Clark Field Concentration Camp
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We went to Clark Field by truck.
When we got to the camp, we realized where we were. The cook detail had been sent
there ahead of us to set up kitchen service. The Japanese had given them a pig. It was rancid! You could smell that
pig almost from Clark Field to
You hadn't had any meat for a long time?
That's right.
What did you have to eat with it?
Rice.
You even ate the bugs? (Jane)
Absolutely. They were cooked and it was protein.
Oh, ick!
(Jane)
What was that camp being used for?
Clark Field was a big American air base. After capturing it, the Japanese used
it as an air base too. There wasn't much left standing after they bombed it.
They put us in these long bamboo huts. They had built them before the war as
quarters for Filipino scouts. Because of all the bombing damage there were lots
of materials to be scrounged up. The only way we could get things was to go
around in details and clean up. The Japanese let us keep what we could carry
back. Everyone was able to get hold of a bunk, a mattress, and some blankets.
That was the most fortunate thing that happened! Also, we could keep clean
because cold running water was available all the time. We even had flush
toilets. The chow wasn't good, but it
wasn't any worse than what we had before. In fact, it was better than what we
were fed on
Were there any black markets there?
There weren't any at Clark Field. Some black markets existed in other camps,
including
Was there much activity going on at Clark Field after the Japanese occupied
it?
We could hear activity all the time even though we were a little ways from the
base. We couldn't see the their planes taking off
until they were airborne.
How long were you at Clark Field?
I was there for quite a while, from the end of May 1942 until June 1944.
I didn't know that. (Jane).
You got there and basically set up the barracks and the camp. What role did
the Japanese have in this?
They oversaw everything. We had Japanese guards around when we were on the work
details outside the compound. But, they didn't talk to us. They talked to our
officers. The American officers took charge and divided us up into platoons.
Our officers consisted of a captain, two first lieutenants, and the medical
officer who was also a captain. I was a staff sergeant and one of the
higher-ranking noncoms. I became a platoon leader and assigned work to everyone
under my charge. Also, I was responsible for three barracks. The only benefit I
received from this position was extra work for myself!
How long did it take to get everything functioning?
We arrived at Clark Field on the first day. The second day we organized the
camp as best as we could, and on the third day we started working in platoons.
Did you have a perimeter around the camp?
They had a one strand of barbed wire around the bamboo barracks. The Japanese
would walk around and patrol it once in a while. We could have gotten out any
time. But, there was no place to go. It would be like being captive in the
You could walk away but look out for the alligators! Plus, the Japanese offered
a 100-lb. bag of rice to any Filipino who would turn in an escaped prisoner.
Were there a lot of bugs around?
Yes. Mosquitoes were very bad in the
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How were the duties and work details assigned?
The Japanese would tell our officers each evening what they wanted, i.e. how
many men they needed, etc. The officers would tell the platoon leaders, and we
would assign the people. The Japanese had bombed the area before the surrender.
The first thing we did was to police up the entire area. That took us about a
year. We picked up and got rid of all the junk. If we could use anything we
were allowed to bring it back to camp. We did manage to scrounge up some medical
supplies such as bandages and iodine, but no quinine. After everything was
cleaned up, we started working on the airfield and quarried rock.
Where did you get the rocks?
There wasn't a quarry. We dug these rocks out of the ground. They were used to repair
the runways. The Japanese broke us into squads. The size would vary, but was
usually eight to ten men. I had to assign each man, i.e. you go here, you go
there, etc.
How many squads were in your platoon?
There was no set limit because sometimes they would want fifteen men to go
here, ten men to go there, etc.
Assignments were different each day depending on what was supposed to be
done?
Right. They gave each squad a quota for the amount of
rock that had to be dug each day. If you were lucky, you found a place where
you could get lots of rocks and had your quota by 4:00 p.m. If you were
unlucky, you stayed out there until you did. Many times people stayed out until
midnight. I'll tell you, I was one of
them. We stayed out close to midnight several times to get our quota.
Could a squad always find enough rocks?
Yes, eventually.
Did they give you tools to dig with?
Yes. We had shovels and picks.
Who enforced these quotas?
