It's only a matter of days..." These words were spoken with conviction by Americans caught in the Philippines after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Within hours of the raid on Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes were attacking Clark Field and other targets in northern Luzon in preparation for a major landing. The Bailey's lives changed drastically that day, for within a month they were snatched from a comfortable home and lifestyle assisted by five servants and deposited on a stark University campus along with three thousand other Americans and other "enemy" nationals. They brought with them only what they could carry-food and clothing for three days. As the days grew into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years many were still hopeful that in only a matter of days something was going to happen to drive out the Japanese and free them from Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Those years were meticulously recorded in a "Line-A-Day Five Year Diary" that Caroline's father, Fay Cook Bailey, kept at great risk during their thirty-seven months of imprisonment under the Japanese. The recording of events was strictly forbidden by the Japanese Military Authority. After the war they were all eager to put the experience behind them, and the diary remained in a box of memorabilia from Santo Tomas which Caroline inherited upon her father's death in 1983. Believing that it might be of historical interest, at least for their family, she transferred it to a safety deposit box. In 1995, the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Manila and of their Liberation from Santo Tomas Internment Camp, she returned to the Philippines with a group of fellow "POW Children" and three of their liberators. The trip revealed just how deeply this wartime experience in their childhood had affected them all, and it motivated her to learn more about how they managed to survive the ordeal. For a start, she turned to the diary. It became apparent to her that her father had an important role in the camp both as Treasurer of the Philippine Red Cross/American National Red Cross and as Chief of the Finance and Supplies Committee, a function of the Internee Executive Committee. Besides the personal entries, his diary contains a great deal of information about the operation of these two entities. A third aspect of interest is his recording of all the rumors that nourished the faith and hopes of the prisoners. Except for expanding the numerous abbreviations, the diary is presented in its original form, a historically interesting account of life in Santo Tomas Internment Camp as recorded by Caroline's father, Fay C. Bailey. Shortly after the war, her father wrote an article, primarily for the New York office staff of the National City Bank, which describes in greater detail the events leading up to their internment and also explains transactions he left out of the diary during their incarceration. Therefore, it has been included as a prologue to the diary. Contents: * Bits of Manila, December 1941-February 1945 * December 1941-December 1942 * January-December 1943 * January-December 1944 * January-March 1945 * Epilogue * List of Persons * Documents * 4 photos * 11 illustrations * 1 map * 144 documents.

The World War II Prison Camp Diary of Fay Cook Bailey. Detailed diary by finance officer at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. Covers day-by-day camp activities, from December 1941 through March 1945 when the Bailey family along with other internees returned to the United States. Edited by the daughter of the diarist. Contents: Introduction; Bits of Manila, December 1941-February 1945; December 1941-December 1942; January-December 1943; January-December 1944; January-March 1945; Epilogue. Appendices: List of Persons; Documents. 11 illustrations, 4 photos, 1 map, 144 documents.

During World War II the Japanese imprisoned more American civilians at Manila's Santo Tomas prison camp than anywhere else, along with British and other nationalities. Placing the camp's story in the wider history of the Pacific war, this book tells how the camp went through a drastic change, from good conditions in the early days to impending mass starvation, before its dramatic rescue by U.S. Army "flying columns." Interned as a small boy with his mother and older sister, the author shows the many ways in which the camp's internees handled imprisonment--and their liberation afterwards. Using a wealth of Santo Tomas memoirs and diaries, plus interviews with other ex-internees and veteran army liberators, he reveals how children reinvented their own society, while adults coped with crowded dormitories, evaded sex restrictions, smuggled in food, and through a strong internee government, dealt with their Japanese overlords. The text explores the attitudes and behavior of Japanese officials, ranging from sadistic cruelty to humane cooperation, and asks philosophical questions about atrocity and moral responsibility.

My dream of freedom and better opportunity for my family came true. America is still the land of opportunity and freedom. I remember when the Philippines was still a commonwealth of the United States, and I was in grade school, we sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee." We did not come here on the Mayflower, but America has become our adopted country. Let freedom ring! "My country tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my father died! Land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountain side, Let freedom ring!"

In 1943, the first great wave of Hitler’s soldier’s came to America, not as goose-stepping conquering heroes, but as prisoners of war. By the time World War II ended in 1945, more than six hundred German POW camps had sprung up across America holding a total of 371,683 POWs. One of these camps was established at the U.S. Army’s training installation Camp Cooke on June 16, 1944. The POW base camp at Cooke operated sixteen branch camps in six of California’s fifty-eight counties and is today the site of Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County. Compared to other prisoner of war camps in California, Camp Cooke generally held the largest number of German POWs and operated the most branch camps in the state. A large number of the prisoners were from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps, as well as from other military formations. Under the terms of the Geneva Convention, the prisoners received comfortable quarters and excellent care. They filled critical wartime labor shortages inside the main Army post at Cooke and in the outlying civilian communities, performing agricultural work for which they were paid. On weekends and evenings, they enjoyed many recreational entertainment and educational opportunities available to them in the camp. For many POWs, the American experience helped reshape their worldview and gave them a profound appreciation of American democracy. This book follows the military experiences of fourteen German soldiers who were captured during the campaigns in North Africa and Europe and then sat out the remainder of the war as POWs in California. It is a firsthand account of life as a POW at Camp Cooke and the lasting impression it had on the prisoners.

A moving memoir of childhood in Dutch colonial Java, coming of age in wartime, and the trauma of life in WWII Labor Camps run by the Japanese. As a boy growing up the Dutch island colony of Java, John K. Stutterheim spent hours exploring his exotic surroundings, taking walks with his younger brother and dachshund along winding jungle roads. It was a fairly typical life for a colonial family in the Dutch East Indies, but their colonial idyll ended when the Japanese invaded in 1942, when John was fourteen. With the surrender of Java, John’s father was taken prisoner. Soon thereafter, John, his younger brother, and his mother were imprisoned. A year later he and his brother were moved to a forced labor camp for boys, where disease, starvation, and the constant threat of imminent death took their toll. Throughout all of these travails, John kept a secret diary hidden in his mattress. His memories now offer a unique perspective on an often-overlooked episode of World War II. What emerges is a compelling story of a young man caught up in the machinations of a global war—struggling to survive while caring for his gravely ill brother.

During WWII, my father was a soldier in a reconnaissance unit. During a mission in Cologne, Germany, he was captured by the German Army, and held as a Prisoner Of War. He was not only held in terrible conditions, but also made to march hundreds of miles between various camps. Through all this, he managed to keep hidden a diary of his experiences during this time. Should the diary have been found, it would have cost him his life. Still, he took that chance. His diary is a dated summary of all that he went through during his capture. In the diary, he made drawings of his surroundings and maps of both where he was captured and where he was marched across Europe. These were all done from memory. He also kept pictures and telegrams that he had collected during this time. The war took a heavy toll on him, both physically and mentally. Already a small man, he left imprisonment at only 80 pounds. He struggled with his health for the remainder of his life. Although, he never really talked about the war, we knew the atrocities he had witnessed had affected him greatly. Mom said he endured night sweats frequently and nightmares for years after. Despite the challenges from his past and continually failing health, my father pursued his passions and loved his family greatly until the time of his death. We lost my Father due to health complications resulting from the war in 1988, at the age of only 72. Our family lost a great man, father, and grandfather. His memory lives on in us today.