"They're coming back!" "Front end, take the front end." "I hurt bad, Chuck, I might die." "You're hurt but you'll be all right." "You're not dying." "Where's the nearest hospital?" "Several cities, Sir." "How far is that?" "50 kilometres, Sir." "Suppose you get down there and see if you can get some help up here." "Aye-aye, Sir." "Do you know the way, Mac?" "I'll go with you, Sir." "Any Japs around here?" "Only those up there, sir." "This was the Philippines, in the spring of 1942." "This was the last of Motor Torpedo Squadron 3, which had taken General MacArthur and his staff through Japanese lines in their historic escape from Corregidor one month earlier." "For the next three days we hid out in a lonely, deserted lighthouse." "Licking our wounds, as it were." "Knowing neither what to do nor where to go." "Have you got anything on that yet?" "I'm doing my best, Sir." "Not that I suppose it matters much, one way or the other." "I'd like to know what's going on in this war." "All right, sir." "I'll give it a try." "Sorry, Sir." "Ah, I told you." "We interrupt this programme to bring you a special broadcast." "This is the voice of freedom from United States headquarters at Corregidor." "Bataan has fallen." "With heads bloody but unbowed, the Philippine American troops on this war-ravaged and blood stained Peninsular have yielded to the superior numbers of the enemy." "Blockaded by sea, cut off from all sources of help in the Philippines and in America, these fighters have borne all that human endurance could bear." "But the decision had to come." "Men fighting under the banner of an unshakeable faith are made of something more than flesh, but they are not made of impervious steel." "The flesh must yield at last." "Endurance melts away." "So Bataan has fallen." "But the spirit that made it stand a beacon to all the liberty loving peoples of the world cannot fail." "Well, that's it." "You fellows still have those passes General MacArthur gave us?" "Yes." "OK, from now on you're on your own." "If you can get to Del Monte airfield on Mindanao they ought to be good for a priority one lift to Australia." "Mindanao, but that's 200 miles!" "Our only chance is to split up." "Travel alone or in pairs." "Otherwise we'll be too conspicuous." "Chuck, how about you leading, the rest of us will follow at half-hour intervals." "Aye-aye, sir." "Jim." "Hope to see you again." "Mike." "Take it easy." "Fred..." "Skipper." "Good luck." "Mr Palmer!" "I think I'll go along too, sir." "All right." "Goodbye, skipper." "Goodbye, Mitchell." "So long, Mike." "Watch that arm, Joe." "All right if I come along with you, sir?" "Why not." "There was a lot of walking for us after that." "Along country roads, through jungles, in equatorial heat." "Sometimes waist-deep in water and all about us people, always people." "Moving, seeking to escape." "Later people spoke of the Jap flood but there was no flood of Japs, not then." "We were the flood." "The Japs were just the rocks in the walls sticking up around which we, the flood, flowed." "For two weeks and two days we were on the move." "Pausing briefly now and then to bathe our aching feet and rest our weary bodies." "Always with people refugeeing from their homes." "Until at last we came toward a town where all the driftwood of the flood seemed to have jammed up." "It was the town of Tacloban, on the north-eastern shore of the island of Leyte." "Move on out of here." "I told you to move on quick." "Keep moving." "Any place is better than this." "I told you cannot go inside." "Hello, Sergeant, who's in command here?" "Colonel Benson, Sir, he's inside." "Very well, thank you." "I'm going to try to see the colonel." "You circulate and see what the score is." "Right." "We must see the American colonel, it's most important." "The Colonel can't see anybody right now." "It's for my cousin, she's very ill." "She's at home, if she doesn't go to the hospital at once, she may die." "I'm sorry, you have to wait your turn." "Look, this paper, if the Colonel will only sign this paper." "Listen, lady, orders are orders." "You people, stand back." "Stand back over there!" "My cousin is going to have a baby, there's no doctor anywhere!" "She must go to the hospital, it's a Caesarean baby." "Yes, lady, I understand fully, but it's impossible, we can't solve everybody's problem." "I have to see the Colonel, he must sign this paper!" "Take it easy, miss, I've got my orders." "You'll have to wait your turn." "What do you want?" "Ensign Palmer, Captain, Torpedo Squadron 3." "Squadron 3, when did you blow in?" "Just now." "I'd like to see the Colonel for a moment, it's a military matter." "MacArthur or no, the Colonel will probably chew my tail off for this, but OK, go on up." "Thank you." "Stand back here, stand back!" "Don't push." "Take it easy." "Colonel Benson?" "Yeah?" "Ensign Palmer, Sir, Torpedo Squadron 3." "Where did you come from?" "I just walked in from Cebu, Colonel." "On your hands and knees?" "Practically." "Well, what's your beef?" "Seaman Mitchell and I'd like to get to Del Monte airfield on Mindanao, Sir." "What for?" "The Japs took that strip 10 days ago." "Save you boys a long trip, you can stay right here and surrender." "Surrender?" "I just received orders to surrender all our forces on this island at 20:00 tonight." "Does that include us?" "It does, if you're here." "In the meantime we're having a little party here tonight, why don't you boys stick around and help us drink a little barbed wire." "Well, it sounds fascinating, Colonel, but I personally have had enough of barbed wire." "Have you got a better idea?" "Well, I thought if I could get a boat I'd have another shot at Australia." "What kind?" "Motor." "There aren't any." "Maybe a sailboat." "A sailboat?" "To Australia?" "Do you know how far it is to Australia?" "1,200 