PFC George Everett Chumley was born on May 24, 1921, to Wiley Chumley and Lola Taylor-Chumley, and was known as “Everett” to his family. It is known he had two sisters and a brother and grew up on Greenville Street in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and was employed by his father. Some sources show that in the late 1930s, George joined the Kentucky National Guard as a member of the 38th Tank Company headquartered above a store in Harrodsburg.
After the German tank divisions rolled through Europe in 1939 and 1940, the Army created the U.S. Armored Forces on July 10, 1940. Included in the force were the National Guard General Headquarters tank battalions. The GHQ tank battalions which were still considered infantry were notified they were being called up, on September 1, 1940, to create a “buffer” between the armored forces and infantry. This was done to protect the regular army tank battalions from requests from the infantry for tanks and allow them to develop into real fighting forces. If the infantry wanted tanks, the National Guard tank battalions were available to the infantry.
Men who were married with dependents were excused from federal service when the company was federalized. At 7:00 A.M. on November 25, the remaining members of the company met in the large hall on the second floor of the D. L. Moore building at 122 South Main Street and were sworn into federal service. The company used the hall above the store for its drills since its armory was in the process of being built. The remaining members of the company were sworn into the Regular Army, given physicals, and some men inducted in the morning were released by noon the same day. A flatcar for the company’s two tanks and a passenger car for some of the soldiers were added to a train for transport to Ft. Knox. Most of the company boarded 10 trucks in Harrodsburg on November 28 that left Harrodsburg at 12:30 P.M. arriving at Ft. Knox at 4:30 P.M.
Their first impression of the base was that it was a mud hole because it had rained continuously for days, and it continued to rain after they arrived. Someone at the base told them that at the fort, “You either wade to your ankles in dust, or mud to your knees.” When the entire battalion arrived at the base, it had a total of eight tanks. The biggest task at Ft. Knox facing the members of the 192nd, was that each company had to get used to the other. During this process of adjustment, the members of the different companies often were involved in fistfights. As time passed, the fights ended and the members of the battalion became friends.
Unpainted temporary barracks were their first housing since their barracks were not finished. Each man had a steel cot to sleep on. The bunks were set up along the walls and alternated so that the head of one bunk was next to the foot of another bunk allowing for more bunks to be placed in the least amount of space allowing for 25 men to sleep on each floor. The first sergeant, staff sergeant, and master sergeant had their own rooms. There was also a supply room, an orderly room – where the cooks could sleep during the day – and a clubroom. Twenty-five men lived on each floor of the barracks. When men were assigned to the company from selective service, they lived in tents next to the company’s two barracks. The tents were on concrete slabs and had screened wooden walls and doors with canvas roofs. Each tent had a stove in the center for heat and electricity for lighting. The officers had their own barracks with private rooms for each officer. In addition, each officer had an orderly to clean his room.
The one problem they had was that the barracks had four, two-way speakers in it. One speaker was in the main room of each floor of the barracks, one was in the first sergeant’s office, and one was in the captain’s office. Since by flipping a switch the speaker became a microphone, the men watched what they said. The men assigned to HQ Company moved into their own barracks by February. The guardsmen were housed away from the regular army troops in the newly built barracks. Newspapers from the time state that the barracks were air-conditioned.
After arriving, they spent the first six weeks in primary training. During week 1, the soldiers did infantry drilling; week 2, manual arms and marching to music; week 3, machine gun training; week 4, was pistol usage; week 5, M1 rifle firing; week 6, was training with gas masks, gas attacks, pitching tents, and hikes; weeks 7, 8, and 9 were spent learning the weapons, firing each one, learning the parts of the weapons and their functions, field stripping and caring for weapons, and the cleaning of weapons.
For Christmas, members of the company received 4½ day furloughs home while other men remained at Ft. Knox. The base was decorated with lighted Christmas trees along its streets and each night Christmas carols were sung by a well-trained choir that went from barracks to barracks. The sight was said to be beautiful as the soldiers entered the camp from the ridge north of their barracks. The workload of the soldiers was also reduced for the holidays. Christmas dinner consisted of roast turkey, baked ham, candied sweet potatoes, snowflake potatoes, giblet gravy, oyster dressing, cranberry sauce, pickle relish, grapes, oranges, rolls, fruit cake, ice cream, bread, butter, and coffee. After dinner, cigars, cigarettes, and candy were provided.
Since none of the letter companies wanted to give up their tanks, the War Department allowed the battalion to form an HQ Company and keep its four tank companies. 1st Sgt. Arch Rue was given the job of picking men to be transferred to the soon-to-be-formed HQ Company. William was one of the men selected for the company. Men were picked for the company because they had special training and received promotions because of their ratings received higher pay. The men assigned to the HQ company still lived with the D Company since their barracks were unfinished.
The biggest problem facing the unit was the lack of equipment. Many of the tanks were castoffs from the regular army or pulled from the junkyard at Ft. Knox and rebuilt by the tank companies. The tanks were also restricted in where they could be driven and very little training was done with the infantry. The companies received new trucks and motorcycles in the Spring of 1941. The men received training under the direction of the 69th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division. This was true for the tank crews and reconnaissance units who trained with the regiment’s tanks and reconnaissance units and later trained with their own companies. One hundred and forty-nine men from Selective Service were assigned to the battalion on January 10.
A typical day for the soldiers started at 6:15 with reveille, but most of the soldiers were up before this since they wanted to wash and dress. Breakfast was from 7:00 to 8:00 A.M., followed by calisthenics from 8:00 to 8:30. Afterward, the tankers went to various schools within the company. The classes lasted 13 weeks and consisted of .30 and .50 caliber machine guns, pistols, map reading, care of personal equipment, military courtesy, and training in tactics. At 11:30 the soldiers stopped what they were doing and cleaned up for mess which was from noon to 1:00 P.M. Afterward, they attended the various schools to which they had been assigned on January 13, such as mechanics, tank driving, and radio operating. At 4:30, the soldiers called it a day and returned to their barracks and put on dress uniforms at five held retreat and followed by dinner at 5:30. After they ate they stood in line to wash their mess kits since they had no mess hall. After dinner, they were off duty and lights were out at 9:00 P.M., but they did not have to turn in until 10:00 when Taps was played. It was during this time that he resigned as an enlisted man and reenlisted as an officer. On January 12, 1941, their mess hall opened and they ate off real plates with forks and knives. They also no longer had to wash their own plates since that job fell on the men assigned to Kitchen Police.
During their free time, the soldiers went to the movies, went to dances held every two weeks, went to the post library, went skating every weekend, and played as members of the company’s basketball. In the spring and summer, the company had a volleyball team and a baseball team. They also had a bowling league and competed against the other companies of the battalion and against companies from other units. Men also participated in boxing. Men who lived within 50 miles of the fort were allowed to go home on weekends. The soldiers who remained on base went to Louisville 35 miles to the north of the base or Elizabethtown 16 miles to the south of the base. Those men still on the base used the dayroom to read since it was open until 11:00 P.M.
The battalion also had its first target practice at the 1st Cavalry firing range on the 7th. The men fired both the 30-caliber and 50-caliber machine guns. The next day, they fired the 45 automatic pistols. On the 9th almost every member of the company had a chance to drive a tank. On Friday, they went to the gas chamber which was filled with tear gas. After they entered with their gas masks on, they could not leave until they removed their masks. As soon as the gas hit them, tears flowed. All men who held the rank of Private First Class were ordered to report for motorcycle classes at the Armored Force where they were taught the functions and duties of a motorcyclist in the garrison and combat. Ten other men from the company were attending “trade” classes or radio school from 8 to 11:30 each morning.
The men also received their government-issued toiletries at this time and were issued a razor, savings and toothbrushes, and three towels. They also received another pair of pants for their uniforms which meant they had their full complement of clothing. The battalion also now eating from plates with silverware instead of from their mess kits.
The entire battalion on January 28, took part in a one-day problem that had to do with the deployment of large units of tanks and put into practice what they had learned in the classroom. They were up at 5:00 A.M. and reported to the tank parks of the 1st and 13th Armor Regiments. It was a long tough day for all the soldiers, but they all believed they had learned more in that one day than they had learned in an entire week of school. It was also at this time that each company had a tent so they could make minor repairs to their tanks. It was noted that the men from every company seemed to enjoy working on their own tanks. They were also taking the tanks out on the trails and obstacle driving which resulted in the companies developing many good tank crews.
During February, four composite tank detachments made of men from all the companies of the battalion left Ft. Knox – on different dates – on problematic moves at 9:00 A.M. The detachments consisted of three motorcycles, two scout cars, sixteen tanks, one ambulance, and supply, fuel, and kitchen trucks. The route was difficult and chosen so that the men could become acquainted with their equipment. They also had to watch out for simulated enemy planes. Bridges were avoided whenever it was possible to ford the water. They received their rations from a food truck.
In late March 1941, the entire battalion was moved to new larger barracks at Wilson Road and Seventh Avenue at Ft. Knox. The barracks had bathing and washing facilities in them and a day room. The new kitchens had larger gas ranges, automatic gas heaters, large pantries, and mess halls. One reason for this move was the men from selective service were permanently joining the battalion.
As the weather got warmer in April the topic became when would they receive their summer uniforms. The uniforms they had were a heavy material and would be uncomfortable in the Kentucky heat. During the month, the company was back in its tanks. It was on the 24th that the battalions tanks were proceeding in a column and one of the motorcyclists, from C Company, was showing off his riding skills and zoomed past the tanks. When he cut back into the column, he hit a rut of gravel and fell off the motorcycle about four feet in front of a tank. The tank crew was able to stop the tank before it ran over him.
