Came Wednesday, February 7 and we were still expecting the Americans to show up at any moment. It was a strange day with a drama that repeated itself three times ... queer because at the end of each, when the heroes were expected to burst onto the stage a-la-Superman, nothing happened. Each drama began with fireworks, shells, rifle and sporadic machine-gunning that absolutely bespoke of battle. The noises began to come closer and closer ... clear omens of sharp street fighting with the center growing nearer and nearer. After two hours of this however, there was a lull — absolutely no Americans. We began to peek out and breathe a little. There was time to examine the ruins left by artillery shells through garages or kitchens, the near misses, the pockmarks left in the streets and the increasing fires. It happened twice more in our area — each time the real battle appeared certain to begin, a lull came instead of the climax.

We couldn't make heads or tails of it — some called it a comedy — but the tenseness increased and we began to hear of growing injuries and deaths near us. We grew skeptical of the Americans, and some grew skeptical of the Japs. What was happening? Plenty of fighting, but where were the Americans? Indeed, where were the Japs? And who was starting the fires?

By Thursday, February 8, we were extremely tired, perplexed and growing weaker through lack of sleep, food and water. Thursday was a repetition of Wednesday but on a tougher, louder, stormier scale. More shells and fires and more repetitions of the "comedy" of the previous day. The crescendo became terrific now. We huddled in our place of "safety," praying to be spared as shells continued landing around us. By evening we were sure the Americans were shelling Paco. The Japs had no guns near us on our area of Oregon Street, just pillbox positions. The Japs had a cannon at the playground end of La Union Street, and more cannons and a pillbox position near the Paco Church. We knew it was American shelling because the shells were coming closer and several houses were receiving direct hits; new fires were also beginning that the Japs must've been starting. The shells came from afar — exploding nearby — and were neither of the large nor incendiary type. They did not destroy a house completely but the shrapnel was terrific. The Japs must have suffered casualties, yet, strangely though, there were few Japanese around and no real fighting.

continues...