miles, I'd say." "It's closer to 1,300." "Besides, boats cost money." "How much have you got?" "$40 and about 10 pesos." "Palmer, I used to think the navy had some brains." "But I'm certainly beginning to doubt it." "However in the interest of inter service harmony maybe we can stand a little touch." "Say, 2,000 pesos." "Colonel, that's very generous." "Don't mention it." "It's only money." "Of course if the Japs find out about this they'll probably sue me." "But good luck to you, Palmer." "Anchors away." "By the way, go down to the end of the corridor and see Lieutenant Gibbs." "Tell him I said to give you an issue slip for some new clothes." "We can't have the navy running around looking like that, the Admiral might not like it!" "Yes, sir." "Colonel, I know you're swamped, but I happened to overhear something outside that I think is rather urgent." "Everything is urgent." "Well, sir, this is about a..." "A girl?" "Well, yes, or rather her cousin." "She's going to have a baby, it's a Caesarean." "Well, that's all we need right now, a Caesarean." "Well, if you could see her - she only wants you to sign a paper." "Good looking, eh?" "All right, Palmer, send her up." "A pretty face may help take my mind off tonight." "Thank you, Sir." "Good luck, Colonel." "Good luck, Palmer." "Captain!" "He will?" "Lady!" "You can go up now." "Chuck!" "Over here!" "Thank you, Captain." "First door on the right, top of the stairs." "These guys are from the ground crew at Del Monte airfield." "They just flew in." "Tell him what's up, Bud." "No, you don't need to." "I just got it from the colonel." "Any of you fellows want to go to Australia?" "Yeah, sure." "You said it." "We're leaving tonight, if anybody wants to ship on." "How?" "By sail boat." "Sail boat?" "Say, are you nuts, what do we know about sail boats, we're in the Air Corps?" "We're army guys." "I've got 2,000 pesos to buy a boat and stock it, otherwise it's a Jap concentration camp." "What do you say, Jim?" "Yeah, but a sail boat..." "You want to get back to that gas station in Pocatello..." "Sure, but..." "Well, then, this is your chance." "Come on, make up your minds." "Well, what have we got to lose?" "I'd rather drown than starve to death in a Jap bow pen." "OK, let's go." "I'm in." "All right, here's 1,000 pesos." "It's for supplies, I'll give you a list" "Make every nickel count, I'll take care of the boat." "We'll meet on the dock at 18:00 sharp." "Right, move on." "Coconuts, bananas, mangoes, dried fish, kerosene, milk..." "Milk?" "Hey, wait a minute, what's this?" "375 pesos for 25 pint cans of milk?" "You said get milk, we got it." "Yes, but that's about $10 a can." "There's a war on." "Chuck!" "Look what I've found." "Ain't he cute?" "Yes, and plump too." "He'll roast good." "What?" "You mean you'd eat Wilmer?" "To the last oink." "Stow him aboard." "Lash him down up forward." "You fellows better get a move on with the rest of this gear here." "Mr Palmer." "Mr Palmer!" "I want to thank you for what you did for us this morning." "Oh, it was nothing." "My cousin would have died if it hadn't been for you." "Now she has a son." "A boy!" "Oh, that's great." "Give her my congratulations." "Thank you." "Are you really going to Australia on a bunker?" "That's the intention." "It's the wrong time of the year." "The south-west monsoons are blowing." "Well, it's either that or the Japs." "Have you sailed a bunker before?" "No." "Have you?" "Many times." "Well, why don't you come with us?" "Can you cook?" "Yes, I can cook." "But someone has to stay here and fight." "With what?" "Pop guns?" "Besides, what could a good-looking girl like you..." "There are many places one can hide." "Hide?" "Who wants to hide?" "My country is sinking and everyone is running away." "Look, lady, it cost the United States government $2,650 to make a sailor out of me." "Perhaps in Australia I can find the type of fighting I was trained for." "I think it's wrong." "The war is here." "If you really want to fight, here is where you can help us most" "For someone who's not a Filipino, you are certainly getting worked up." "I'm French." "But this is my home." "These are my people." "I shan't run away." "I'll stay here and fight as long as I can." "All right, that's your privilege." "I'm sorry if I've offended you." "I had no right to speak you as I did." "All right." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "Hey, Chuck." "It's about 18:00, how about shoving off?" "All right." "Goodbye." "As they say in the Philippines, God run with you." "Thank you." "You're sure you won't come with us?" "No." "Goodbye." "Hey, fellas, give us a hand with these planks." "Hoist the sheet." "What's he mean, the sheet?" "I never heard of a sheet." "Get the lead out, hoist the sail, the sail!" "OK, you land lubbers, I'll show you how." "Take a line." "Pull it." "Watch it there, don't let it furl." "Man the out riggers." "Come on, these things sticking out of the water!" "If you ask me, there goes the only smart guy in this boat." "Get over, get over." "Turn it, will you, turn it!" "Turn it!" "Well, the young lady was right." "We lasted about 72 hours." "I've seen some pretty good storms in Kansas, but we've had it." "It's called a chubasco." "They come up all of a sudden." "Oh, they do!" "Well, at least we're all here." "Yes, sir." "What gives now?" "It looks as if we'll have to swim for it." "How far out are we?" "About eight miles, I judge." "Eight miles?" "That's further than I can walk!" "I'm not going to ask any of you to try it if you don't want to." "Chances are a Jap boat will come along and rescue you." "Let's get going." "Not me, I can't swim a lick." "Me neither." "Not me, brother." "Not eight miles." "OK." "If any of us make it we'll send a boat out for you." "The navy tells us that once you start, don't stop to rest, otherwise your muscles will bunch up on you." "Come on in, you guys, the water's fine." "Take it easy." "A man who wastes his breath talking or shouting" "Gives himself just that much less chance to live." "Yes, Sir." "Take it easy." "What time do you reckon it is?" "About noon." "Jim." "Yeah?" "I can touch bottom." