Hans Menzi has been a bit strange lately. I visited the family yesterday and came out staggering after 15 minutes. Margot told Maurice today that Hans had captured Muntinglupa and was going to get medals for his actions there and in Fort McKinley. "After all, I think he deserves it, he's really been a brave boy," said Margot. Maurice continued:

A little later, Hans arrived. He had on a neat but used khaki uniform with a pistol in a holster attached to his right leg and strings going over his left shoulder — definitely Hollywoodish. Last time I saw that was when I was a kid in the 1920s — on Jack Holt.

Anyway, Hans says to his mother: 'I've been asked by General Dunckel to make up the plans for the capture of the Nazis in Manila. So I made a deal with Max Kummer: I offered him freedom if he'd turn over to me the names of all true Nazis.' Get it? He's going to round up the Nazis by asking a German for advice!

Anyway, our hero will call his Second Corps out tomorrow to engulf the Nazis, all but one or two of which incidentally are already being detained by the Americans. "Stop laughing," said Maurice, "there's more." The Muntinglupa episode, where Hans' general staff fled after almost getting captured by the Japanese, was next:

'I saved Muntinglupa,' began Hans, sounding like Napoleon. 'Golly it was tough. When we went there, we had to pole-vault across electric wires with bamboo sticks.'

(My italics and I blush to have to write the above, but Maurice was just warming up.)

'But never mind the glory and all that comes with it ... the sacrifice and all that. What I enjoyed most was the Jap that I killed. Yeah, I killed 58 Japs, and for each one I put a notch on my belly.'

I told Maurice he must have misheard Hans, but Maurice swore he said it. In fact, he was close to bursting a seam and wanted to get away as soon as possible. Before he could, though, Hans got in a final blow — the knockout...

continues...