20 Feb 1944, Journal of Lt. Donald W. Kerr

((Lt Kerr was being hidden in an old house…))

At 3 A.M. I was awakened.  …  The usual tiny lamp lit up a disordered scene.  My six compatriots…were on benches around a little table cleaning their guns, an incredibly old and stooped woman was fixing some food, and three or four small children moved around helping.  

…  We followed ((the leader)) out into the utter darkness and with one of the boys leading me by the hand, we started up a rocky path directly toward the top of one ridge.  

That was a mean climb.  It was so steep I kept slipping back, and it was long enough to use all my reserve energy…The first light of day was beginning and all around I could see the dark forms of rough mountains.  Far down at the lower end ((of a valley)) the stream ended in a narrow bay.

We started again, this time across the slope to a bare wilderness of rocks.  It was a mammoth slide from the mountain top, a desolate tangle of broken rocks and creeping vines…We descended into a gloomy opening and slid down a big stone into the depths of the rock pile.  By the cautious light of the flashlight we climbed back into a large and angular cave formed by the spaces between broken slabs and gigantic boulders.  Like ants in a coal pile, over rocks, under precariously balanced chunks, squeezing through a little opening, we finally came into a wide misshapen space which was dimly lit by faint daylight coming through a chimney between the overlaying slabs.  A pile of fresh straw lay on a rocky shelf in one corner.

The party divided and slipped away through some of the countless passages and spaces between the slabs until just one boy and I were left.  We scrambled over to the straw and while I took off my shoes he spread his blanket.  He used his gun and leather belt for a pillow.  I struggled out of my jacket and used it.  With no further formality we both curled up in the blanket and were soon asleep.

((This journal was copyrighted in 2009.  The extracts are being made available to David Bellis for publication on Gwulo:  Old Hong Kong (http://gwulo.com) only.  Please do not republish without permission.  A Chinese/English publication of the journal is being prepared and a film is being considered.  Contact David Kerr (davykerr@gmail.com) for further information.))