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Chuck." "I can't take a step." "You've got to." "I can't move my legs." "Try." "That tide will be coming in in a few minutes and then we'll have to walk further than ever." "I can't." "If I start, I'll just fall down and drown." "Well, then swim." "I can't swim either." "I can't budge my muscles." "I can't move at all." "Well, try." "You can do it." "You've got to." "It's no use, Chuck." "It's no use, I'm done." "Here." "I'll help you." "That's funny, I can't move either." "But we just can't stand here and drown." "Hey, look!" "Look!" "A boat!" "Over here!" "Oi!" "Here!" "Filipinos." "Help him first." "Where are we?" "This is a fishing village on Leyte." "Sir." "Leyte?" "That's where we started from." "It's better not to talk, sir." "Drink." "You got all ten of us?" "Nine are here, only, sir." "Our men are still searching." "Who are you?" "I'm Miguel, sir." "I teach in the school." "The Japs..." "Don't worry, sir, the Japs are far away, eight kilometres." "They were here." "They searched our houses, then made a speech and went away." "But surely you people know that the" "Japs will kill you if you hide Americans?" "My people know." "He was far out in the water when I found him." "In this room." "You have a doctor in the village?" "The doctor is very far away, sir, three days." "Lie down, sir." "Please, lie down." "He was one of our men." "I didn't know him very long, but he was a good man." "He didn't ask to come out here." "Maybe he didn't die fighting bullets, but at least he died trying to keep himself in the war rather than surrender." "That's all I know about him." "But maybe it'll be a comfort to all those who love him." "OK, Miguel, you can take over now." "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." "Amen." "Go - the Japanese!" "Quick!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "The Japanese may construe this as a rebellion." "I'll take the body to them and explain it." "The American is buried and you will not tell." "Come." "Welcome." "Welcome to our village." "The Americans, they are here?" "They have gone, sir." "Where?" "Back there, sir, to the mountains." "We have come to rescue you from them." "Sir, you flatter us." "You're too good to us only." "Banzai!" "Banzai!" "Now, will you help us find the Americans?" "Sir, you cannot find them." "They've vanished into thin air." "There's no finding them." "You and the children will die if you hide the Americans." "Sir, we do not hide them." "They came with guns, we have no guns." "They stayed with guns." "We had no guns to make them go." "Now you come with guns and they have run away." "Where did they go?" "Who knows where the American goes?" "You." "Does he speak the truth?" "It is as he says." "The Americans were here but stayed only one hour." "Any Filipino who protects an American will be shot." "The Philippines are now part of the Japanese Empire." "Banzai!" "Banzai!" "Banzai!" "Where are you going, Juan?" "I was not going anywhere." "I just came to look at my boat." "You were going to tell the Japanese about the Americans." "I swear..." "I swear, I wasn't!" "You know I wouldn't lie." "I swear it." "Sit down, please." "We've brought you something." "It is a chicken." "Eat it." "Eat all of it." "All?" "All." "Eat it." "I can't." "You're a fifth columnist and a bad man." "We're going to kill you." "No!" "It's not true!" "You can't kill me." "No!" "No, don't shoot!" "I won't tell the Japanese, I swear it." "All through the summer and fall of 1942, we were constantly on the land, never knowing from one hour to the next where we'd end up." "More and more Japs had come in to the Philippines and their patrols were never idle." "''Bamboo Americans" the Filipinos called us, as we began to look more and more like a bunch of scarecrows and cut-throats." "As yet, the idea of fighting back, of killing Japs, frankly, had not even occurred to us." "We were too busy just keeping alive." "But there was mounting restlessness among us." "We were beginning to become unravelled and at loose ends." "I figure if there hasn't been any slip-up the government owes me close to $800 in back-pay." "$796.46, to be exact." "You should live to spend it!" "I aim to." "I haven't been peddling gas back home all these years to let that jerk cousin of mine take over." "I got a lot picked out right on the best corner in Pocatello." "Yakkety yakkety-yak!" "We'll be ducking around these woods for the rest of our lives." "Ain't that right, Palmer?" "For the rest of our lives." "Ain't that right, Palmer?" "Not me." "I'm a city boy myself." "This country life is beginning to get me down." "I'm for heading north again." "Back to where we started from?" "It's possible." "A little closer around the ears." "Hey, I never thought of this." "Suppose the government figures I'm dead and gives all that back-pay to that jerk cousin of mine?" "They can't to it." "I'll sue 'em!" "I will!" "I'll sue 'em!" "Jap patrol!" "Jap patrol!" "Look for Mitch." "Haskey, Osborne - keep me covered." "That was the first moment of real satisfaction we had had in seven-and-a-half months." "We'd killed our first Japs." "Sometimes you probably thought that the people back in America had forgotten you." "But you're wrong, because they'll be back one of these days and we'll drive the" "Japs clear out of these islands, right back where they belong!" "What's all this?" "Meanwhile, we Americans who are already here, we've decided that it's up to us to do whatever we can until