The Japs did. Someone from their engineering
department had figured out you had to get so much rock and pile it a certain
way. Each pile was so long, so high, and so wide. I got injured because this
stupid Jap walked on top of the rock pile. He tried to make us build the pile
straight up instead of tapering it like we were supposed to. We built it up
high and when he walked on it, the rocks tumbled down across my legs, injuring
both my knees. I was in bad shape. They had to carry me in to camp.
When did the rocks fall on you?
We had been at Clark Field close to one and one half years.
Did the Japanese give you any medical treatment for that injury from the
rocks?
No. We had no medical supplies
whatsoever other than what we found on our own. The Japanese had taken all of
ours after the surrender. I just had to sweat it out.
Did your injuries ever heal?
No. They never completely healed and gave me trouble for years. I finally ended
up getting both knees replaced, one in 1998 and one in 1999.
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How many days a week did you work?
We worked everyday, seven days a week.
There was no Saturdays or Sundays off.
Did you ever have any time off?
I had time off when I had malaria, when I was injured, and the two times I was
put in the punishment shack. We will talk the punishment I received a little
later on.
Did you organize any sports activities?
No, we were always too damned tired.
Were there any church services?
Not in our camp because we didn't have any pastors. They finally were allowed
to have both Catholic and Protestant services in
Did you celebrate any holidays like Christmas? (Ben Peterson)
No. Holidays, including Christmas, were just like any other day. We didn't get
any time off. We got up, worked, ate our meals, and went to bed.
We knew when the holidays were, but didn't discuss them. At Christmas, I think
everyone thought about it, as I did. But, in our situation, holidays really
didn't make any difference.
What
was a typical day at Clark Field?
You got up in the morning at about 6:00 a.m. and had breakfast. We were fed
twice a day.
What did you eat for breakfast?
We got one cup of steamed rice. That
was it! We went out of the camp and dug rocks. We could get
water outside the camp while we were working.
Assuming you met your quota on time,
when would you eat supper?
We would eat supper about six o'clock. Again, we got about a cup of steamed
rice. After that, we were on our own and didn't have to do anything until the
next morning. We usually went to bed early because we were tired.
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Was there ever anything to read?
Occasionally we would find magazines, books, or something to read.
Did you write letters home?
I don't remember how many I wrote but it was more than once. Shortly before
leaving Clark Field in June 1944, everyone received a standard, pre-written
card. Each card had English messages that we could check. For example, one was
"I am well." Another was "I am sick." After we checked a
message, we would sign the card. We were darn sure if we checked anything but
"I am well" the card would never get out. We wondered if any of our
mail got out of camp! The only reason we filled them out was to try and let
people back home know we were still alive. We were not able to send and receive
any kind of mail from
Could you write a sentence or two on the card?
No. You could only sign it.
Did your mother get these cards?
No. The cards were not mailed. For example, the Japanese would get on a radio,
say my name, and repeat the checked message that was "I am well." I
found out after the war that two or three ham radio operators in
Did you get any letters from home?
During the war we had what was called "V-mail" which was short for
"Victory Mail."
Jane, how much did you know about Alf's situation?
I knew about him because I typed the letters his mother wrote on V-Mail forms.
They were short letters; she could write twenty-five words or so on a special message form. I'm not sure how she mailed
them. I think she took them to the Red Cross and they took care of them. (Jane)
The cards we got were smaller than the ones Jane typed my mother's letters on.
The Red Cross or whomever probably edited them before they were mailed or sent.
But when I received them, they were signed. I assumed the signature on them was
my mother's.
Did you get the V-mail I typed for your mother? (Jane)
I got a couple of them at Clark Field. I don't recall ever getting one in
After we knew he was alive, we didn't hear from him for so long. I thought he
was dead. (Jane)
Did you get any assistance from the Red Cross?
I don't remember exactly when, but we got a Red Cross package in the
Considering your diet, their system wasn't used to it.
Right. A number of packages still had cigarettes in
them. A lot of prisoners traded what little food they had for cigarettes. They
would rather have the cigarettes than food! Most of them didn't survive.
They died?
Yes.
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Did you ever play any funny tricks on the Japanese?