At the beginning of June that a detachment of men went to Detroit, Michigan, to pick up 39 trucks for the battalion. The exact date they left is not known, but they spent the night at Patterson Field, Ohio, from there they went north through Springfield, Urbana, Bellfontaine, and Bowling Green, Ohio, before entering Michigan. It took the tankers two days to get to Detroit. While they were there, a large number of them crossed the Detroit River, visited Windsor, Canada, and mailed postcards home. It is known they were back at Ft. Knox before June 6.
On June 14 and 16, the battalion was divided into four detachments composed of men from different companies. Available information shows that C and D Companies, part of HQ Company and part of the Medical Detachment left on June 14, while A and B Companies, and the other halves of HQ Company and the Medical Detachment left the fort on June 16. These were tactical maneuvers – under the command of the commanders of each of the letter companies. The three-day tactical road marches were to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and back. Each tank company traveled with 20 tanks, 20 motorcycles, 7 armored scout cars, 5 jeeps, 12 peeps (later called jeeps), 20 large 2½ ton trucks (these carried the battalion’s garages for vehicle repair), 5, 1½ ton trucks (which included the companies’ kitchens), and 1 ambulance.
The detachments traveled through Bardstown and Springfield before arriving at Harrodsburg at 2:30 P.M. where they set up their bivouac at the fairgrounds. The next morning, they moved to Herrington Lake east of Danville, where the men swam, boated, and fished. The battalion returned to Ft. Knox through Lebanon, New Haven, and Hodgenville, Kentucky. At Hodgenville, the men were allowed to visit the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.
At the end of June, the battalion found itself at the firing range and appeared to have spent the last week there. According to available information, they were there from 4:00 A.M. until 8:30 A.M. when they left the range. They then had to clean the guns which took them until 10:30 A.M. One of the complaints they had about the firing range was that it was so hot and humid that when they got back from it that their clothes felt like they had stood out in the rain. Right after July 4, the battalion went on a nine-day maneuver. Twelve of the battalion’s tanks were sent to Rock Island, Illinois, to be overhauled but were returned before the battalion went to Louisiana.
Another detachment of men was sent to Detroit in July. It is not known why they were sent there, but it is known they were there for 7 days. It was during this time the men began hearing the rumor that part of the battalion was being sent to South Carolina while part of the battalion would be going to Texas. They also heard that the battalion would be taking part in maneuvers in Arkansas and that after the maneuvers, the battalion was heading to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for six weeks before they were sent to the Philippines.
During August the battalion was involved in the making of the short movie, “The Tanks are Coming” for Metro Golden Meyer starring George Tobias. It was stated that they were filmed loading and unloading their tanks, but it was not indicated if it was on and off trains or trucks. Some men stated they also took part in other scenes during the movie.
About half of the battalion left Ft. Knox on September 1 in trucks and other wheeled vehicles and spent the night in Clarksville, Tennessee. By 7:00 A.M. the next morning, the detachment was on the move. On the second day, the soldiers saw their first cotton fields which they found fascinating. They spent the night in Brownsville, Tennessee, and were again on the move the following morning at 7:00 A.M. At noon, the convoy crossed the Mississippi River which they found amazing, and spent the night in Clarksdale, Mississippi. At noon the next day, the convoy crossed the lower part of Arkansas and arrived at Tallulah, Louisiana, where, they washed, relaxed, and played baseball against the locals. It also gave them a break from sitting on wooden benches in the trucks. During the trip, the convoy was involved in a number of accidents that appeared to involve the battalion’s motorcycles but no details are known.
Some of the members of the battalion left Ft. Knox for the maneuvers by train on September 4. It is known that the tanks had been loaded onto train cars and that the train had a kitchen for them to have meals. The time of departure for the train was 6:30 PM. and the arrival time in Tremont, Louisiana, was scheduled for around midnight the night of September 5, but the train did not arrive until 3:00 AM on the 6th. When they arrived at Tremont, the men who had driven to Louisiana were waiting for them at the train station. The tanks were unloaded in the dark while the men were eaten alive by mosquitos. That night they were allowed to go to Monroe, Louisiana, and it was said there were more soldiers in the town than civilians.
When they arrived, the battalion was assigned to the Red Army, attached to the Fourth Cavalry, and stationed at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. The battalion’s bivouac was in the Kisatchi Forest. What made the bivouac worse was that the rainy season started and the men found themselves living in it. On one occasion the battalion was bivouac near a canal and the next morning the men found themselves in water over their shoes trying to dig ditches for drainage. The members of B Company captured a medium size alligator in their bivouac and pulled it around at the end of a leash made from a rope. Two days later the battalion made a two-day move, as a neutral unit, to Ragley, Louisiana, and was assigned to the Blue Army and fought with the 191st Tank Battalion as the First Tank Group.
The mobile kitchens moved right along with the rest of the battalion. In the opinion of the men, the food was not very good because the damp air made it hard to get a fire started. Many of their meals were C ration meals of beans or chili – which they called “Iron Rations” – that they carried in their backpacks and choked down. Drinking water was scarce and men went days without shaving and many shaved their heads to keep cool. Washing clothes was done when the men had a chance. They did this by finding a creek, looking for alligators, and if there were none, taking a bar of soap and scrubbing whatever they were washing. Clothes were usually washed once a week or once every two weeks.
The tankers stated that they had never seen so many mosquitoes, ticks, and snakes before. Water moccasins were the most common snake, but there were also rattlesnakes. Snake bites were also a problem and at some point, it seemed that every other man was bitten by a snake. The platoon commanders carried a snake bite kit that was used to create a vacuum to suck the poison out of the bite. The bites were the result of the night cooling down and snakes crawling under the soldiers’ bedrolls for warmth while the soldiers were sleeping on them. When the soldiers woke up in the morning they would carefully pick up their bedrolls to see if there were any snakes under them.
To avoid being bitten, men slept on the two-and-a-half-ton trucks or on or in the tanks. Another trick the soldiers learned was to dig a small trench around their tents and lay rope in the trench. The burs on the rope kept the snakes from entering the tents. The snakes were not a problem if the night was warm. There was one multicolored snake – about eight inches long – that was beautiful to look at, but if it bit a man he was dead. The good thing was that these snakes would not just strike at the man but only struck if the man forced himself on the snake.
They also had a problem with the wild hogs in the area. In the middle of the night while the men were sleeping in their tents they would suddenly hear hogs squealing. The hogs would run into the tents pushing on them until they took them down and dragged them away.
During the maneuvers, tanks held defensive positions and usually were held in reserve by the higher headquarters. For the first time, the tanks were used to counter-attack, in support of infantry, and held defensive positions. Some men felt that the tanks were finally being used like they should be used and not as “mobile pillboxes.” The maneuvers were described by other men as being awakened at 4:30 A.M. and sent to an area to engage an imaginary enemy. After engaging the enemy, the tanks withdrew to another area. The crews had no idea what they were doing most of the time because they were never told anything by the higher-ups. A number of men felt that they just rode around in their tanks a lot.
While training at Ft. Knox, the tankers were taught that they should never attack an anti-tank gun head-on. One day during the maneuvers, their commanding general threw away the entire battalion doing just that. After sitting out for a period of time, the battalion resumed the maneuvers. The major problem for the tanks was the sandy soil. On several occasions, tanks were parked and the crews walked away from them. When they returned, the tanks had sunk into the sandy soil up to their hauls. It was said that the clay at Ft. Knox was not as bad as the sandy soil in Louisiana. To get them out, other tanks were brought in and attempted to pull them out. If that didn’t work, the tankers brought a tank wrecker to pull the tank out from Camp Polk.
It was not uncommon for the tankers to receive orders to move at night. On October 1 at 2:30 A.M., they were awakened by the sound of a whistle which meant they had to get the tanks ready to move. Those assigned to other duties loaded trucks with equipment. Once they had assembled into formations, they received the order to move, without headlights, to make a surprise attack on the Red Army. By 5:30 that morning – after traveling 40 miles in 2½ hours from their original bivouac in the dark – they had established a new bivouac and set up their equipment. They camouflaged their tanks and trucks and set up sentries to look for paratroopers or enemy troops. At 11:30, they received orders and 80 tanks and armored vehicles moved out into enemy territory. They engaged the enemy at 2:38 in the afternoon and an umpire with a white flag determined who was awarded points or penalized. At 7:30 P.M., the battle was over and the tanks limped back to the bivouac where they were fueled and oiled for the next day.
The one good thing that came out of the maneuvers was that the tank crews learned how to move at night. At Ft. Knox this was never done. Without knowing it, the night movements were preparing them for what they would do in the Philippines since most of the battalion’s movements there were made at night. The drivers learned how to drive at night and to take instructions from their tank commanders who had a better view from the turret. A number of motorcycle riders from other tank units were killed because they were riding their bikes without headlights on which meant they could not see obstacles in front of their bikes. When they hit something they fell to the ground and the tanks following them went over them. This happened several times before the motorcycle riders were ordered to turn on their headlights.
Water was rationed, so the soldiers washed in streams after making sure there were no alligators or snakes nearby. If they took a bath, they did it in cold water. Men went days without washing their faces. The popular conversation during the maneuvers was where the battalion being was being sent next. Rumors flew that after the maneuvers they were going to Ft. Ord, California, Ft. Lewis, Washington, Ft. Benning, Georgia, or Ft. Mead, Maryland.
After the maneuvers, there was a rumor they were going to be sent to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, but many of the battalion members expected to return to Ft. Knox. Instead, the battalion received orders to report to Camp Polk, Louisiana. At this time, Major Bacon Moore was relieved of command of the 192nd because of his age and Major Ted Wickord became the commanding officer of the battalion. On October 3, Wickord was ordered to Ft. Knox and received the orders to send the battalion overseas. After he returned to Camp Polk, on the side of a hill, the battalion learned that it had been selected to go overseas. Those men who were married with dependents, 29 years old or older, or whose National Guard enlistments were within months of ending were allowed to resign from federal service. They were replaced with men from the 753rd Tank Battalion who volunteered or had their names drawn out of a hat.