MacArthur does get back." "Of course, there aren't many of us and we haven't got much to give." "No guns." "No bullets." "No medicine." "Not even a place to sleep." "Nothing but faith in what we're fighting for - the freedom of the Philippines!" "I'm going to ask my boys to pass among you and if you love your country as much as we do, if you want your children and their children to be free, now's your chance to prove it." "Give us the money to buy the things we need and we'll do the rest." "Do you have any money to give?" "Nothing at all?" "No money?" "Hey, these guys got something." "Yeah, it looks like the real stuff." "Maybe." "Let's go have a talk with them." "Hey, solder." "Hiya." "Palmer is my name." "I'm navy." "Most of the other fellows are army." "We figured that if you're getting a real war started, we'd like to join in with you." "Sorry, we're not taking any enlistments right now." "Maybe later on if things work out right." "We'll find a spot for you." "See you, boys." "Hey, Max!" "Look at this junk." "Shut up." "Let's get out of here." "Vivan los Filipinos!" "Phonies." "Phonies?" "Somebody always tries to make a buck out of every war." "Well, of all the dirty, low-down rackets!" "No wonder they don't want no-one muscling in." "Now, listen." "We're getting nowhere." "Look at us." "I've run just as far as my legs are going to carry me." "I still have about 200 pesos left." "What do you say we try to find another boat, take a crack again at Australia?" "Take a crack again at Australia?" "Nothing doing." "Count me out, brother." "OK." "You can do as you please." "But if I find a barca, I'm getting out of here." "One moment, please." "You spoke just now of a boat in which to go to Australia." "Perhaps I can be of assistance." "Oh, I see." "You have a boat you want to sell?" "It is not wise to speak here in the square, senor, no-one knows who may be a fifth columnist." "If you'll come to my home, in an hour - here is my address - we will talk." "Good day, gentleman." "Hey, how do we know this Joe is not a fifth columnist himself?" "We don't." "Hello." "Senor Martinez?" "Please, gentlemen." "You're expected." "Gentlemen, will you please wait here?" "Thank you." "Hey, Chuck." "Get a load of this." "Isn't that her?" "Yes, it is." "You!" "You!" "I had no idea." "I often wondered..." "It's nice to see you again, Mr Palmer." "Both of you." "I can't get over it." "I was trying to figure out how to get in touch." "We just got back into town and..." "We were expecting someone, a naval officer." "I admit, I hardly look like a naval officer." "Would you come in?" "Thank you." "Auntie, look, it's Mr Palmer." "Mr Palmer!" "Good afternoon, senora, it's nice to see you again." "May I present Jim Mitchell." "Hello." "This is my cousin, Senora Romero." "Mr Palmer, Mr Mitchell." "How do you do?" "Very well, senor." "And my son too, thanks to you." "If my husband were here, he would wish to thank you too." "But he was in Bataan..." "It's nice to know you at last." "Thank you." "We have often thought of you, but you left for Australia." "I'm afraid we didn't get very far." "The monsoons hit us the third day out." "But the Lord has been gracious." "You are alive and well." "As alive as one can be hiding in the hills." "Ah, senores, you found my place." "I didn't have an opportunity to introduce myself in the square." "I'm Juan Martinez." "I'm Chuck Palmer and this is Jim Mitchell." "Hello, senor." "Juan, Mr Palmer is the American officer who helped us when Maria had to go to the hospital." "Oh!" "Well, then you already know my wife and family." "I've long wished to thank you, Mr Palmer." "We're deeply in your debt." "Oh, it's..." "My wife has told me many times about you, how kind you were." "Well, to tell you the truth, Senor Martinez, I didn't know that your wife was... your wife." "To me she was just a beautiful lady in distress." "You spoke about a boat?" "Oh, yes." "The boat." "I've made arrangements for you to meet the one man that can advise you." "He is some distance away." "Shall we go?" "Whenever you're ready." "But is this..." "That's all right." "We'll take care of that." "Well, it's nice to have seen you again, senora." "This way, please." "This way, please." "Good luck to both of you." "So long." "Colonel Dimalanta, these are the Americans about whom I spoke " "Ensign Palmer and Senor Mitchell of the American navy." "Why do you wish to go to Australia?" "So that we can rejoin our outfit, or what's left of it, and get back into the war." "You realise that our waters are patrolled by the Japanese?" "That what you suggest is extremely dangerous?" "I know we'll be taking a chance, but" "I don't see much difference in that and being chased all over Leyte." "I shall be very glad to advise you where to get a boat, gentlemen, if, in exchange, you will do me and the cause of Filipino freedom a great service." "You name it, Colonel." "I have received word that a certain Colonel Phillips of the United States Army has organised guerrillas in Mindanao and has been in contact with General MacArthur." "He is attempting to unify all guerrilla activities in the Philippines." "I have been unable to communicate with Colonel Phillips to let him know that here on Leyte we are prepared to join in the undertaking." "It is an extremely difficult journey." "First, one must go by water across the Gulf of Leyte and overland through the Diuata mountains and into the jungles where Colonel Phillips is believed to have set up headquarters." "I have sent three of my men to contact him and all have failed." "If you, an American officer, and your friend will undertake this mission," "I am sure Colonel Phillips will find a way to send you all to Australia." "You drive a hard bargain, Colonel." "I have no choice." "I must contact Colonel Phillips." "What do you say, Jim?" "At