I didn't, at least intentionally. I found a mouth organ and would spend time
playing it. A fellow prisoner had made a guitar.
He tuned the whole guitar when I played the key of C. I used to play the guitar
before I was captured. One time I was lying in the barracks and, just for
kicks, I rhythmically played one note over and over like code. A Japanese unit
came storming in with bayonets fixed and demanded to know where the radio was!
I showed them what I was doing and that was the end of that.
At Clark Field, then,
other than the fact you were in captivity, underfed, starved, sick with a
variety of diseases, no medical treatment, given bland, meager food, and in a
concentration camp, life was pretty routine.
That's right. You knew what you were going to do every single day even though
work details changed. Once a month, we noncoms were paid ten cents a day in
Japanese script. It was worthless. One time, we pooled all our money and bought
a carabao. The Japanese went and got it from the
Filipinos, brought it in the camp, and we killed it. We dug a big pit and
filled it full of rocks. We built a fire so the rocks got real hot, put the
caribou in the pit, and covered it up with rocks and grass. We let it cook for
a couple of days and then we dug it up. Boy, was that
tender meat!
How many people had to share it?
About two hundred men, the same number as before with the pig. But, you got
more because the carabao was pretty good size like a
water buffalo. In fact, it was a water buffalo. We kept everything that was
edible. Everyone got a pretty good size chunk of meat. To supplement our diet,
the Japanese would occasionally bring in some greens. Once in a while they
would give us some soybeans and that was a treat!
Did you ever have any salt or anything to put on that? (Jane)
We got salt occasionally.
Would those soybeans come in raw out of the field?
Right. We could cook them in hot water. They were hard
but nutritious and we ate them. But, we could never soften those danged things
up. But when they were cooked at least you could chew them.
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What happened if someone got sick?
The Japanese recognized a couple of things. If you got malaria, they could
tell. They didn't make you work. If you got hurt, and they could see you were
hurt, they didn't make you work. The Japanese would come out and check when you
reported sick. If they saw malaria, there was no question in their minds about
that. They were also afflicted with it. But, they would come and check on you
every single day. In fact, I got malaria at Clark Field.
I would like to ask something about the Japanese. How come they treated you
and the other American soldiers so savagely on the
Right. First, the march happened right after the
surrender. Fighting had been going on and both sides were tense. Also, many of
the seasoned Japanese veteran troops headed further south after the surrender.
Our guards were "second string," so to speak. They were not as
professional as the regular troops. After we got to the camps, except for the
rules and conditions, individual brutality subsided.
You did end up with malaria at Clark Field. How did you know you had it and
when did you get it?
You could feel it coming on, no question about it. You would get so hot that
everything would come off and you were still hot. You sweat like a dog. Malaria
would want you to take your skin off! The next minute you would shake and
shiver and feel like you were freezing to death. You couldn't get enough covers
on you. There were several kinds of fever. Dengue fever and malaria were the
bad ones. I got malaria after being at Clark Field about one year.
Which is worse, dengue fever or malaria?
Dengue fever is not quite as bad as malaria. I had dengue fever in the
Did you just sweat it out?
Yes. We had no quinine, medical supplies, or nothing to treat anything.
How long were you sick?
I was sick for several days. Sometimes, when people would get sick, they would
get sent to
Were there any other diseases?
We would get outbreaks of beri-beri.
What is beri-beri?
The veins would fill with fluid and
swell up, leaving a big dent. Some got it so bad; it was called elephantiasis
where your scrotum and testicles would swell up. It is a vitamin deficiency
disease.
Was there any treatment at all available?
We had no medical supplies whatsoever!
We would soak in cold water to try and bring the swelling down.
I had beri-beri and swelled up around the legs and
ankles.
I didn't have any swelling in the scrotum and testicles. But, because of our diet, every prisoner I knew had beri beri, dengue fever, and
malaria at one time or another.
Everyone definitely had a vitamin deficiency. Aren't there good nutrients
in rice?
Rice was the main staple of our diet
the entire time in captivity. But, we had very little "unpolished"
rice. The rice we got was "polished" which had all nutrients taken
out of it. To supplement our diet, we occasionally got soybeans and greens.
