Yesterday's papers reported 2,000 tons of incendiaries over Tokyo; today it's the same on Nagoya. Someone in Santo Tomas told me that the States had announced that Japanese shrines don't mean a thing after what the Japanese did to Manila. "If the Japs had behaved properly in Manila, it would have been an embarrassment, but now the task of bombing Japan has been made much easier."

Manila Post: "Internees raise funds for rescuers" — P2,000 raised by voluntary contributions for the two guerrilleros that died in the Los Baños rescue. The Japanese lost 243 killed versus our 2 guerrilleros. But after it was all over, I understand the Japanese swooped on the town and killed some civilians.

It's the 39th day since American troops entered Manila and I couldn't go over the Nagtahan Pontoon Bridge today. The on-again off-again policy of treating civilians like fools is getting on my nerves. Yesterday I couldn't go to New Manila because the bridge wasn't up yet at the Santa Mesa Extension. This morning someone came to our door and said under PCAU No.21 we were to receive a bread ration and would we please go to Buenos Aires at 0930 to get it. We paid five centavos for a piece of a loaf that yielded exactly 4-1/2 very thin slices. This is the second ration we've received, but the first from this PCAU Unit.

Tomas Confesor is the avowed No.1 self-ordained and highly publicized baiter of all former pro-Japanese. When Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo entered Confesor's office recently, the little Napoleon jumped up and snapped: "You have a lot of nerve to enter my office — either you leave or I'll leave!" Aguinaldo left looking a bit pale. The intrepid Wartime Governor of Free Panay and Romblon during the occupation, Confesor was sometimes at odds with Military Governor and guerilla leader Macario Peralta.

. . . .

In October 1944, the Japanese asked the internees at Santo Tomas to sign a paper containing clauses like: "I agree not to attempt to escape from this Camp." All but five or six signed the silly document, and the Japanese soon persuaded the rest to sign too except for one holdout — a Chinese-American steward or cabin boy of the USS President Grant. Tossed into jail, he still refused to sign. The American Committee finally got him out on the grounds that he was nuts. He might have been too, because he refused to accept his case of American Red Cross rations in December 1943 despite the best efforts of the rest. Charity? No sir, not for him. Refusing even clothing, he went around with less than half a shirt.

Dunckel has given his Filipino "intelligence" men another order to find and bring him some looted furniture — any furniture — and never mind if the boys make a mistake once in a while. Strange how the GIs never mention Krueger, Sutherland or Kenney, but on the subject of MacArthur, two out of three express dislike for the man though not his strategy. I've grown tired hearing: "What did he mean by 'I shall return'? WE did it — not him." The next time I hear it I'm going to say: Listen, you had the help of the Filipinos didn't you? They made it a little easier for you, didn't they? Well, they did it for MacArthur and not you!

...ooOoo...