least it's no worse than going by barca." "We will supply you with guns and ammunition and we will do everything we can to help you." "OK, Colonel." "When do we start?" "With luck, tonight." "Spurred on by a crazy hope of escape to Australia, we set out in the stolen motor boat across the Gulf of Leyte, down through the Strait of Siargao, travelling by night only and out of the lanes of Japanese shipping." "By day, we slept in carefully camouflaged hideouts, taking turns at keeping watch, stealing a can of gasoline here and a can there, provisioned by friendly Filipinos who were always glad to lend a hand, moving steadily southwards, always with the hot breath" "of the Japs on the backs of our necks, until, finally, our voyaging done, we moved by nightmare routes into the heart of Mindanao, into a world we had never known existed." "Three conquering heroes, stumbling along, footsore and weary, gnawed at by insects, dirty and torn and dishevelled - the blind leading the blind." "If and when I get out of here I'm going to hang one on so that ten years later I get tight just thinking about it." "What's he saying?" "That he's a farmer." "Ask him if there are any Japanese around here." "He says no, no people here at all." "Tell him we're Americans." "Americanos." "Americanos." "Americanos?" "Ask him if he's ever heard of an American colonel named Philip." "Colonel Phillips?" "Colonel Phillips?" "Colonel Phillips?" "Hey, cut that out!" "Hey, what do these guys do?" "They shoot, sir, they shoot." "They shoot, sir, they shoot." "I heard you the first time." "Oh!" "Hey, Max, these must be a couple of those American guerrillas we heard about." "I told you we took the wrong turn." "This ain't the Philippines, it's Africa... and Tarzan himself." "Wait here." "Excuse me, buddy." "But if my memory serves me right, that thing you've got in your mouth is a Stateside butt." "Look, they can talk too." "Thanks." "'I shall return'." "Douglas MacArthur" "That's a new brand, ain't it?" "Got a match?" "Where you from, sailor?" "Maycomb, Georgia." "You want to make something out of it?" "No, how did you get here?" "We swam in." "That answer your question?" "OK, sailor." "You may come in, sir." "Say, who's he?" "Him?" "Oh, just a navy officer, that's all." "He's up there." "Colonel Phillips?" "Come in." "Ensign Palmer, sir, Torpedo Squadron 3." "Where the devil did you come from?" "Colonel Dimalanta, he's organising the guerrilla movement on Leyte." "How is the old boy?" "Fine." "What does he want?" "Sit down." "Would you like a drink of water?" "Thank you." "What does he want?" "To tell you, Colonel, that if you'll supply the arms and ammunition, he'll take care of the Japs on Leyte." "Now, listen, Palmer." "You tell Colonel Dimalanta from me that we don't care if he never kills the Japs." "What General MacArthur wants is a spy service." "A civil government." "Intelligence." "A people's army ready to act when we're ready and not before." "You get that?" "Yes, sir." "All right." "Go back up there and tell the Colonel I said to get going." "Later on, we'll want to establish a string of radio stations up and down the coast so that every time a Jap sneezes, General MacArthur knows about it." "But first, get organised, understand?" "Yes, sir." "But I hadn't planned on returning to Leyte." "I only came because Colonel Dimalanta said you'd help me get to Australia." "We don't want men in Australia." "We want them here." "You want to help win the war, don't you?" "Yes, of course." "What do you know about radios?" "Nothing." "Never mind." "Here's a radio manual." "Study it." "I have a couple of boys here who can teach you the fundamentals." "Later on, you'll be in charge of radio operations on Leyte." "Who, me?" "Yes, you." "That'll save bringing in an extra man all the way from Australia by submarine." "You'd be surprised at the plans we've got for a few bright, steady young men like you." "Yes, sir." "Thus it came about that the provincial government of free Leyte, as authorised by President Quezon and" "General MacArthur, was established under the very noses of the enemy." "We were starting from scratch." "But the people of Leyte were quick to respond, offering what they had freely and generously - parts of broken-down automobiles, lubricating oils, firearms, wrapping paper, gunny sacks, bolts and nuts by the hundreds, curtain rods, scraps of metal," "anything and everything that could conceivably be of use to an army and a government in the making." "Great indeed was our joy when occasionally an old storage battery turned up on the junk heap." "Never were there enough of these, and when we did find one, we treated it as if it were precious metal - as indeed it was - hovering over it, testing it, and then congratulating ourselves on our good fortune when and if it responded and came alive." "As in every army and in every government, we needed money." "To get it, we had to print it." "A jeweller, who engraved on the side, made the wood blocks for us, using Colonel Phillips's Mindanao money as a model." "Because the need was great, we resorted to an assembly line." "Here, one man would cut the paper to size, another would place it in a frame, stamp it into a pad of ink made of glycerine and lampblack and then press it onto the paper." "Some of our money was printed on wrapping paper, some on grade three notebook paper, lines and all." "But it looked like money." "It felt like money and it served the greatest use of all - it passed for money." "Later on, we even published our own newspaper, getting our scant bits of news from a few hidden radios and reading the paper aloud in 500 villages each week." "Until now, communications, such as they were, had depended on runners." "Now we used barbed wire from the fences, stretched it, rolled it and hung it from tree to tree