Eventually Ray and his family moved across to the Elena Apartments where some 1,000 people had gathered by then. On three occasions, the Japanese called everyone out and lined them up in front of bayonets, warning that if they found a single guerrillero or weapon it was good-bye for all. Three times, 1,000 civilians were called out, lined up and threatened while the Japanese searched every room in the building, but not a single one was killed. This was the Japanese at the other end of the pendulum.

When American shells started hitting the apartments, the people at the Elena fled for all points of the compass — some to safety, others straight into the cauldron. Others wandered in during the lulls only to continue their flight when the shelling resumed. Ray eventually moved to St. Paul's and the American rear lines.

What the Japs didn't burn, American shelling did. I spoke to several American officers and they admitted as much. They said it just had to be done — otherwise progress would have been extremely costly and so much delayed that civilian casualties would have been correspondingly larger.

The ordeal suffered by civilians during the Battle of Manila is reported here only piece-meal. One can only imagine the terror as groups rushed here and there amidst the shells. In the midst of one of the greater melees, one woman entered a crowded shelter with two dogs on a double-ended leash, leaving cash and valuables behind, to the dismay of her husband. According to one version, she was clutching a tin box until her husband finally "liberated" it, but his joy was short-lived as it contained only dog biscuits. He almost went insane watching the dogs enjoy their biscuits while he suffered from misery and hunger — until he couldn't stand it anymore. To make a long story short, I understand the dogs are still alive and healthy, but the husband, it's said, barks occasionally.

...ooOoo...