Both new and old members of the battalion were given furloughs home to say their goodbyes. After their furloughs, the men returned to Camp Polk, where they prepared for duty overseas. Cosmoline was put on any weapon that possibly could rust while at sea. During this time, they once again lived in tents. The battalion was scheduled to receive brand-new M3A1 tanks but there was a delivery problem and this could not be done. Instead, they were given M3A1 tanks – from the 753rd Tank Battalion and the 3rd Armor Division – to replace their M2A2 tanks. Many of these “new” tanks were within 5 hours of their 100-hour required maintenance and only new to the battalion.
There are at least two stories on the decision to send the battalion overseas, but the decision appeared to have been made well before the maneuvers. According to one story, the decision was the result of an event that took place in the summer of 1941. A squadron of American fighters was flying over Lingayen Gulf, in the Philippines, when one of the pilots, who was flying at a lower altitude, noticed something odd. He took his plane down and identified a flagged buoy in the water and saw another in the distance. He came upon more buoys that lined up, in a straight line for 30 miles to the northwest, in the direction of Taiwan which had a large radio transmitter. The squadron continued its flight plan south to Mariveles and returned to Clark Field. When the planes landed, it was too late to do anything that day. The next day, when another squadron was sent to the area, the buoys had been picked up by a fishing boat – with a tarp on its deck – which was seen making its way to shore. Since communication between the Air Corps and the Navy was difficult, the boat escaped. It was at that time the decision was made to build up the American military presence in the Philippines.
Many of the National Guard members of the battalion believed that the reason they were selected to be sent overseas was that they had performed well on the maneuvers. The story was that they were personally selected by General George S. Patton who had commanded the tanks of the Blue Army to go overseas. It is true that Patton praised the battalion for its performance during the maneuvers, but there is no evidence that he personally selected them for duty in the Philippines.
The fact was that the battalion was part of the First Tank Group which was headquartered at Ft. Knox and operational by June 1941. During the maneuvers, they even fought as part of the First Tank Group. Available information suggests that the tank group had been selected to be sent to the Philippines early in 1941. Besides the 192nd, the group was made up of the 70th and 191st Tank Battalions – the 191st had been a National Guard medium tank battalion while the 70th was a Regular Army medium tank battalion – at Ft. Meade, Maryland. The 193rd was at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and the 194th was at Ft. Lewis, Washington. The 192nd, 193rd, and 194th had been National Guard light tank battalions. It is known that the military presence in the Philippines was being built up at the time, so in all likelihood, the entire tank group had been scheduled to be sent to the Philippines.
On August 13, 1941, Congress voted to extend federalized National Guard units’ time in the regular Army by 18 months. On August 15, the 194th received its orders to go overseas. The buoys being spotted by the pilot may have sped up the transfer of the tank battalions to the Philippines with only the 192nd and 194th reaching the islands, but it was not the reason for the battalions going to the Philippines. It is also known that the 193rd Tank Battalion was on its way to the Philippines when Pearl Harbor was attacked and the battalion was held there. It is known one of the two medium tank battalions had received orders for the Philippines and was on standby, but the orders were canceled on December 10 because the war with Japan had started. Some documents from the time show the name of the Provisional Tank Group in the Philippines as the First Provisional Tank Group.
Many of the members of the battalion were given furloughs so that they could say goodbye to family and friends. He returned home to say his goodbyes and married Thelma A. Weidner on October 5, 1941. The battalion’s new tanks which came from the 753rd Tank Battalion and the 3rd Armor Division were loaded onto flat cars, on different trains. At 8:30 A.M. on October 20, over different train routes, the companies were sent to San Francisco, California. Most of the soldiers of each company rode on one train that was followed by a second train that carried the company’s tanks. At the end of the second train was a boxcar followed by a passenger car that carried some soldiers.
The company took the southern route along the Gulf Coast through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. At Yuma, Arizona the train stopped and the Native Americans entered the train cars and sold beads to the soldiers. The soldiers knocked each other over attempting to buy the beads. After the train pulled out of the station, someone noticed that the genuine Native American beads were made in Japan.
When they arrived in San Francisco, they were ferried, by the U.S.A.T. General Frank M. Coxe, to Ft. McDowell on Angel Island. When they got near Alcatraz, a soldier on the boat said to them, “I’d rather be here than going where you all are going.” On the island, they were given physicals by the battalion’s medical detachment. Men found to have minor health issues were held back and scheduled to rejoin the battalion at a later date. Other men were simply replaced by men sent to the island as replacements. It appears these men came from the 757th Tank Battalion at Ft. Ord, California. Also waiting there was Colonel James R. N. Weaver who was given the command of the 192nd.
The 192nd was boarded onto the U.S.A.T. Gen. Hugh L. Scott and sailed on Monday, October 27. During this part of the trip, many tankers had seasickness, but once they recovered they spent much of the time training in breaking down machine guns, cleaning weapons, and doing KP. They arrived at Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sunday, November 2nd, and had a two-day layover, so the soldiers were given shore leave so they could see the island. On Wednesday, November 5, the ship sailed for Guam but took a southerly route away from the main shipping lanes. It was at this time it was joined by, the heavy cruiser, the U.S.S. Louisville and, another transport, the U.S.A.T. President Calvin Coolidge. On Sunday night, November 9, the soldiers went to bed and when they awoke the next morning, it was Tuesday, November 11. During the night, while they slept, the ships had crossed the International Dateline.
On Saturday, November 15, smoke from an unknown ship was seen on the horizon. The Louisville revved up its engines, its bow came out of the water, and it shot off in the direction of the smoke. It turned out the smoke was from a ship that belonged to a friendly country, but two other intercepted ships were Japanese freighters carrying scrap metal. When they arrived at Guam on Sunday, November 16, the ships took on water, bananas, coconuts, and vegetables before sailing for Manila the next day. At one point, the ships passed an island at night and did so in total blackout. This for many of the soldiers was a sign that they were being sent into harm’s way.
The ships entered Manila Bay, at 8:00 A.M., on Thursday, November 20, and docked at Pier 7 later that morning. One thing that was different about their arrival was that instead of a band and a welcoming committee waiting at the pier to tell them to enjoy their stay in the Philippines and see as much of the island as they could, a party came aboard the ship – carrying guns – and told the soldiers, “Draw your firearms immediately; we’re under alert. We expect a war with Japan at any moment. Your destination is Fort Stotsenburg, Clark Field.” At 3:00 P.M., as the enlisted men left the ship, a Marine was checking off their names. When someone said his name, the Marine responded with, “Hello sucker.” Those who drove trucks drove them to the fort, while the maintenance section remained behind at the pier to unload the tanks.
At the fort, the tankers were met by Gen. Edward P. King, who welcomed them and made sure that they had what they needed. He also was apologetic that there were no barracks for the tankers and that they had to live in tents. The fact was he had not learned of their arrival until days before they arrived. He made sure that they had dinner – which consisted of stew thrown into their mess kits – before he left to have his own dinner. It is not known if D Company had dinner with the 192nd or if they had dinner with the 194th.
D Company was scheduled to be transferred to the 194th Tank Battalion so when they arrived at the fort, they moved into their nearly finished barracks. The day started at 5:15 with reveille and anyone who washed near a faucet with running water was considered lucky. At 6:00 A.M. they ate breakfast followed by work – on their on the tanks and other equipment – from 7:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. Lunch was from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. when the soldiers returned to work until 2:30 P.M. The shorter afternoon work period was based on the belief that it was too hot to work in the climate. The term “recreation in the motor pool,” meant they actually worked until 4:30 in the afternoon.
At Ft. Stotsenburg, the soldiers were expected to wear their dress uniforms. Since working on the tanks was a dirty job, the battalion members wore coveralls to do the work on the tanks. The tankers followed the example of the 194th Tank Battalion and wore coveralls in their barracks area to do work on their tanks, but if the soldiers left the battalion’s area, they wore dress uniforms everywhere; including going to the PX. For recreation, the soldiers spent their free time bowling or going to the movies on the base. They also played horseshoes, softball, badminton, or threw footballs around during their free time. On Wednesday afternoons, they went swimming. Men were given the opportunity to be allowed to go to Manila in small groups.
Ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the reconnaissance pilots reported that Japanese transports were milling around in a large circle in the South China Sea. On December 1, the tankers were ordered to the perimeter of Clark Field to guard against Japanese paratroopers. From this time on, two tank crew members remained with each tank at all times and were fed from food trucks. It was the men manning the radios in the 192nd’s communications tent who were the first to learn of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 8. Major Ted Wickord, the battalion’s commanding officer, Gen. James Weaver, and Major Ernest Miller, the CO of the 194th Tank Battalion, read the messages of the attack. The officers of the 192nd were called to the tent and informed of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. All the members of the tank and half-track crews were ordered to the south end of Clark Field to guard against Japanese paratroopers. HQ Company remained behind in their bivouac.
George recalled that on the morning of December 8, 1941, the tankers were at their tanks around the perimeter of Clark Field. They had been told of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the company’s half-tracks were moved to the airfield. That morning, American planes were in the sky. Around noon, the planes landed and lined up, in a straight line, outside the pilots’ mess hall to be refueled. Since the planes needed to be serviced the pilots went to lunch. According to George, the all-clear signal was given and everyone went to lunch. The tank crew members with the tanks were being served dinner from food trucks.