using old soda pop bottles as insulators, until within six weeks, we had strung" "150 kilometres of telegraph wires." "Needing gasoline, we operated nine stills to make alcohol out of palm juice, and got six miles to the gallon." "But running automobiles was not its only use." "''Drinking gasoline" we called it, because it could be, and sometimes was, used for purposes other than those for which it was intended." "Our first guns were made of two pieces of water pipe, one fitting over the other." "Our bullets were old curtain rods." "Our powder came mostly from Japanese sea mines, sulphur, saltpetre and antimony." "When they were finished, we fired them." "We even made a canon of a three-inch pipe with a tapered marlinespike for a firing pin and a lanyard 30 yards long for protection, an added thought, which, as it turned out, proved of immense value." "And, finally, we organised an army and trained men in guerrilla warfare, practised the art of spear-throwing in case guns and bullets ran out, learned to hack our way through bamboo jungles when carrying out night patrols," "to make maps and to read them, to administer first aid  cut and sew, sharpen bamboo stakes as booby traps along the roads leading into towns so the Japanese patrols when fired upon would throw themselves on the stakes and thus be impaled." "In short, we built an army, restored a government and, over and above everything else, sought to imbue the people with an unconquerable faith in an inevitable victory." "It was not all war, however, nor even preparations for war." "The Filipinos love parties as much as anybody." "There were always native bands, refugees from the big towns, ready to donate their time and talents to raising money for the poor soldiers." "That's a happy way to break an ankle." "Hey, Chuck." "Come here." "See that babe in the purple dress?" "Yeah." "Would you say that's a tasty dish, sir?" "Oh, very tasty dish, sailor." "Excuse me, could I have this dance?" "Yes." "Senora Martinez." "Mr Palmer!" "So, we meet again." "Yes." "Yes, we do." "Would you like something to eat?" "No, thank you." "It's very good." "Don't you dance?" "When I am asked." "You're asked." "Is your husband here or is that a leading question?" "He promised to come here later." "Do you have to sit over there, too?" "No, marriage gives one many privileges." "If you don't mind my saying so, that's a very attractive dress." "Thank you." "My husband bought it for me when I first came here five years ago." "Well, you wear it like a native." "You've been here only five years?" "Yet my husband says I'm more of a Filipino than he is." "Yes, I seem to remember your views on that subject very well." "That day on the dock, for instance." "I was rude?" "No, let's say... firm." "I guess you thought I was pretty bull-headed?" "Bull-headed?" "Stubborn." "Are you?" "So I've been told." "Yet you are still here in the islands." "That just goes to show you what bull-headedness will get you." "Or maybe it was your arguments." "My husband tells me you've been very helpful to the Colonel." "Senor Martinez is very active in the guerrilla movement, isn't he?" "Yes." "It couldn't be otherwise." "And you?" "I do what I can." "This great desire you had to leave the Philippines, to go home - you have a wife there?" "No." "No, I'm not married." "A girl?" "Or is that too a leading question?" "No, I'm not engaged either if that's what you mean." "I know so very little about you and yet you know everything about me." "Well, hardly everything." "All there is - my husband, my family, my background." "And you?" "Oh, there's very little to tell." "I kicked around a lot." "My father and mother were separated when I was a kid." "My mother taught school." "It seemed to me that we were forever moving." "I was always the new boy on the block." "That meant that you had to take what came along, whether you liked it or not." "I never could learn to like it, maybe that's why" "I couldn't hold a job for very long, or settle down." "I was the restless type." "And now?" "Now?" "Now I'd settle for a roof over my head and a nice easy chair on the front porch." "Shall we finish our dance?" "I'd rather stay here." "I think we should dance." "Major." "I thought you were an ensign." "Ensign in the navy, major in the army." "It's the same rank." "How are you, sir?" "It's a pleasure to see you again." "I've just come from Colonel Dimalanta." "He informed me that you were here having your morale lifted." "He asked me to say that the football has arrived and that the game is on as scheduled." "Oh, that's great news." "Thank you, sir." "Well, it seems I'm always saying goodbye." "And I'm always wishing you good luck." "Good night, senor." "Good night, major." "He's a very attractive young man." "Yes, very." "Colonel Dimalanta thinks very highly of him." "It gives you a lump in the throat to know that Uncle Sam hasn't forgotten us after all." "It'll give you a lump on the big toe, too, if you drop one of these." "Senor Palmer." "Yes." "I've just come from the submarine." "Your orders from Colonel Phillips are to organise the radio network from Leyte to report on Japanese shipping." "How many radios did they send?" "Four." "Good." "The crates were lost with some of our other equipment." "Lost overboard?" "You'll have to use whatever you can find until the next shipment." "But I don't know anything about setting up a radio station." "I wouldn't know where to begin." "There must be some radio operator, some engineers who can help you." "Talk to Senor Martinez, I'm sure he'll help." "General MacArthur as a one-track mind with intelligence." "He wants information on Japanese shipping." "It's up to you to get it to him." "Yes, sir." "I saw Senor Martinez and he did give us help." "Great help." "In spite of this, however, it took us a good month to round