15 - 16 Feb 1944, Journal of Lt. Donald W. Kerr

((Lt Kerr has spent the night in a “charcoal cave” where local villagers had hidden him.  Lt Kerr’s journal is not clear whether the events described here occurred on February 15 or 16, or spanned over the two days.))

When I awoke the next day, [the boy] had gone…Peeking out through the branches I could see the opposite hillside about 50 feet away with its path curving around it at my level.  A steep bushy ravine lay between.  Around the corner of the path I could see almost the same view as from my previous night’s locality – the concrete pill-box arrangement high towards the upper end of the valley and the lower edge of the rice fields..;.

By late morning, the sun shone in through the opening…Later, I took my gun apart and worked on cleaning it.  Got hungry and thirsty, but then . . . certainly had no intention of going out…

During the day, several coolies carrying loads passed along the path and I was reassured that they didn’t notice my cave…

Evening finally came.  I watched through the opening as the sky darkened and the usual scattered, low clouds blew in from the sea.  A little after seven, a dark line of figures came from the path and through the underbrush toward my cave.  …seven or eight men and boys squeezed in – one bearing a cloth wrapped bundle of small cakes, hard boiled eggs, one with a thermos bottle of hot water, Y.T. had a well wrapped bowl of rice and fried eggs.  After we covered the doorway, they produced a tiny oil lamp which we placed in the little niche and all gathered around to watch me eat.  It sure was good.  

…   I learned from Y.T. that the Japs were looking hard for me and that they were watching this valley…Later in the evening, a spirited discussion started between Y.T. and the younger boys whom I had met first.  There was considerable fast Chinese talk, and finally it turned into a hot argument.  I was indeed curious over what the subject was, but couldn’t catch much of the talk except that it was about me, as they used fiejii-yuen and looked my way often.  I asked Y.T. during a momentary lull in the vehemence, and he explained that they weren’t sure this was a good place for me to hide.

They kept it up until past ten o’clock...everyone left but Y.T. …After again cautioning me to keep always inside, he left.