Tribune: "Nippon units again blast foe in Leyte.... 41 enemy planes downed on Monday's raids over P.I."

Tension in Manila is quietly increasing; people are talking less and being extra-cautious. Life has definitely become harder as prices run out of control. The exchange rate is 40:1 today; an egg now costs P14, a small loaf of bread P40, and sugar has passed the P7,000 mark with rice heading that way too.

News: The betting was 10:1 in Manila that Roosevelt would get reelected. Yamashita is now the new Japanese Commander-in-Chief in the Philippines. Nimitz announced the total number of Japanese planes accounted for in the past two days at 440. In Leyte, the Japanese are sniping and taking advantage of the terrain to fight delaying actions.

Luis Gonzales recounted his escape in 1942. He had been ill and only five days out of the camp hospital when Bataan surrendered. The Japanese marched Filipinos out in groups of 100 with one guard in front and one in the rear. He saw his chance at the first stop for a rest. As the guard in front looked the other way and the one in the rear was busy beating up a prisoner, he jumped into a ditch and stayed put. In the evening, a Filipino came along and brought him some rice. He couldn't eat but took half of it after some prodding. The civilian left, promising to return that night. Another Filipino came later, gave him two pieces of sugar cane to munch on, and promised to return and get him. Still later, a 17-year-old lad came and said: "Follow me." The lad took him to a shambles of a cabin in Bataan, where the lad lived with his widowed mother. Later Luis made his way to Pampanga then to Manila, where he registered as an escaped prisoner in the third "last chance" offered by the Japanese. The incident is typical: three strangers helped him at some risk to themselves.