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Was there any rule infractions resulting in punishment?
The Japanese caught two Filipinos stealing corrugated sheet metal from some
storage buildings. I suppose they wanted to use on their houses. The Japanese
made us fall out and stand in formation. They
brought the Filipinos in front us, tied each one to a post, and used them for
bayonet practice. We had to stand in formation and watch the whole thing.
The Japanese wanted everyone to know they meant business.
That''s right. There were two other incidents I will
never forget and two times I thought I was done for! Two American prisoners
escaped from Clark Field, not at the same time, but about six months apart.
They didn''t stay in my barracks, but were in my
platoon. The first one was named Flanigan and was
engaged to a Filipino woman. The others'' name was
The first man to escape had the Filipino girlfriend and left when we were out
on a work detail. After his escape was discovered, the Japanese came through
and raised all kinds of heck with us. We
had to stand in formation in the hot sun for hours. Have you
seen the film The Bridge on the River Kwai?
Yes.
Do you remember that little tin shack the colonel was put in? They built one
like that at Clark Field. It was designed to be very uncomfortable! It was a
small cubicle made of sheet metal with no openings in it except a door. The
door was a piece of sheet metal with hinges on that would open up, shut, and
lock. They built it so you couldn''t stand up and you
couldn''t lay down straight out. You had to curl up
or "squat." The building sat right out in the sun and did it get hot
since it was made of sheet metal! After standing in the hot sun for hours,
everyone went to work except me. I was
put in that shack as punishment.
Everyone stood out in the bright, hot sun for hours and then they put you
in that shack?
Yes. I stayed in that thing the first
time three days. No water or food was allowed.
Did they tell you why they put you there?
Yes. It was because one man escaped. They thought that since I was in charge,
and he was in my platoon, I should have known.
Did you protest?
What were you going to protest?
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They escorted you to that place and put you in it. What did you think
about?
After the first day, your mind was
blank and you completely lost track of time. It was completely dark in there.
Could you tell when it was day or night? (Jane)
You could because of the temperature.
It would cool off at night. And, there were mosquitoes galore! There was one
Japanese soldier who must have had the lowest rank. He always got the midnight
shift guarding that shack. He would slip me a canteen and, every once in a
while, a rice ball. When I got out, I could walk and was basically all right.
It hadn't been too bad in there because of him.
How long had you been at Clark Field when this happened?
The first escape happened after about a year. I can't tell you exactly when
because the dates are fuzzy. After I came out of confinement, everything went
along just fine.
Six months later, while we were on airfield detail, Taylor, the second guy,
escaped. He was the soldier with the Filipino wife. After work was done, we
walked back to camp. During assembly, the Japanese discovered he was missing. They marched us in front of the camp headquarters
building, surrounded us with guards, and kept us standing until about 4:00 am!
We didn't know what was going to happen. I thought they were getting ready to
shoot us all. The next morning, they turned us loose.
Later on that day, after everyone had
gone to work, they called the officers and myself to
Japanese headquarters. A regular detail of Japanese guards escorted Captain
Fleming, our camp commander, Captain Kerns, the medical officer, and myself. On the way, we thought we were going to be shot. In
fact, the Captain Fleming said, "Let's die like men and show them we can
die like men." When we arrived, they didn't get
physical or shoot us. We were grilled for about two hours through an
interpreter. They asked about the men, who had escaped, i.e. did we know where
they were going, how come they left, etc. Heck, we had no idea they were going
to escape. The two soldiers involved never talked to us or said they were going
over the hill. When they realized we didn't know anything, they turned us
loose. That was the most frightening
time of my entire captivity!
Did anything else happen because of this incident?
The same punishment happened again. This
time I spent seven days in that shack. That was the worst time of my entire
captivity. I wondered how I was going to survive in that heat without food or
water. The same guard, when he was on duty, would occasionally
give me a canteen and a rice ball. It didn't happen every night because I don't
know how often he was on duty.
Could you see outside?
Only when he opened the door.
He never talked to you?
He made signs to make sure I didn't tell anybody.
If that guard had not
given you water and rice, you would have died.
