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| Pg.1 | Pg.2 Local Stories |
December 14, 1942
CommentaryAllow me to comment on some news in the Tribune: "His Majesty Prays at Ise Shrine" — he knows what's coming. "U.S. Suffers Shortage of Manpower" — they're all at work! "Nippon Air Units Best U.S. Planes in Solomon Duels" — hyperbole warning. "No sooner had the shouting of orders ceased when one formation of our torpedo planes took off, followed closely by a formation of our fighters" — almost instantaneously. "What seemed most incredible in the ensuing dogfights," — I certainly don't believe it — "was that whenever our fighters maneuvered to shoot, our bullets scored hits" — like magic. "Our hits either set on fire the enemy planes or they disintegrated in mid-air" — he forgot to say 'instantaneously'. It took our planes but 25 minutes to destroy 19 fighters including Grummans, P-39s and P-40s — all four of them actually. "No sooner had the unit resumed course than it swooped down to low altitude. Immediately, columns of water two or three times higher than the masts of the ships spouted.... 'A hit! A hit!' Almost like a miracle," — more like a mirage — "the cruiser sank instantaneously" — it's always the same with this writer, I've nicknamed him 'Johnny Instantaneously'. "At this juncture, one of our planes quivered and it seemed its end had come. Suddenly" — here we go again — "the plane turned into a ball of fire as it crashed bodily into an enemy B-class cruiser. What glorious heroism! Notwithstanding adverse weather conditions, our naval wild eagle units ... returned safely to their base" — he forgot to say 'all'. |
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Supplement
December 14, 1942
Local StoriesAround New Manila, a Japanese truck with armed soldiers passes Schaer's house slowly, searching. They move on to the house of retired Constabulary Col. Paz, thence to Dr. Abad's house, where the soldiers disembark. The men tramp all over the garden and finally spot their target — a dwarf-sized Japanese tree used on their altars. They begin to dig it out just as Dr. Abad, a Japanese-trained doctor fluent in the language, appears. An officer politely explains they need the tree and hopes he won't mind. Hurt, the doctor says OK, but points to the damage inflicted on his fence. The officer promises to send two bags of cement to help repair it as they leave with their prize. The good doctor is still hurt and puzzled. They didn't have to break down his fence and tramp all over his garden. "They could have asked first."
The Shell-Craft Tea Room opposite our store used to have a sign: "We serve only American coffee, with cream and refined sugar." One day, a Domei man rushed in and yelled at the manager: "Take that sign out and destroy it — right now! We don't want any American signs up." He didn't leave until the deed was done. Hearing about it, Schaer's menu now looks like this: American Lemonade, American Orangeade....
The Japanese mapmaker has been talking to Schaer again. "Which victory do you think, is the greatest we've won?" he asked. "Your sinking the Prince of Wales and Repulse in one day," answered Schaer. "In my opinion you should be more proud of that than Pearl Harbor." The mapmaker thought it over and agreed. A moment later, he added, "You know — for us Japanese it is do or die. If America loses, it can still be a great nation. With us, we either rise or we are lost forever." He paused, deep in thought. "You know ... America ... very big production," he said, twitching off a shrug. |