At Isaac Peral we ran into Mrs. Connor, Mr. Stearn and another member of the American Red Cross — a pretty, blue-eyed, sandy-blonde Miss Lynch. Mrs. Connor was about to go looking for us with a jar of precious water. After another drink, we piled into the jeep and returned to Santo Tomas, where I got in for the second time today without a pass. Getting out proved more difficult until Father Van Gorp came to the rescue. And so I biked home, feasting on some chocolate the Connors had thrust into my pocket and humming a new tune: "A glass of water, a Hershey and you ... whoo-hoo."

. . . .

A slowly recovering Father Cosgrave was at the Connor shanty in Santo Tomas, still weak but at least out of hospital. Winternitz soon had him recounting his experience at La Salle. On Wednesday or so, the Japanese came in and lined everybody up. Father Cosgrave wandered into the chapel, where a Japanese with drawn bayonet saw him but did nothing — though later he was bawled out for being late. At the line up, a masked Makapili fingered Brother Xavier and Judge Carlos. They were bound up and taken away. Still, the Japanese left the rest of them alone, telling them to stay put and keep out of their way. The Japanese drilled through the wall into the Japanese Club next door to make an escape route of sorts, warning all again against helping the Americans or impeding Japanese defense measures.

Next Monday the Japanese came and lined everybody up again. Only this time, they unceremoniously bayoneted them all! Now comes the cruelest blow of them all: Of the 70, 63 died, and as they died or were dying, LOOTERS entered and stripped them of watches, fountain pens and any valuables. "We were so weak that we couldn't resist," related the Father. "We wanted water badly but the looters were in too much of a hurry ... to spare a thought for the dying." That's only part of it, the full story would be too tough to swallow, but I'm convinced that the role of guerrillas as looters has been greatly exaggerated, while that of the general public has been understated — and how!

...ooOoo...