The second time, I'm sure I would have
died without his help.
God was
with really with you, Alf.
And for seven days,
for crying out loud. (Jane)
Even with the water and food the
Japanese guard gave me, I couldn't walk out. They had to carry me back to the
barracks and put me in my bunk. The Japanese left me alone. I was able to rest
for a couple of days before I had to go back to work.
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They probably had some admiration for you. But, they had a real dislike for
soldiers who surrendered, didn't they?
They had a totally different code. They didn't surrender voluntarily, very few
ever did. To the Japanese, anyone who surrendered lost all face. In fact, we
had wounded Japanese prisoners of war that had been captured when they tried to
land behind the lines. They didn't surrender but were captured. The people who
were at the hospital said they begged to be killed because they were going to
be killed anyway. When their troops came, they were dead! Toward the end of the
war, they did surrender because they knew it was going to be over soon.
What did the Japanese do after you recovered from the punishment?
After the escapes, we were divided up into death squads.
What were the "death squads?"
The first group of ten men slept side by side. They were in death squad number
one. If any man in this group of ten
escaped, the other nine men would die. You knew who was in your
squad and you kept an eye on them.
It was peer pressure.
Yes. People say, "Why didn't you escape?" We could have at any time.
But, if you didn't have outside contacts, where would you go?
And, remember, the Filipinos would get a 100-lb. sack of rice for each person
they turned in. Some Filipinos would do it because they were starving like we
were. But, with the death squads, you
knew damned well the other nine buddies would die if you escaped.
Even if you had outside contacts, you had to think long and hard about it. It
was a code of honor. Later on, the Japs said the two
escapees had been caught. But we knew they hadn't been. The Japanese would have
done the same thing to the escapees they did to the Filipinos caught stealing
corrugated sheet metal.
The Japanese didn't come around harassing people?
No. After the escape episodes, everything went on as before. They kept outside
the fence as much as they could and left us alone most of the time. Other than my injury from the rocks, the bayoneting
of the thieving Filipinos, the two escape episodes, spending time in the shack,
thinking I was going to be shot two different times, and the diseases we were
subject to, life in camp was pretty routine.
When did you leave the camp?
We left Clark Field in June 1944.
Why did you leave?
The Americans were starting to push up from the south.
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How did you know the Americans were coming?
Work details in the fields had contact with Filipinos. They would smuggle in
Filipino papers printed in English. We would read them and follow what was
going on. The papers didn't say the Japanese retreating. They always
"advanced to prepared positions in the rear." We knew things were
going bad for the Japanese because a lot of "old timers" among the
Japanese guards were leaving.
We were getting "conscripts" from
What were some of the other work details?
My friend, Sergeant Shadoan was on the kitchen
detail. They worked up in the Japanese kitchen every day besides working in
ours. There were other details in the hangars; out in the fields hauling
things, quarrying rocks or whatever the Japanese wanted done.
The Filipinos would be hanging around the various work details. They had to be
very careful so they didn't attract guards when giving information to the
prisoners.
Guard duty must have been terribly monotonous for the Japanese making them
complacent.
I'm sure it was.
The Filipinos would look for opportunities to pass information along. They
really wanted to help, didn't they?
Yes. I have admiration for most Filipinos. There were some that were
"quislings," or "turncoats," if you want to call them that.
By in large, though, the Filipinos were on our side. They would do as much as
they possibly could without getting themselves "squared away."
The Japanese treated them savagely, didn't they?
That's right. They sure did!
The Japanese knew Americans were on the way.
Yes. When they started to prepare to ship us out in mass, we knew darned well
the Americans were getting close. The Filipinos would occasionally tell us,
"Don't worry, Joe." "War over soon."
How did you get ready to leave Clark Field?
The Japanese told our officers to pick a small cadre. It was about fifty
people. They stayed behind to dismantle the camp. In July 1944, Clark Field was
disbanded as a concentration camp.
You all went at one time.
Yes, except for the dismantling detail.
What did you think about leaving?
Well, we didn't know where we were going. We boarded and left in American-made
trucks. It became clear by the direction taken that we were headed for
How long of a ride was that?
The ride was about sixty miles. Clark Field and