Blood Brothers: A Medic's Sketch Book Part 23

Three Great Things Necessary for Survival

In a Prisoner-of-War Camp.

FAITH IN THE GOOD LORD!

A WILL TO LIVE!

A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR!

Two doctors helped me achieve these: "Grandma" Jim Bruce-for good advice. Major Edwin Kagy, who after working all day on the Seriously Ill wards, came back at night to sing popular songs with his terrific tenor voice.

Louis J. Voras "Medic."

Field Hospital # 2 on Bataan,

later Hospital at Cabanatuan.

"My men and I were the victims of short sightedness at home, of blind trust in the respectability of scheming aggressors. The price of our unpreparedness for World War II was staggering to the imagination.

"The price of unpreparedness for a World War III would be death to millions of us, and the disappearance from the earth of its greatest nation."

General Jonathan M. Wainwright, 1946

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe a great deal to my family. For nearly four years, they didn't know my whereabouts, nor whether I was alive or dead. I regret each and every heartache I caused them, and I appreciate all of their prayers.

I am especially indebted to my precious Judy for being the perfect wife during the most trying times, and for being very understanding during the forty years I have been a.s.sembling material for Blood Brothers.

I feel very kindly toward Colonel "Honest John" Raulston for his generous help when I was totally incapacitated in Camp Hoten, Manchuria.

I thank General "BOB" Taylor for his spiritual guidance and friendship while "the going was rough."

I thank General Harold K. (Johnny) Johnson, the Army Chief of Staff, for 25 years of inspiration and friendship as one of the Army's outstanding officers. Johnny, I appreciate your offer to write the "Preface for Blood Brothers," and the chapter on "Lessons Learned on Luzon;" you would have done it much better than I, but your long hospitalization and transfer to "Boot Hill" interfered. I'll miss your cheerful counsel. Johnny.

I thank General Aubrey Newman, war and Olympic hero, who thought I ran a "Happy" Hospital, and who insisted that I continue working on Blood Brothers, when it would have been much easier to quit.

I thank Stan and Peg Sommers, authors of the "j.a.panese Story," and their friendship to me and some thousands of Ex P.O.W.s.

I thank my Masonic Brethren, who believe in these United States and its Const.i.tution, which has made it great.

I thank Sandra Rohlfing, a.s.sistant Editor of the Vero Beach Press Journal, for her many hours of editing Blood Brothers and for her good advice.

I thank Don Knox, author of "The Death March" for friendly advice. He used my sketches.

I thank Peter Collins, Art Editor of Time-Life Series on World War II, for his visit to Vero Beach, and for the time he spent going over the material for Blood Brothers. He used my photographs.

I thank all those good people who have made my life worth living since "The War."

I thank the "Good Lord" for forty wonderful years of "Borrowed Time." It's fun to still be alive in eighty-five!

THE LEGACY OF WORLD WAR II TO OUR CHILDREN

In his book, "The Second World War," Sir Winston Churchill called World War II, "The Unnecessary War," stating that "Hitler could have been stopped in 1935, in 1936 and even in 1939, if two Western democracies had not been too timorous (afraid) and too stupid to react."

At that time, the political leaders of the Western democracies were:

Franklin Roosevelt

Joseph Stalin

Winston Churchill

Charles De Gaulle

The awesome results of that fear and stupidity were:

22 million persons - killed

34 million persons - wounded

142 thousands Americans - captured

$240 billion in property - damaged at a cost exceeding $1 trillion,

"ALL UNNECESSARILY!"

The legacy of World War II (by fear and stupidity) left to our children was a National debt exceeding $250 billion, a debt that may not be paid during this century.

Thank G.o.d we have a president and administration that understands the Russians. They will soon learn to understand the j.a.panese. No one will ever understand the Middle East.