He was eating chicken and looking out a window in the Non-Commission Officers Canteen when planes appeared over Clark Field. As he looked at the airfield, bombs began to explode. As the bombs got closer to where he was, he went out and hid behind a tree. One bomb hit the mess hall he had just been eating in. When he got up, he saw that everything was a mess. He saw several dead bodies and many of the bodies had been burnt. It was stated that no sooner had one wave of planes finished bombing and were returning to Formosa than another wave came in and bombed. The second wave was followed by a third wave of bombers.
He stated that the worse thing that they had to deal with after the attack was the smell, coming from the bodies, which was so bad that he was unable to eat for a week. That night, most men slept under their tanks since it was safer than sleeping in their barracks. They had no idea that they had slept their last night in a bed. One of the results of the attack was that D Company’s transfer to the 194th was suspended indefinitely and the company remained part of the 192nd. The company is listed on the unit citation for the 192nd.
When the tanks were given orders to pull out, they soon discovered that without air cover it was unsafe to move during the day. The tanks were moved at night to prevent them from being attacked by Japanese planes. George felt that driving a tank at night was never safe, but something that a tank driver learned to do. One reason doing this was unsafe was that the tank crews never knew what lay ahead. Not every moment was hectic. During calm moments the tankers would turn on the tank’s radio and listen to Tokyo Rose. Doing this violated a standing order that they had received not to listen to enemy broadcasts. George said that they ignored the propaganda she broadcast, but they enjoyed the music. In many cases, she played the latest songs.
George believed that anyone who said that they were not afraid was lying. He believed that everyone was always afraid. With time, what happened was that the person got to the point that he didn’t care. George felt that part of the reason for this was that the soldiers were always hungry, sweaty, nervous, tired, and thirsty.
On his last day in a tank, George was driving along a mountain road. In the turret, was a young lieutenant who was pretty nervous in George’s opinion. George stated that a tank driver drives the tank according to where the commander touches the driver with his foot. If the commander taps the driver on the right shoulder, the driver turned the tank to the right. The same thing was true for the left shoulder. The tank driver and commander knew the series of signals that were used.
The tank was driving on a road along the side of a cliff. George said that this young lieutenant kicked him pretty hard in the shoulder causing him to make a hard turn. The result was one track hung out over the edge of the road and cliff. The tank was stuck with no hope of moving it. Knowing the Japanese were approaching, the tankers destroyed the tank and made their way on foot. As they walked they saw the tank hit by enemy fire and go over the cliff.
George was walking with another member of the tank crew when they were spotted by a Japanese plane. As the plane came in to attack them, he dove to one side of the road while the other tanker dove to the other side of the road. The plane released a bomb which exploded near George. After it was clear, George got up and went to find the other tank crew member. He discovered that the bomb the plane had dropped had blown the man to bits and he could not find anything of the man. By himself, George made his way to a pygmy village. The villagers fed him and hid him from the enemy. When it was safe, he made his way south. At one point, he saw 150 Filipinos laying in a field. He thought they were resting. He made his way into the field and discovered that they were dead. Not too long after this incident, George caught up to his company.
The tanks held the south bank of the river from west of Carmen to the Carmen-Akcaka-Bautista Road with the 192nd holding the bank east of Carmen to Tayug northeast of San Quintin. Christmas Day, the tankers spent in a coconut grove. As it turned out, the coconuts were all many of the tankers had to eat. George recalled that on Christmas Day his Christmas Dinner consisted of a can of pork and beans and a coconut that a Filipino boy climbed a tree to get. He shared both with another tanker. From Christmas to January 15, 1942, both day and night, all the tanks did was cover retreats of different infantry units. The tanks were constantly bombed, shelled, and strafed.
The tanks formed a new defensive line known as the Santa Ignacia-Gerona-Santo Tomas-San Jose line on December 26. When they dropped back from the line, all the platoons withdrew, except one which provided cover, as the other platoons from the area. One tank went across the line receiving fire and firing on the Japanese. At Bayambang, Lt. Petree’s platoon lost a tank. It was at this time that D Company, 192nd, lost all their tanks, except one, because the bridge they were supposed to cross had been destroyed. The company commander, Lt. Jack Altman, could not bring himself to totally destroy the tanks, and the Japanese repaired them and used them on Bataan. The sergeant of the one tank refused to abandon it and found a place to ford the river a few hundred yards from the bridge. He was awarded the Silver Star.
The tankers were at Santo Tomas near Cabanatuan on December 27, and at San Isidro south of Cabanatuan on December 28 and 29. On January 1, conflicting orders were received by the defenders who were attempting to stop the Japanese advance down Route 5. Doing this would allow the Southern Luzon Forces to withdraw toward Bataan. General Wainwright was unaware of the orders since they came from Gen. MacArthur’s chief of staff. Because of the orders, there was confusion among the Filipinos and American forces defending the bridges over the Pampanga River. Due to the efforts of the Self-Propelled Mounts, the 71st Field Artillery, and a frenzied attack by the 192nd Tank Battalion the Japanese were halted. From January 2 to 4, the 192nd held the road open from San Fernando to Dinalupihan so the southern forces could escape.
At Gumain River, on January 5, D Company and C Company, 194th, were given the job to hold the south riverbank so that the other units could withdraw. The tank companies formed a defensive line along the bank of the river. When the Japanese attacked the position at 2:30 A.M., they were easy to see since they were wearing white t-shirts. The tankers were able to hold up the Japanese. This attack was an attempt to destroy the tank battalions. At 5:00 A.M., the Japanese withdrew having suffered heavy casualties.
On the night of January 6, the tanks withdrew into the peninsula with the 192nd holding its position so that the 194th Tank Battalion could leapfrog past it, cross the bridge, and then cover the 192nd’s withdrawal over the bridge. The 192nd was the last American unit to enter Bataan before the engineers blew up the bridge at 6:00 A.M. It was at this time that the tank companies were reduced to three tanks each. This was done to provide tanks to D Company, while those crews still without tanks were used as replacements.
General Weaver also issued the following orders to the tank battalions around this time: “Tanks will execute maximum delay, staying in position and firing at visible enemy until further delay will jeopardize withdrawal. If a tank is immobilized, it will be fought until the close approach of the enemy, then destroyed; the crew previously taking positions outside and continuing to fight with the salvaged and personal weapons. Considerations of personal safety and expediency will not interfere with accomplishing the greatest possible delay.”
A composite tank company was created on January 8 under the command of Capt. Donald Hanes, B Company, 192nd, and sent to defend the Wast Coast Road north of Hermosa. Its job was to keep the north road open and prevent the Japanese from driving down the road before a new battle line had been formed. The Japanese never attacked allowing the defensive line to be formed. The tanks withdrew after they began receiving artillery fire.
The remainder of the tanks were ordered to bivouac south of the Aubucay-Hacienda Road. While there, the tank crews had their first break from action in nearly a month. The tanks, which were long overdue for maintenance, were serviced by 17th Ordnance. It was also at this time that the tank companies were reduced to nine tanks with three tanks in each platoon. This was done so that D Company, 192nd, would have tanks.
The 194th was sent to reopen the Moron Road so that General Segunda’s forces, which were trapped behind enemy lines, could withdraw. While attempting to do this, two tanks were knocked out by landmines planted by ordnance but were recovered, and a Japanese anti-tank gun was destroyed. The mission was abandoned the next day. Gen. Segunda’s forces escaped but lost their heavy equipment.
The next action the tanks saw was on the 20th when they were sent to relieve the 31st Infantry’s command post. On the 24th, the tanks were ordered to the Hacienda Road to support infantry but again could not accomplish their mission because of landmines planted by ordnance. The 194th was holding a position a kilometer north of the Pilar-Bagac Road on January 26 with four self-propelled mounts. At 9:45 A.M., a Filipino came down the road and warned the battalion that a large Japanese force was coming down the road. When they appeared the tanks opened fire on them. At 10:30, the Japanese withdrew having lost 500 of 1200 men. This action prevented the new line of defense from being breached.
On January 28, the tank battalions were given the job of guarding the beaches so that the Japanese couldn’t land troops. The 194th guarded the coastline against Japanese landings from Limay to Cabcaban. During the day, the tanks hid under the jungle canopy. At night they were pulled out onto the beaches. The battalion’s half-tracks had the job of patrolling the roads. At all times, the tanks were in contact with on-shore and off-shore patrols.
In March, the amount of gasoline was reduced to 15 gallons a day for all vehicles except the tanks. This would later be dropped to ten gallons a day. At the same time, food rations were cut in half again. Also at this time, Gen. Weaver suggested to Gen. Wainwright that a platoon of tanks be sent to Corregidor. Wainwright rejected the suggestion. For most of March, the situation on Bataan was relatively quiet and the Japanese had been fought to a standstill. The newspapers in the United States reported both sides were strengthening their lines in expectation of an all-out attack. The reports stated that the Japanese did not have air support because their planes had been shifted south in the assault on Java. There was only one major alert in March when 73 Japanese planes came over on their way to Java. During this time, two tanks had gotten stuck in the mud, and the crews were working to free them. While they were doing this, a Japanese regiment entered the area. Lt. Colonel Ernest Miller ordered his tanks to fire on the Japanese at point-blank range. He also ran from tank to tank directing the crew’s fire. The Japanese were wiped out. On March 21, the last major battle was fought by the tanks.
Having brought in combat harden troops from Singapore, the Japanese launched – on April 3, 1942 – an all-out attack supported by artillery and aircraft. A large force of Japanese troops came over Mount Samat and descended down the south face of the volcano. This attack wiped out two divisions of defenders and left a large area of the defensive line open to the Japanese. A counter-attack was launched – on April 7 – by the 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts which was supported by tanks. Its objective was to restore the line, but Japanese infiltrators prevented this from happening. During this action, one tank was knocked out but the remaining tanks successfully withdrew. C Company, 194th, was attached to the 192nd and had only seven tanks left.
