During the months that followed the fall of Bataan to Japanese Army Troops [WWII] and the subsequent imprisonment of captured American troops at the large POW camp at Cabanatuan in Central Luzon (the main island of the Philippines), the physical condition of many POWs deteriorated. Hundreds died from lack of sufficient food, medicine and medical care. At this time, I was fortunate to have teamed up with two fellow officers who were Clemson graduates: Henry Leitner 37 and Otis Morgan 38. As conditions worsened, I became a victim of beriberi, malaria, diarrhea, and an eye infection. I had no appetite, and I could hardly swallow. Henry and Otis took turns spoon-feeding me, cleaning my eyes, carrying me piggyback to an open latrine, washing me and carrying me back to our nipa shack. Most of our personal possessions had disappeared; however, I had managed to keep my Clemson class ring hidden. Otis, who worked on the farm as an in-charge (an American who could understand enough Japanese to pass on the instructions to the POW work details), let it be known that he knew of a gold ring available for trade to the Japanese for food. A deal was made, and one evening Otis came in from the farm with a small can of potted ham and a live pullet-sized chicken. Henry borrowed a tin pail, built a fire and boiled the chicken. They fed me hot chicken soup, chicken with rice and rice with chicken. Nothing was left except the bones, which by that time, were gleaming white. They broke the bones ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc678BqvSYs&hl=en
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