Bilibid Prison

Bilibid Prison - Main Gate -- Alf and fellow prisoners walked through this gate. -- U.S. Archive PhotoWe got to Bilibid around the middle of June 1944. It was a big prison. Actually, Bilibid was the main prison in the Philippines. The real hard-core prisoners, murders, rapists, etc. were sent down to the penal colony at Davao, which is on the island on Mindanao.

What did you do at Bilibid?
Nothing. We just survived. It was the most boring place you ever saw. There were no facilities and no work because we were going to ship out. They couldn't send us out on details. We weren't restricted to a cell. As soon as we woke up in the morning, the guards mustered us outside. There was a common bathroom for everyone to use. Most everybody just wandered around the compound, which was one big open courtyard. Everyone slept in the adjacent buildings. There were no bunks so we had to sleep on concrete floors. We just sat around the whole time.

The Chapel At Bilibid -- The men in Bilibid Prison built a crude chapel against one of the fortress walls for church services. All denominations worship here. -- Drawing Courtesy of Ben SteeleWhat time did you get up in the morning?
I don't know. Time really didn't mean anything. I'm not even sure even what time they fed us. I just lived from day to day and didn't project myself any further. If anyone had stayed there very long, they would have gone stark raving nuts!




Did you want to stay together with the Clark Field group? Could you pick whom you wanted to be with?
No. At Bilibid, everyone was assigned to a particular company. They didn't take into consideration your preference. I was lucky because quite a few people from Clark Field were assigned to my company. Of the 1162 people there, three hundred or so were from Clark Field. We left Bilibid Prison for the last time on August 13, 1944.