It was the evening of April 8 that Gen. King decided that further resistance was futile, since approximately 25% of his men were healthy enough to fight, and he estimated they would last one more day. In addition, he had over 6,000 troops who sick or wounded and 40,000 civilians who he feared would be massacred. His troops were on one-quarter rations, and even at that ration, he had two days of food left. He also believed his troops could fight for one more day. Companies B and D, and A Company, 194th, were preparing for a suicide attack against the Japanese in an attempt to stop the advance. At 6:00 P.M. that tank battalion commanders received this order: “You will make plans, to be communicated to company commanders only, and be prepared to destroy within one hour after receipt by radio, or other means, of the word ‘CRASH’, all tanks and combat vehicles, arms, ammunition, gas, and radios: reserving sufficient trucks to close to rear echelons as soon as accomplished.”
It was at 10:00 P.M. that the decision was made to send a jeep – under a white flag – behind enemy lines to negotiate terms of surrender. The problem soon became that no white cloth could be found. Phil Parish, a truck driver for A Company, 192nd, realized that he had bedding buried in the back of his truck and searched for it. The bedding became the “white flags” that were flown on the jeeps. At 11:40 P.M., the ammunition dumps were destroyed. At midnight Companies B and D, and A Company, 194th, received an order from Gen. Weaver to stand down.
At 2:oo A.M. April 9, Gen. King sent a jeep under a white flag carrying Colonel Everett C. Williams, Col. James V. Collier, and Major Marshall Hurt to meet with the Japanese commander about terms of surrender. (The driver was from the tank group.) Shortly after daylight Collier and Hunt returned with word of the appointment. It was at about 6:45 A.M. that tank battalion commanders received the order “crash.” The tank crews circled their tanks. Each tank fired an armor-piercing shell into the engine of the tank in front of it. They also opened the gasoline cocks inside the tank compartments and dropped hand grenades into the tanks. Most of the company waited in their bivouac for the Japanese to make contact, while others attempted to reach Corregidor which had not surrendered.
As Gen. King left to negotiate the surrender, he went through the area held by B Company, 192nd, and spoke to the men. According to a member of HQ Company, 194th, Gen. King spoke to the men and said, “I’m the man who surrendered you, men. It’s not your fault.” He also spoke to the members of B Company, 192nd, and told them something similar. Gen. King with his two aides, Maj. Wade R. Cothran and Captain Achille C. Tisdelle Jr. got into a jeep carrying a large white flag. They were followed by another jeep – also flying another large white flag – with Col. Collier and Maj. Hurt in it. As the jeeps made their way north, they were strafed and small bombs were dropped by a Japanese plane. The drivers of both jeeps managed to avoid the bullets. The strafing ended when a Japanese reconnaissance plane ordered the fighter pilot to stop strafing.
About 10:00 A.M. the jeeps reached Lamao where they were received by a Japanese Major General who informed King that he reported his coming to negotiate a surrender and that an officer from Japanese command would arrive to do the negotiations. The Japanese officer also told him that his troops would not attack for thirty minutes while King decided what he would do. No Japanese officer had arrived from their headquarters and the Japanese attack had resumed. King sent Col. Collier and Maj. Hunt back to his command with instructions that any unit in the line of the Japanese advance should fly white flags.
After this was done a Japanese colonel and interpreter arrived and King was told the officer was Homma’s Chief of Staff who had come to discuss King’s surrender. King attempted to get assurances from the Japanese that his men would be treated as prisoners of war, but the Japanese officer – through his interpreter – accused him of declining to surrender unconditionally. At one point King stated he had enough trucks and gasoline to carry his troops out of Bataan. He was told that the Japanese would handle the movement of the prisoners. The two men talked back and forth until the colonel said through the interpreter, “The Imperial Japanese Army are not barbarians.” King found no choice but to accept him at his word.
Unknown to Gen. King, an order attributed to Gen. Masaharu Homma – but in all likelihood from one of his subordinates – had been given. It stated, “Every troop which fought against our army on Bataan should be wiped out thoroughly, whether he surrendered or not, and any American captive who is unable to continue marching all the way to the concentration camp should be put to death in the area of 200 meters off the road.
On April 8, 1942, he and other members of D Company learned that they were being surrendered the next morning. He and a number of other tankers made the decision they would attempt to escape to Corregidor. It is believed he was on the boat that took many of the members of the company to the island.
After, arriving there, George spent a great deal of time in Middleside Barracks, hiding under a pool table during air raids. He decided it was safer to be in a tunnel on the island. When he was given the chance to go to Ft. Drum, he jumped at it. He and other members of the tank group were taken by boat to the island and after arriving they showered and were given new clothes. They also ate the first good meals in months. The one thing they noticed about the men at the fort is that none of them had suntans. During his time at Ft. Drum, he was assigned to a gun crew. The Japanese bombed the fort but those bombs that did hit it did little damage. Other bombs exploded in the water killing fish. After the planes were gone, the soldiers went into the water and collected the fish for dinner.
He remained there until Gen. Wainwright ordered all forces to surrender on May 6. He recalled he surrendered next to two 14 unch coast artillery guns. The Americans lined up on top of the fort and waited until the Japanese arrived in small boats. As they stood there, the Japanese set up machine guns. the POWs believed they were going to be executed, but the Japanese simply took what they wanted from them. The POWs were searched several times.
The POWs boarded boats and according to some men they were taken to a warehouse near Manila where they were housed. At 4:00 P.M. they formed ranks and went out the men were put to work near the Wawa Dam on the Marikina River. The POWs worked repairing a dock that had been damaged during the battle by filling bomb craters with rocks. The POWs worked all night, all the next day, and all night again. While they worked, the guards drank water but made no effort to give any to the POWs. When a Japanese officer arrived, he made sure they were treated better. They also worked in the area of the dam repairing roads and moving large rocks. They did this work until the detail ended on May 18, and they were sent to Bilibid Prison.
His parents received the first two letters from the War Department. The first arrived in May 1942.
“Dear Mrs. L. Chumley:
“According to War Department records, you have been designated as the emergency addressee if Private First Class George E. Chumley, 20,523,452, who, according to the latest information available, was serving in the Philippine Islands at the time of the final surrender.
“I deeply regret that it is impossible for me to give you more information than is contained in this letter. In the last days before the surrender of Bataan, there were casualties which were not reported to the War Department. Conceivably the same is true of the surrender of Corregidor and possibly other islands of the Philippines. The Japanese Government has indicated its intention of conforming to the terms of the Geneva Convention with respect to the interchange of information regarding prisoners of war. At some future date, this Government will receive through Geneva a list of persons who have been taken prisoners of war. Until that time the War Department cannot give you positive information.
“The War Department will consider the persons serving in the Philippine Islands as “missing in action” from the date of surrender of Corregidor, May 7, 1942, until definite information to the contrary is received. It is to be hoped that the Japanese Government will communicate a list of prisoners of war at an early date. At that time you will be notified by this office in the event that his name is contained in the list of prisoners of war. In the case of persons known to have been present in the Philippines and who are not reported to be prisoners of war by the Japanese Government, the War Department will continue to carry them as “missing in action” in the absence of information to the contrary, until twelve months have expired. At the expiration of twelve months and in the absence of other information the War Department is authorized to make a final determination.
“Recent legislation makes provision to continue the pay and allowances of persons carried in a “missing” status for a period not to exceed twelve months; to continue, for the duration of the war, the pay and allowances of persons known to have been captured by the enemy; to continue allotments made by missing personnel for a period of twelve months and allotments or increase allotments made by persons by the enemy during the time they are so held; to make new allotments or increase allotments to certain dependents defined in Public Law 490, 77th Congress. The latter dependents generally include the legal wife, dependent children under twenty-one years of age and dependent mother, or such dependents as having been designated in official records. Eligible dependents who can establish a need for financial assistance and are eligible to receive this assistance the amount allotted will be deducted from pay which would otherwise accrue to the credit of the missing individual.
“Very Truly yours
J. A. Ulio (signed)
Major General
The Adjutant General”
He remained at Bilibid until sometime between May 26 and May 28. At some point during this time, he and the other POWs were marched to the train station. From there, they rode the train to Calumpit, disembarked, and marched to Cabanatuan #3. The first 2,000-man detachment left on the 26 and the last left on the 28. The POWs were marched to the train station and put into steel boxcars that they rode to the barrio of Cabanatuan. There, they were organized into 100 men detachments and marched to Camp 3. The guards warned them that anyone who fell to the ground and did not get up would be shot. During the march, the first time a POW fell to the ground and the guard aimed his gun at the man, the man was able to get up and rejoin the formation. This appeared to have happened several times. Finally, a POW fell, and even after the guard aimed his gun at the man he did not get up. Instead of shooting the man, the guard raised his arm and had a red flag in it. A truck pulled up to the man and he was put on the truck. Being that other POWs saw this, it wasn’t long until a good number of POWs fell to the ground and were unable to get up. Those still marching figured these men wanted to ride to the camp.
After all the POWs had arrived at Camp 3, there were approximately 6,000 POWs in the camp. When they arrived, the camp was not finished and there was no fence on the north side of the compound. Four POWs walked away from the camp on May 30. After they escaped, the men realized that they had no place to go, so they attempted to surrender themselves to the Japanese. The Japanese tied them to posts and left them to hang in the sun. They also beat the POWs with boards. The Japanese also showed the men water but would not give them any to drink. The next day, while the POWs were eating dinner, the Japanese marched the men to where the prisoners were eating. They had the men dig their own graves and gave each man a cigarette and water. They also offered blindfolds to the men. All the men took a blindfold except one. That man spat at the Japanese before they shot him. After they were shot, the men fell backward into the graves. When one man who had survived the execution attempted to crawl out of the grave, a Japanese officer shot him with his pistol. He next shot each man to make sure they were dead.
