17. Bataan Peninsula, near Lubao, night of April 15, 1942
Sergeant Kubo was sitting on the ground in front of the compound’s field kitchen ... ‘han-gou’ or mess tin in hand ... relishing a hot cup of rice and barley, when the shooting broke out along the north perimeter wire. Springing to his feet, he gathered together the half dozen off-duty soldiers relaxing nearby, and trusting his instincts and combat experience, which told him the firefight could well be a diversionary action, he led his followers away from the sounds of gunfire ... towards the southern edge of the compound.
On reaching the southeast corner he came upon an additional four guards there, milling about in confusion. Taking charge and ordering them to follow, he led the way westward along the southern perimeter wire, where in the darkness ahead he could make out what appeared to be a number of figures gathered at the southwest corner.
**************
A half mile away in the center of Lubao, the popping and crackling sounds of small arms gunfire could also be heard.
Tanaka, who’s talented and lovely comfort girl had artfully managed to arouse his desire for a third coupling by suggesting that he might like to tie her down spread-eagled to the room’s antique four-poster bed, abruptly arrested himself in mid-stroke. He paused to listen, then abruptly pulled out. She murmured something in regret, and flashed him her best sultry come-on look. There was a brief moment of hesitation. But he was no longer interested.
While hurriedly getting into his clothes, he called out to his driver, who was asleep outside the door on the hallway floor, ordering him to prepare for immediate departure. Moments later Tanaka was out the door, sprinting down the hall and descending to the ground floor ... the comfort girl’s frantic pleas to untie her unheeded.
Outside the building’s entrance, his driver had started up the ‘Type 95’ and was turning it about, anticipating his superior’s intention to race to the sound of the guns.
**************
Private Hiroko Ota’s attention had been riveted on the sensual excitement of being permitted to reach through the wire to gently brush and circle with his fingertips one of the exposed pointy nipples belonging Shirley Bell, the diminutive American nurse who was the object of his intense infatuation. That, along with the fact that his peripheral vision was partially blocked by Nora Heidegger’s arm as she reached out to pull him in closer to the wire, made it remarkable that he still managed to pick up on the stealthy movements of Whitaker and his men as they closed in.
Perhaps the reason why he sensed imminent danger had to do with the sudden outbreak of shooting on the far side of the compound, or perhaps it was simply a sixth sense. Difficult to say. But, in any case, it happened.
So it was that with a yelp of surprise, Hiroko suddenly pulled back, breaking free of Nora’s grasp. Dropping the half empty bottle of Saké, he began to backpedal to where he had left his weapon lying on the ground. Shirley called for him to come back. But she and Nora were by then surrounded by Whitaker and his comrades, along with a growing number of POWs crowding up to the wire.
Losing his footing, Hiroko fell heavily to the ground, sprawled on his backside. He was about to get up when a man appeared over him ... a partisan ... and he had a knife.
************
Alejandro’s state of shock and despair had only grown as events unfolded, leaving him momentarily immobilized. But when he saw the Japanese soldier back away from the wire, and the rapidly growing mob of POWs collecting on the other side, he knew he had to act. Signaling his team forward, he sprang to his feet and ran towards the lone retreating Japanese guard.
And when the guard stumbled and fell, Alejandro put him out of action, not with his knife, but with a swift kick to the head before rushing to the wire to help his followers bring it down.
***************
Whitaker cursed their bad luck at the sight of the Japanese guard backing away from the trap that had been so carefully laid. And moments later, he cursed again as a rapidly growing mob of frantic POWs surged against the wire barrier, becoming so densely packed as to make movement all but impossible. Some of them had known of the plan, and their presence was expected, but many were there as part of a frenzied stampede away from the firefight taking place along the far side of the compound. And their numbers were making everything impossible.
Whitaker called out to the mob, trying to organize an effort to pull the wire down, but no one was listening. Everything seemed a shambles. So, it was with surprise that Whitaker saw a number of dark clad figures on the outside running for the fence ... and they appeared to be carrying wire cutters!
*************
In the meantime Kubo and his men had nearly reached the compound’s southwest corner when he suddenly held up a cautionary hand. A large crowd of POWs could be seen up ahead pressing against the wire. There also appeared to be a number of shadowy figures on the outside running in the direction of the barrier.
Sizing up the situation and deciding he must act quickly, Kubo waved his hand, signaling for his men to spread out. And as soon as they were in position, he ordered them to commence firing.
***************
Alejandro saw this coming, and shouted to his men to take cover as he himself went to ground. The warning came too late for some, as roughly half of his little force was caught out in the open and cut down. The survivors were able to crawl under fire to relative safety at the base of the wire, where the angle of the corner offered a degree of protection from Kubo and his men.
The sudden unexpected fusillade had driven most of the POW’s to ground as well.
Pulling out the US Army .45 caliber sidearm he carried under his belt, Alejandro got off a few shots to provide cover as he encouraged his men to cut whatever hole in the wire they could manage and then get to safety.
*****************
As soon as Kubo’s men opened up, Whitaker, Norm and Clem had hit the dirt just inches from the wire, dragging a bewildered Shirley and Nora to earth with them.
“Shit!” cried Norm. “Now what?”
“Sit tight!” warned Whitaker. “Those guys are trying to cut us a hole. Soon as it opens, we’re going through. Grab the nurses and be ready to move when I give the signal. If we make it through, we keep low and head for the trees. Got it?”
“Right!” said Clem, reaching over to push Shirley’s head down.
A partially blackened Filipino face appeared. There were several snapping sounds as he wielded his wire cutter, leaving a hole near the ground. Nothing large, just wide enough for two or three to crawl through at a time.
“Go for it. Now!” shouted Whitaker, grabbing Nora by the arm and thrusting her forward.
At that moment, Alejandro opened up again with his .45 in an effort to provide cover, both for his men and for the first of the POWs to get through the hole. Whitaker, Norm, Clem and the two nurses were the first through and, following Whitaker’s lead, raced after the retreating partisans, crouching as low as possible. Alejandro got off a couple more rounds before getting away himself.
Others followed. Several dozen POWs made it through before Kubo and his men charged forward to seal off the gap. Training their weapons on the mass of POWs milling about inside the wire, the Japanese fired point blank into the crowd, dropping many and forcing the rest to fall back and scatter.
And so, it was over. The diversionary shooting on the other side of the compound ceased as abruptly as it started. The partisan force melting away into the darkness.
*****************
Speeding down the track along the south side of the wire came a ‘Type 95’, it’s slit-covered headlights giving off just enough light to illuminate Kubo and his men as it came to a halt. Tanaka emerged immediately and strode purposefully toward Kubo, who snapped to attention and saluted.
“Report!” snapped Tanaka, careful not to reveal that he recognized the sergeant standing before him.
“Sergeant Kubo reporting Sir! We have just broken up an attempted breakout. Partisans managed to open a small breach of the wire, before my men and I drove them off. We shot four of them. The rest fled.”
“And how many prisoners escaped?”
“We don’t know. Not many, but some.”
“I see. As soon as more of our people arrive here, I want you, sergeant, to form up pursuit parties to hunt them down.
“Yessir!”
“Oh and, Kubo ...”
“Sir?”
“Well done.”
***************
Not far away, alongside the idling ‘Type 95’, Private Hiroko Ota gripped the vehicle’s fender as a means of support as he labored to raise himself up from where he had been lying. Having gotten as far as to his knees, he had to pause. His head hurt and he found it difficult to focus on his surroundings. Hit with a sudden and intense wave of dizziness, he fell back to the ground.
I hope it lasts!