up the equipment necessary to put a single station on the air." "From a rice mill we commandeered an engine, from the last surviving movie theatre, a generator." "Batteries and electrical equipment we borrowed from automobiles." "The gasoline we made ourselves." "The result was not especially pretty to look at, but it was a radio transmitter." "It worked." "And so, at last, by the grace of God," "Leyte was ready, except for a code and call signs, to go on the air." "Keep working, we've got to get somebody." "What do we tell them if we get anybody?" "What do we tell them if we get anybody?" "Tell them I'm not dead." "Get it?" "Not dead." "Be sure they don't send my pay to that jerk cousin of mine." "Yeah, tell them what a pleasure it is to be up here and how much fun we're having." "They answer, sir." "Who?" "Who is it?" "Who's it from?" "San Francisco!" "San Francisco?" "Lieutenant!" "I have an unidentified station." "Yeah, where from?" "They say Leyte in the Philippines." ""Leyte"?" "They want us to take a message but say they haven't got a code." "Tell them to identify themselves by name." "We'll check with HQ in case it's some Jap outfit that picked up some dog tags." "The man claims to be Ensign Charles Palmer of the United States Naval Reserve." "Maybe." "They say they want to get the date of your father's birth and the colour of your mother's eyes." "They want what?" "The date of your father's birth..." "Wait a minute." "He's 52." "1890..." "No, stop!" "1891." "November 13th, 1891." "Grey-brown." "What do you know?" "San Francisco!" "We're almost home." "Next time we can get Pocatello." "Maybe we can..." "Wait a minute!" "What are they saying?" "They say, 'See you at 16.00 for traffic'." "That's all." "We'll be here!" "We're in business!" "Give it another try." "We're ready to turn over." "Man, oh, man, oh, man." "Hey, Chuck." "I'm soaking, I'm soaking, I'm soaking." "Well, when you've finished soaking we'd appreciate a hand." "Sir, the Japanese are coming!" "How much time we got?" "None." "They're coming right now." "Grab everything you can." "My boots!" "Where is the American radio?" "I do not know, sir." "Where have the Americans gone?" "Who knows where the Americans go, sir?" "They vanish into the sky, sir." "This is the house of Juan Martinez?" "Yes." "You are his wife?" "I am." "Where is your husband?" "In his bedroom, asleep." "He doesn't feel well." "Shall I call him?" "No, that won't be necessary." "Follow me." "You're acquainted with an American officer by the name of Palmer?" "I've known many Americans." "You attended a dance in Tacloban six weeks ago." "It's possible." "I often go to dances in Tacloban." "This dance was to raise money for the guerrillas." "For the Red Cross." "Never mind." "But you danced with this man, Palmer." "Don't bother to deny it." "It is written here." "What is it that you wish?" "This man Palmer, where is he?" "I don't know." "Where is his radio station?" "I don't know anything about a radio station." "Do you know that there's a 10,000 peso reward for him?" "I know nothing about it." "But you know this man, Palmer?" "Yes." "You like Americans." "You like white faces that look like boiled pork." "You're Juan Martinez?" "Yes." "You're a guerrilla?" "I am a planter." "You've been friendly with the Americans." "You've opened your house to the guerrillas." "You've provided them with money food... and radio equipment." "I have a full record of everything that you have given." "Do you care to hear?" "It's not necessary." "Do you deny that you're a guerrilla?" "I told you, I'm a planter." "Where is this American guerrilla named Palmer?" "You know, the man who comes here to see you." "I don't know." "Where is his radio station?" "I don't know." "You will tell me!" "Juan!" "Look!" "That is the way we treat guerrillas." "Now, tell me." "Where is the American?" "Where is he?" "Tell me or I'll kill him!" "After that, it was really touch and go." "We had become a tick in the Japs' hide." "We'd stung them, and they were quick to hit back, but hard." "In ever-increasing forces they moved into Leyte, beating, murdering, determined at all costs to wipe us out." "Occasionally, I caught a brief glimpse of Jeanne and her aunt in some remote village, for now she too had become a fugitive with a price on her head." "But our meetings were never for long, for always, there was danger." "Even a rumour of our presence in a village was enough to bring death and destruction in reprisal." "Chuck!" "Jeanne." "Jeanne!" "I came to spend Christmas Eve with you." "Christmas?" "Had you forgotten?" "I had no idea, it's been so long since I've seen a calendar." "May I come in?" "You just try and get away!" "Here, I'll take this for you." "How did you know where I was?" "There are ways of knowing." "Look, I brought you a tree." "I couldn't find a pine." "But no-one should have Christmas without a tree." "Thank you." "Thank you for coming." "I wanted to." "It's not much like other Christmases, is it?" "Better." "Much better." "For me, too." "It will always be the best." "I remember one Christmas when I was 12, I got a goat." "I always thought that was the most wonderful Christmas in the world." "Until now." "I remember when I was 12, too." "We'd left our shoes in front of the fireplace..." "Your shoes?" "Uh-huh." "In France we don't hang up our was stockings, just put our shoes in front of the fire." "And then we went to Midnight Mass and after that the reveillon." "What's that?" "Something very special when you're 12." "A kind of after-midnight supper." "Oysters and white wine." "I remember when my father said I might come to my first reveillon." "I felt very grown-up." "In the morning, after Pere Noel - your Santa Claus - had come, we sat on the floor around the fire and sang." "# II est ne le divin enfant" "# Jouez hautbois" "# Resonnez