The first meal the POWs received was an onion soup that had no onions on it or carrots in it. After the initial meal, meals usually consisted of squash, mongo beans, rice, and the tops of a native sweet potato were used to make soup. Once a week the POWs received carabao meat. Other sources state a whistle weed soup with rice in it was the main meal.
It is not known how long he remained in the camp since POW details were sent out almost from the time they arrived. One reason this happened was the POWs were in much better shape than the men captured on Corregidor. Four POWs working on a truck detail were wounded when it was attacked by Filipino guerrillas. One of the men died.
To prevent escapes, the Japanese instituted the “blood brother” rule on June 21. The POWs in the camp were placed in ten men groups and lived in the same barracks, slept in the same area, ate together, and worked together. If one man escaped, the other nine were executed since – according to Japanese logic – they should have been able to stop the man from escaping. The first church services were held in the camp on June 28. The next June 29, the officers organized activities for the POWs to improve morale. Teams were organized to play softball, basketball, volleyball, and ping-pong. In addition, sing-a-long groups were organized to entertain the POWs. On July 17, an organized effort started to catch flies in the camp since they spread dysentery. For one milk can filled with flies, a POW received two biscuits and some cigarettes.
The POWs were joined by 151 civilians in the camp on July 6. As his time as a POW went on, George began to wonder if his effort to stay alive was worth it. Because the diet in the camp was so bad, he lost his vision, so another POW led him around. It was at this time he was sent from Cabanatuan #3 to Cabanatuan 1. According to medical records kept at the camp, George was hospitalized in the camp hospital on July 7, 1942. The records do not say when he was discharged. George said that he got his vision back after he was given cod oil which had been smuggled into the camp. Ironically, the man who had helped George, when he was blind, lost his eyesight and never got it back.
Cabanatuan 1 was divided into a duty side of the camp and a hospital side of the camp. The barracks on the duty side were built to house 50 POWs, but most had between 60 to 120 POWs in them. The POWs slept on bamboo slats, without mattresses, bedding, or mosquito netting. Many of the POWs quickly became ill. The POWs were assigned to barracks and divided into groups of ten men. This meant that the members of their group lived together, went out on work details together, and would be executed together since they were Blood Brothers. There were no latrines or showers for the POWs, and the POWs used buckets or cans to hold water so they could wash.
The camp hospital was described as being horrible and beyond description. There was no water for washing and barely enough to drink. There were no blankets or any other coverings for the sick. The hospital consisted of 30 wards that could hold 40 men each, but it was more common for them to have 100 men in them. Each man had approximately an area of 2 feet by 6 feet to lie in. The sickest POWs were put in “Zero Ward,” which was called this because it was missed by the Japanese when they counted barracks. The Japanese put a fence up around the building to protect themselves and would not go into the area. There were two rolls of wooden platforms around the perimeter of the building. The sickest POWs were put on the lower platform which had holes cut into it so they could relieve themselves. Most of those who entered the ward died. The Archbishop of Manila again attempted to send medicine and nurses to the camp to care for the sick POWs, but the Japanese refused to allow them into the camp.
Rice was the main food given to the POWs fed to them as “lugow” which meant “wet rice.” The rice smelled and appeared to have been swept up off the floor. The other problem was that the men assigned to be cooks had no idea of how to prepare the rice since they had no experience in cooking it. During their time in the camp, they received few vegetables and almost no fruit.
Once in a while, the POWs received corn to serve to the prisoners. From the corn, the cooks would make hominy. The prisoners were so hungry that some men would eat the corn cobs. This resulted in many men being taken to the hospital to have the cobs removed because they would not pass through the men’s bowels. Sometimes they received bread, and if they received fish it was rotten and covered with maggots. To supplement their diets, the men would search for grasshoppers, rats, and dogs to eat. The POWs assigned to handing out the food used a sardine can to assure that each man received the same amount. They were closely watched by their fellow prisoners who wanted to make sure that everyone received the same portion and that no one received extra rice.
The barracks in the camp were built to house 50 POWs, but most had between 60 to 120 POWs in them. The POWs slept on bamboo slats, without mattresses, bedding, or mosquito netting. Many quickly became ill. The POWs were assigned to barracks which meant that the members of their group lived together, went out on work details together, and would be executed together since they were Blood Brothers.
The POWs were sent out on work details to cut wood for the POW kitchens. Other POWs worked in rice paddies. Each morning, as the POWs stood at attention and roll call was taken, the Japanese guards hit them across their heads. After arriving at the farm, the POWs went into a tool shed to get their tools. As they left the shed, the guards hit them on their heads. The favorite punishment given to the men in the rice paddies was to have their faces pushed into the mud and stepped on by a guard to drive their faces deeper into the mud. Returning from a detail the POWs bought or were given, medicine, food, and tobacco, which they somehow managed to get into the camp even though they were searched when they returned.
The camp hospital was made up of 30 wards. One ward had been missed when the wards were being counted so it was given the name of “Zero Ward.” The ward became the place where POWs who were going to die were sent. The Japanese were so terrified by it, that they put a fence up around it and would not go near the building. Most of the POWs who died there died because their bodies were too malnourished to fight the diseases they had. For those POWs with tuberculosis who were in the hospital rations were reduced to 240 grams of rice, camote, so made from camote peelings, and powdered dried fish. In addition, the POW doctors were given four twelve-ounce cans of milk for every 39 patients with malaria.
The POWs had the job of burying the dead. To do this, they worked in teams of four men. Each team carried a litter of four to six dead men to the cemetery where they were buried in graves containing 15 to 20 bodies. Since the water table was high, a POW held the body down in the grave with a pole until it was covered with dirt. The death rate remained at 9 POWs dying each day into November.
To prevent escapes, the POWs set up a detail that patrolled the fence of the camp. The reason this was done was that those who did escape and were caught were tortured before being executed, while the other POWs were made to watch. It is believed that no POW successfully escaped from the camp.
Fr. Bruttenbruck, a German Catholic priest, came to the camp – assisted by Mrs. Escoda – with packages from friends and relatives in Manila on November 12. There was also medicine and books for the POWs. The POWs started a major clean-up of the camp on November 14 and deep latrines, sump holes for water only, and began to bury the camp’s garbage. Pvt. Peeter Lankianuskas was shot while attempting to escape on November 16. Two other POWs were put on trial by the Japanese for aiding him. One man received 20 days in solitary confinement while the other man received 30 days in solitary confinement. Pvt. Donald K. Russell, on November 20, was caught trying to reenter the camp at 12:30 A.M. He had left the camp at 8:30 P.M. and secured a bag of canned food by claiming he was a guerrilla. He was executed in the camp cemetery at 12;30 P.M. on November 21. The Japanese gave out a large amount of old clothing – that came from Manila – to the POWs on November 22. On November 23, the Japanese wanted to start a farm and needed 750 POWs to do the initial work on it. It was noted that there were only 603 POWs healthy enough to work.
The Japanese wanted the farm detail started which became one of the largest details in the camp. On November 23, they wanted 750 POWs to start work on the farm. The problem was there were only 603 POWs in the camp who were healthy enough to work. It was also one of the most brutal details.
Fr. Bruddenbruck returned on December 10 without proper authorization from the authorities in Manila so he was turned away. He had brought a truckload of medicine and food for the POWs. It was estimated by the POWs that he spent $300.00 for fuel to make the trip. He returned on December 24 with two truckloads of presents for the men and a gift bag for each. This time he was allowed into the camp. The next day, Christmas, the POWs received 2½ Red Cross boxes. In each box milk in some form, corn beef, fish, stew beef, sugar, meat, vegetable, tea, and chocolate. The POWs also received bulk corn beef, sugar, meat and vegetables, stew, raisins, dried fruit, and cocoa which they believed would last them three months. The POWs also were given four days off from work. Fr. Bruttenbruck was later executed by the Japanese for smuggling messages and other contraband to the POWs.
In January 1943, George was sent out on a work detail to Lipa Batangas. The POWs built runways and revetments at Lipa Airfield and a farm. Not long after arriving at Lipa, on January 12, 1943, George was sent to the hospital ward at Bilibid Prison suffering from exophthalmia, the dryness of the cornea of the eye, which is caused by a lack of Vitamin A. He was discharged on April 12, 1943. One thing that is known is that large supplies of medicine arrived at the prison in December 1942, and the POW medical staff was given it to treat the sick.
Information on the food for the sick at Bilibid varies. Some sources state meals consisted of about 100 grams of rice each day, and one-fifth of it was cooked with husks on it. It was stated that they received a moldy residual from sour soybeans. Other sources state the POWs received three meals a day which was later cut to two meals which were rice and a little soup which at times was just weeds. The POWs also are said to have received a small amount of horse meat once or twice a week.
Recalling the food fed to the POWs, he said, “Food was terrible – I remember we even ate dogs sometimes – and the Japs had that ‘blood brother’ system.”
On March 31, 1943, his name appeared on a list – released by the War Department – of men known to be Japanese Prisoners of War. George’s family did not learn he was a Prisoner of War weeks earlier.
“REPORT JUST RECEIVED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS STATES THAT YOUR SON PRIVATE FIRST CLASS GEORGE E CHUMLEY IS A PRISONER OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS LETTER OF INFORMATION FOLLOWS FROM THE PROVOST
ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL.”
