Have all the people from Paco been evacuated yet? Have you seen so and so? Heard of my two sisters? Any evacuees from Malate yet? Wha-at, grenades? Machine gunning everybody?

Simply terrible! Lost a brother ... three sisters ... raped ... burned ... lay in a ditch for 36 hours.... The Americans were great ... we were running and suddenly found ourselves between the firing lines and the Americans ran forward in front of us; firing to cover our escape — standing up! How we got to the end of the block I'll never know.

For two days we crouched, cried and prayed. The house next door got a direct hit. One said he could see Americans and we thought he was crazy until we saw them too ... creeping up, nearing ... we all cried, including the men ... like babies.

The Japs yelled at us: 'You'll never see the Americans ... they're coming with good food and clothes but you'll never live to see them.' They threw hand grenades at us.... Doctor X began to go crazy after a while. He kept saying, 'But I haven't the instruments ... I haven't the instruments.' The patient was crying: 'Oh, the pain ... oh, the pain ... oh, the pain.' He bled to death before us ... what could we do?

I can't describe it. There isn't an appropriate word for it.... Don't ask! Four days of hell. We were without food but we couldn't eat anyway ... but THIRST ... we cried for water. That was the worst of all!

I'm not exaggerating — I'm toning it down! Don't ask me for the whole truth at once; I'll let it out little by little if we can both stand it. A Japanese artillery shot just landed short of where we stood. Why am I suddenly afraid? Walking down the street later, the sound of a coming shell startled me, and boy did I jump! They ought to muzzle the dogs; some are as nervous as we are.

. . . .

1800: American Engineers arrived with the most surprising and heaviest equipment I've ever seen: "iron treadways" — huge trucks and trailers with giant steel ramps maneuvered by an equally giant crane on a tractor. The Engineers say they'll finish it by midnight — six hours! "And to think they had to bring all these by ship and land them on a beach," wondered Maurice. American engineers were also inspecting the water supply yesterday and today. The water situation is becoming critical.

2200: Artillery fire is growing active again. I'm sitting on the porch watching a big fire at Malate, one from Ermita and one at Intramuros. It's hard to distinguish the source and destination of the shells — confusing and disquieting to one who's on edge. If I'm feeling a bit jagged in the "safe" district of Santa Mesa, imagine how the people on the in the firing line feel.

...ooOoo...

Pictures...