musettes" "# II est ne le divin enfant" "# Chantons tous son avenement... #" "# Depuis plus de quatre mille ans" "# Nous attendions cet heureux temps. #" "Chuck!" "Chuck!" "You wait here." "Jim?" "It's Miguel." "The Japs got him going into the village." "They've bayoneted him." "He crawl all the way back with his stomach split open." "Bring him inside." "OK." "Watch him." "Take him off the stretcher." "Put him on the cot." "Easy." "What are we going to do?" "What can we do?" "There isn't a doctor within 50 miles." "Then you'll have to do it yourself." "Me?" "Are you crazy?" "Someone has to." "I'm not a doctor, I don't know about this." "He can't live with his intestines hanging out." "We can't let him lie here and die." "Some people would rather die in peace." "No-one prefers to die." "Chuck!" "I will help." "OK." "If he's willing, I'll do what I can." "How can he not be willing?" "Ask him." "Miguel." "Miguel." "He wishes you good luck." "See if there's any hot water in the kitchen." "Get some sulphur so it will pulverise it." "Are those stones good and hot?" "Yes." "I'll need them later to wrap him up in a blanket to keep him warm." "Now..." "Open that bottle of antiseptic." "Pour it over my hands." "Get all the soap." "That's fine." "Bring that soap." "Open this, Jim." "Only one morphine left." "Give it to him when he can't stand the pain any longer." "Jeanne, bring this and the cotton in the bowl." "Take off his shirt." "He's dead." "What did you expect?" "I told you I didn't know anything about this sort of thing." ""I shall return." "MacArthur."" "Next week, East Lynne." "But he will." "I know he will." "When?" "When we're all smoked and cured and hung out to dry?" "I don't know when, but he'll come." "The Japs can't go on for ever." "Neither can we." "Chuck, I know how you feel." "I know how much Miguel meant to you." "But you can't give up now, you can't lose hope." "Hope?" "Miguel had hope." "And look at him now with his stomach open." "But if we lose hope, we lose everything." "Though dreary weeks and months still lay ahead, that Christmas somehow marked the beginning of a change on Leyte." "For one thing, our subs were coming in regularly now, bringing with them guns and all manner of supplies." "For another, our guerrillas were going on the offensive everywhere." "Big things, we knew, were in the wind." "But as to when" "MacArthur would return, that was as big a question as it had ever been." "Take a look at this, sir." "Oh, No!" "They can't mean it!" "Maybe they are only trying to scare us." "If so, they're doing a good job!" "Hey, Chuck!" "Chuck!" "Get a load of this!" "Chuck!" "Chuck, what happened?" "Oh, Chuck." "I had to see you." "I came to say goodbye." "You're not leaving?" "Yes." "Where?" "Tandag Point." "Colonel Dimalanta received orders from MacArthur that we're to watch Japs in the Channel and plot the minefield." "It's suicide." "That's behind Jap lines!" "What am I going to do, say I've got a date?" "I love you!" "Oh, Chuck!" "Chuck!" "It's a down payment on next Christmas." "Stand by." "Two large wolves on the 20-yard line going down centre-field." "Bearing 091." "Distance 1,600 yards." "Bearing 091, distance 1,600 yards." "Time?" "10.21." "Time, 10.21." "Estimated course, 350." "Estimated speed, 25 knots." "Estimated course 350." "Estimated speed, 25 knots." "Gee, they're really trim." "Stand by." "Distance, 1,400 yards." "Bearing, 076." "Distance, 1,400 yards." "Bearing, 076." "Time?" "10.23." "Time, 10.23." "OK, this is it." "Hey, what is this man's name?" "Palmer, sir." "Tell him well done and beat it out there." "Yes, sir." "They say well done, sir." "And beat it out." "They say well done, sir, and beat it out." "Carry that line back and secure the other equipment." "I'll take care of the phone." "Aye-aye, sir." "Jim, we've got our radio." "Let's get out of here!" "OK." "Chuck!" "Chuck!" "Oh, Chuck!" "Any Japs in the village?" "They've gone." "When?" "Yesterday." "Come with me, all of you." "We have chicken and bread!" "Just like Pocatello!" "Come on!" "Would you like some more chocolate, too?" "Here you are." "Here you are." "Japanese!" "Japanese!" "Japanese!" "Japanese!" "Where are they?" "They're coming!" "You can hide at my house." "It's too late." "The church!" "Come on!" "Cover the windows." "Lock the door!" "I'm sorry we got you into this, father." "Justice is with you, my child." "Get the women into the sacristy." "Quickly." "Jeanne, see that they stay there." "Sir, if I could have a gun..." "Stay out of this." "I was a solder." "I stayed in Bataan." "Very well, take this." "Here." "Thank you, sir." "Wait a minute." "Take those and cover that window back there." "What is it?" "Guns." "Big guns!" "They're a long way off." "Ours?" "I don't know." "MacArthur's?" "He said he'd return, didn't he?" "Planes!" "Get your head down, you fool." "American planes, sir?" "Sure." "You don't think the Japs have that many, do you?" "Will they drop bombs?" "Don't worry, when Americans drop bombs, they hit Japs not us." "I hope." "What do we do now?" "Stay here or go and reinforce MacArthur?" "Listen, sailor, for three years we've waited for him." "Let him come to us." "Morning, Father." "Good morning, my son." "Why don't you raise your own flag?" "The General is coming." "It's a welcome." "I'm sure he'd like to see the Filipino flag." "You think so?" "Go to the vestry and bring out our flag." "Yes, Father." "Sir, I have been saving these for three years for the Liberation." "They're for you, sir." "Thank you." "You're very kind." "We should like to very much." "Forgive me, sir, they're warm." "We've had no ice for a long time." "I wouldn't care if they were boiling!" "Can you beat it?" "For three years, I'd have sold my soul for one of these." "Oh..." "Now, just when General MacArthur brings the whole US here..."