Within days of receiving the first message, his wife received the following letter:
“The Provost Marshal General directs me to inform you that you may communicate with your son, postage free, by following the inclosed instructions:
“It is suggested that you address him as follows:
“PFC George E. Chumley, U.S. Army
Interned in the Philippine Islands
C/O Japanese Red Cross, Tokyo, Japan
Via New York, New York
“Packages cannot be sent to the Orient at this time. When transportation facilities are available a package permit will be issued you.
“Further information will be forwarded you as soon as it is received.
“Sincerely
“Howard F. Bresee
“Colonel, CMP
“Chief Information Bureau
After George was discharged from the hospital at Bilibid he was sent to Cabanatuan. It is not known when he arrived at the camp. What is known is that he was put to work in the camp.
Any POW who was healthy worked on the airfield detail or on the farm detail. For the farm, the POWs cleared a large area for planting a large garden that they called the farm. They grew camotes (sweet potato), cassava, taro, and various greens like okra and sesame. Although the Japanese told the POWs what they grew would supplement their meals, they took most of what was grown for themselves. The POWs ate the tender tips of the sweet potato plants.
The detail was under the command of “Big Speedo” who spoke very little English. When he wanted the POWs to work faster, he told the POWs “speedo.” Although he was known to have a temper, the POWs thought he was fair. Another guard was “Little Speedo” who was smaller and also used “speedo” when he wanted the POWs to work faster. He punished the POWs by making them kneel on stones. “Smiley” was a Korean guard who always had a smile on his face but could not be trusted. He was the meanest of the guards and beat men up for no reason. He liked to hit the POWs with the club. Any prisoner who he believed was not working hard enough got knocked over with it.
Each morning, after arriving at the farm, the POWs went into a tool shed to get their tools. As they left the shed, the guards hit them on their heads. This was considered the most abusive of the work details with the POWs receiving the worst beatings. Almost every POW in the camp worked on the detail at some point. Weeds were removed from the fields by hand, and the POWs were required to bend over and pick them. If a POW was tired and went down to one knee or squatted, he was hit with a club. The hits always were across the spine or on the ribs.
George worked at the camp farm. The food was supposed to go to the prisoners but much of it went to the Japanese. George recalled that the Japanese did not like the POWs talking to each other. If they caught a man taking when he was supposed to be working, the Japanese would tie the man to an aunt hill and let the red ants bite the man. George also said that if a POW was caught stealing the Japanese would put the man into a four-by-four box until he died. Knowing this was the punishment, the POWs came up with their own punishment and the Japanese agreed to let them enforce it. When a member of George’s barracks was caught stealing, he was made to run a belt line. It may have seemed harsh, but at least the man was still alive when he had finished.
Recalling his time as a POW, George said, “They don’t look at things like we do. I guess they treated their own prisoners or outcasts like they treated us.”
George was selected to be sent to Japan on one of the first ships of POWs sent there. The ship that George was on was the Clyde Maru which left Manila on July 23, 1943. Instead of heading to Formosa, it went to Santa Cruz, Zambales, where it loaded manganese ore. After three days in port, the ship sailed for Formosa arriving there on July 28. On August 5, the ship sailed as part of a nine-ship convoy. The convoy arrived at Moji, Japan, on August 7, 1943. During the trip to Japan, several of the ships in the convoy had been sunk by American submarines. After a two-day train ride, George was held at Fukuoka #17.
The camp was 200 yards square when it opened on August 7, 1943, but was expanded to 200 yards wide and 1,000 yards long. The camp was surrounded by a 12-foot wooden fence that had three heavy gauge electrified wires attached to it. The first wire was attached at six feet with the others higher up. The buildings had been used by miners before the mine had been closed as being unsafe. Life at Fukuoka #17 was hard and there were prisoners who would steal from other prisoners. It was said that the Americans had the worse discipline. To prevent this from happening, the POWs would “buddy up” with each other. While one man was working in the mine, the POW who was not working would watch the possessions of the other man. The camp was considered the worse camp in Japan to be held as a POW in and was called so by the POW Recovery Team after the war.
The POWs lived in 33 one-story barracks 120 feet long and 16 feet wide and divided into ten rooms. Officers slept four men in a room while enlisted men slept from four to six men in a room. Each room was lit by a 15-watt bulb, and at the end of each building was a latrine with three stools and a urinal. The POWs slept on beds that were 5′ 8″ long by 2½’ wide. Each POW received three heavy blankets made of tissue paper, scrap rags, and scrap cotton and a comforter made of tissue paper and cotton batting covered with a cotton pad. At the end of each of the barracks were three stools raised about 1½’ on a hollow brick pedestal that was covered with removable wood seats made by the POWs to reduce the fly problem. There was also a urinal. Concrete tanks were under each stool which were cleaned by Japanese laborers twice a week. The POWs dug air raid shelters that we 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide, and 120 feet long. They were covered with timbers covered with 3 feet of slag.
The meals served to the POWs were cooked in the camp kitchen which was manned by 15 POWs. Seven of the POWs were professional cooks. The kitchen had 11 cauldrons, 2 electric baking ovens, 2 kitchen ranges, 4 storerooms, and an icebox. As they entered the mess hall, they would say their POW number to a POW standing by a wooden board. He would take a nail and place it in the hole in front of the man’s number. After all the POWs had been fed, the board was cleared for the next meal. A meal consisted of rice and vegetable soup three times a day. Those POWs working in the mine received 700 grams a day, while camp workers received 450 grams a day. Officers, since they were not required to work, received 300 grams a day. Those working in the mine received three buns every second day since they did not return to camp for lunch. To supplement their diets, the prisoners also ate dog meat, radishes, potato greens, and seaweed. As they entered the mess hall, they would say their POW number to a POW standing by a wooden board. He would take a nail and place it in the hole in front of the man’s number. After all the POWs had been fed, the board was cleared for the next meal. POWs traded their food rations for cigarettes and were referred to as “future corpses.” The situation got so bad that the Japanese finally stepped in and stopped it.
The kitchen was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edward N. Little, U.S.N., whom the other POWs viewed as a collaborator. He was also the highest-ranking American officer in the camp, at the time, and known to have reported POWs for stealing food which resulted in the POWs being beaten and thrown into the guardhouse. Little turned Pvt. James G. Pavlokos over to the Japanese. Pavlokos was known to be unruly. He had received two bowls of rice from a Japanese soldier and sold one to another POW. According to the POWs, Little knew that turning Pavlokos in meant certain death. He was put in the guardhouse and received rice and water for his meals. The POWs tried to throw him food, but the Japanese saw them and stopped them. He remained there from December 23, 1943, until January 28, 1944, when he died of starvation. Some accounts state he died after being in the stockade for 38 days or longer.
Pvt. Noah Heard, C Company, 194th Tank Battalion, was confined to the guardhouse for stealing food and escaped on May 30, 1944, sometime around midnight. Post-war documents state Heard had escaped six times from the camp. Other documents state that he had been caught stealing five or six times before and was confined to the guardhouse for three or four days each time. Heard escaped and was caught during the night in a latrine. 1st Lt. Kei Yuri ordered that Heard be beaten and he was beaten with fists, clubs, and rifles. On Wednesday, May 31, 1944, Lt. John H. Allen and Lt. Owen W. Romaine were called to the commandant’s office. Lt. Kel Yuri stated he would execute Heard because the Japanese Field Regulation of the Army allowed it and that Heard has signed a document stating he should be killed if he stole again. He told the American officers what he was going to do. The camp interpreter later stated that Yuri said he was going to, “Get rid of him” because Yuri considered him incurable.
This is Lt. Allen’s account of Noah Heard’s execution, “Yuri stood in front of Heard running his thumb along the blade of his sword. Then he put the sword in its scabbard but pushed Heard’s head back with the scabbard.” Heard was then taken behind the guardhouse and ordered by Yuri to kneel. According to Lt. Allen, Heard staggered as he was taken behind the building. Allen and others slipped into an empty building to see what the Japanese were going to do. Allen told the court what he saw. “At the command of Lieutenant Yuri, a Jap guard bayoneted Heard in the middle of his back. Heard grunted and as he rolled over, he screeched. A second Jap bayoneted Heard in the abdomen. Yuri, the interpreter, and others examined the body. It was still twitching so another guard slashed Heard vertically across the throat. Other guards came out and slashed his abdomen to ribbons.” Allen also stated that while Heard was on the ground twitching, a Japanese guard walked up to him and cut his throat.
There were also bathing rooms in the camp with two bathing tanks that were 30 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. The tubs were heated with very hot water. The POWs working in the mine bathed during the winter after cleaning themselves before entering the tubs. They did not bathe during the summer months to prevent skin diseases. After bathing, the men would dress and go to bed for the night. Many filled their canteens with hot water and placed it under their covers. There were also outside wash racks at each barracks. Each had 16 cold water faucets and 16 wooden tubs with drainboards. The POWs used these to wash their clothes, but there was always a shortage of soap.
The camp hospital was a building of ten rooms that could each hold 30 men. There was an isolation ward for 15 POWs usually men suffering from tuberculosis. The POW doctors had little to no medicines or medical supplies to treat the ill. Dental treatment consisted of removing teeth without anesthesia. It is known that 76 POWs died in the camp hospital. In addition, the sick were forced to work. The Japanese camp doctor allowed the sick, who could walk, to be sent into the mine. He also took the Red Cross medical supplies meant for the POWs for his own use and failed to provide adequate medical treatment. Surgery in the camp was performed with scissors and a razor. The POWs who died in the camp died because of the cold and malnutrition. It was said that most of those who died, died because they were starved to death. Another member of D Company, Heze Sallee, died in the camp.
