OUR ARRIVAL IN SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA
I cannot exactly remember how many days we walked from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga, but to me it was like a LIFETIME!
We were herded into a school house, where we rested and were served burned rice and hot water!
To us this was a real FEAST although what accompanied the rice was a small pinch of salt and nothing more.
Due to hunger, some P.O.W.’s tried to get some green santol fruit to eat just to fill their empty stomachs, and developed stomach ACHE!
Fortunately, my provisions lasted that long. Praise the Lord!
We saw Japanese soldiers using the school piano as their stand for their portable gas cooker, and they were cooking chicken and beans. The smell of their food all the more made us hungry.
OUR TRANSFER TO A VINEGAR BODEGA
When volunteers to work outside as linesmen for telephone wires were asked for, Joselito and I raised up our hands.
We were transferred to a warehouse where other volunteers were housed in San Fernando.
There we had a chance to extend our hands outside of the wall opening near the roof for a passerby to place some food in our hands. Luckily somebody placed a bag of rice with brown sugar, called “panocha,” in my extended hand, and that was the most delicious food since our surrender!
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