The Red Cross boxes sent to the camp were misappropriated by the Japanese. When they arrived, they were locked in a storeroom. They were later issued 3 to 7 months after they arrived. The Japanese intentionally mixed up the contents so the POWs had no idea what had been taken from the boxes. The food in boxes was given out in small quantities so that it had no nutritional value. The POWs who worked in the mine received larger quantities in their boxes instead of the sick who really needed it. The Japanese misappropriated and ate the food and made the POWs watch them eat it.
The first mail in the camp was received in March 1944. After that mail was given out every two months. The POWs were allowed to mail home a postcard every six to eight weeks, but the POWs very seldom got mail
The Japanese interpreter in the camp refused to perform his duties resulting in the POWs receiving beatings because they could not explain the situation. He also would inform the guards of any alleged violations of camp rules which resulted in the POWs being severely beaten. This happened frequently at the mine with the interpreter usually the person responsible. He also, for no reason, slapped and beat the POWs. George believed that one of the major problems between the Japanese and Americans was that they did not understand each other. The Japanese army allowed physical punishment. The lowest ranking Japanese soldiers could be hit by those soldiers who outranked them.
Corporal punishment was an everyday occurrence at the camp. The guards beat the POWs for the slightest reason and continued until the POW was unconscious. The man was then taken to the guardhouse and put in solitary confinement without food or water for a long period of time. On one occasion in November 1944, shirts had been stolen from a bundle in a building. The Japanese ordered all the POWs to assemble and told them that they would not be fed until the shirts were returned. The men returned the shirts anonymously, and the POWs received their meal at 10:00 P.M.
Another POW, Walter Johnson, between mid-November 1944 and March 1945 was repeatedly beaten with a club the size of a small baseball bat. This was alternated by placing a wire across his back and shoulders and running electricity through it while he stood in water. This was done because Johnson had been caught talking to a Korean while working. POWs who asked to be given lighter work were examined by the interpreter and punched in the face with fists.
The Japanese used the camp to shoot scenes for a propaganda movie about the treatment the POWs were receiving. The POWs thought it funny to watch Japanese running around wearing zoot suits and bell-bottom trousers. For a scene in the movie, the Japanese had the POWs move in a large circle. To “aid” the POWs to move in a circle, clubs were used to keep them moving. For another scene, they took a POW to the camp hospital and had him lay in a bed with sheets. The sick actually lay on the building’s floor. They also brought in fresh flowers and fruit and opened Red Cross packages that the POWs never received before the filming. They also had a Japanese nurse sit by the bed and hold the POWs’ hand. As soon as the director yelled cut, the POW was thrown out of the bed, and the bed, flowers, fruit, and Red Cross boxes were removed from the building.
The coal mine where the POWs worked was a condemned mine that had experienced an earthquake in 1923, and the deep shafts were closed because they were considered unsafe. The unsafe shafts were reopened in 1943 because the POWs were viewed as expendable and replaceable by the mine’s owner Baron Takanaya Mitsui. (He was tried after the war for war crimes but not convicted.) He supposedly said that the POWs could be replaced if they were killed. The POWs worked three different 12-hour shifts each workday and were expected to load three cars of coal each day. They had one day off every ten days. They worked with the constant threat of rocks falling on them. They worked with 90-pound jackhammers which weighed as much or more than them. They drilled holes and packed them with dynamite then went to a safe area and waited. After the blast, they returned to remove the coal. Those POWs who the Japanese believed were not working hard enough were beaten. The civilian employees viewed the POWs as “white slaves” and liked to hit them with lead pipes. Sometimes they used a knotted rope and several POWs lost eyes because the rope hit them around their heads and then was jerked. Working in the mine actually became one of the few places where the POWs were warm and they often worked only in G-strings. To get out of working in the mine, prisoners paid other POWs to break their arms. When the section of the mine he was working in collapsed and he broke his foot. In reality, his foot was almost cut off. Despite his injury, George had to walk two miles from the mine back to the camp to receive treatment from a Japanese doctor.
Of this, he said, “We worked about 1000 feet underground seven days a week, 12 hours a day. Every fourth Sunday, we got a day off. Food was terrible — I remember we ate dogs sometimes — and the Japs had the blood brother system….”
One day, George accidentally brushed a guard with a sledgehammer while working in the mine. The Japanese guard grabbed his belt to slam him against the wall. “I got mad and grabbed him in a headlock. I really put the pressure on him.” None of the other POWs came to help him. That was the rule, “If you got in trouble, you had to go it on your own. The other guards finally got me loose. I knew I was a goner. They would shoot you for attacking a Jap.” But that night nothing happened, because a Japanese foreman had spoken to the guard. “Nobody ever mentioned it.”
These soldiers with the lowest ranks took great pleasure at hitting the POWs because the POWs were the only ones that they could hit. In one incident, George had a small Japanese private hit him in the face with a board while George stood at attention. The result of this was that George’s nose was broken. The thing that bothered George was that he had no idea why he had been hit.
Being superstitious, the Japanese made the POWs stop at a Shinto Shrine before they entered the mine. The POWs had to bow, clap their hands three times, and say a prayer to the mine gods to keep them safe. One day when the POWs left the mine, they found that while they had been working American bombers had leveled the shrine. He and the other POWs never had to stop there again.
During his time there, George received one letter and one package from home. The letter was from his sister-in-law, and the package was from his mother. In the package was a note saying that his mother was sending him razor blades, a comb, vitamin pills, tobacco, rolling papers, swimming trunks, and shoes. The reason she sent the swimming trunks was that the Japanese claimed that the POWs swam at the beach every day. When he got the package, it had already been gone through by the Japanese. They kept what they wanted which included the shoes. The shoes were the one thing that he needed since he had worn out and the Japanese refused to give him new ones.
The POWs in the camp received very little news on the war. George said that one piece of news that the Japanese did tell the POWs was that President Roosevelt had died. He believed that the Japanese hoped that the POWs would become depressed hearing of it.
George was one of the POWs who were in the camp on the morning of August 9 told the POWs who had been in the mine that they had seen the greatest explosion they had ever seen in their lives. They concluded that the explosion was caused by a Japanese ammunition dump exploding during a bombing. In reality, they had seen the atomic bomb that had been dropped on Nagasaki. Those who saw it described that it was a sunny day and the explosion still lit up the sky. The pillar of smoke that rose from the bomb was described as having all the colors of the rainbow. Afterward, the POWs saw what they described that a fog blanketed Nagasaki and that the city had vanished. Over the next several days when the POWs went to work and talked to the Japanese civilians, they spoke about how those, who had survived the blast, would touch their heads and pull out their hair. They stated these people died within days. The civilians also told the POWs of how they heard about a detachment of Japanese soldiers sent into Nagasaki to recover victims and that its members suffered the same fate.
On August 15, another POW Pvt. Paul J. Shaughnessy was caught stealing a pair of pants. LCDR Little told Shaughnessy that he was going to turn him over to the Japanese and they would shoot him. Little was about to turn Shaughnessy over when he was stopped by the American Commanding Officer in the camp. He ordered Little to think over what he was about to do for 12 hours before he did anything. The American CO knew that Shaughnessy would be shot if he was turned over to the Japanese since he had been caught stealing three times. While Little was thinking it over, the war ended, but the POWs were not told it was over. For the next five days, Shaughnessy waited for his punishment. After the war, Little was put on trial for a court-martial by the Navy but was acquitted.
That same day, the POWs who had been working in the mine came out and found that the next group of POWs was not waiting outside to start their shift. That night, the POWs were made to stand at attention for two hours. They all had their blankets because they believed they were going to be moved to another camp. Instead, they were returned to their barracks. The next day, when it was time to go to work, the POWs were told it was a holiday, and they had the day off. They knew something was up because they had never had a holiday off before this. The Japanese also became more tolerant, which caused the prisoners to hope that liberation was near.
According to some POWs, a Red Cross car pulled up to the camp and the occupants told the POWs the war was over. Finally, the POWs were gathered in the camp on August 30, 1945. The Japanese camp commanders received an order- from Gen. Douglas MacArthur – that the following statement had to be read by them, or a translator, in English in the camps.
“Pending arrival of Allied representatives, the command of this camp and its equipment, stores, records, arms, and ammunition are to be turned over to the senior prisoner of war or a designated civilian internee who will thenceforth give instructions to the camp commander for the maintenance of supply and administrative services and for amelioration of local conditions.
“The camp commander will be responsible to the senior prisoner or designated internee for maintaining his command intact.”
The POWs were also told to stay in the camp. After this, the Japanese guards soon disappeared from the camp. The POWs found a warehouse with Red Cross packages and distributed the packages to the entire camp. The camp was liberated on September 13, by a POW Recovery Team and on September 18, at 7:09 A.M., the POWs left the camp and were taken to Nagasaki, where they boarded a ship and were returned to the Philippines.
When asked if he thought that using the atomic bomb was wrong, George said the bomb saved his life and the lives of the other POWs. Expecting an American invasion of Japan, the Japanese had received orders to kill all the POWs. The Japanese had already dug out the machine-gun placements to be used to execute the POWs.
In late September he was boarded onto the U.S.S. General R. L. Howze. The ship arrived in San Francisco on October 16, 1945. George returned to Harrodsburg and was discharged, from the army, on May 2, 1946. He married Lonnie East and moved to Nicholasville, Kentucky. He worked as a plumber and was a partner in the company of Cannon & Chumley Plumbing.
Recalling his time as a POW, George said, “I guess cruelty to the underdog is their way of life. I don’t resent it now, but I sure didn’t like it then. But I don’t think they were mistreating us by their standards. That’s the funny thing.”
George E. Chumley passed away on May 21, 1988, in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and was buried at Blue Grass Memorial Gardens in Nicholasville.
