Leanne Blinzler Noe

Leanne Blinzer Noe, 2024 photoFormer internee Leanne Blinzler Noe details her family’s experiences in Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) in a recent article at HistoryNet titled At Eight-Years-Old this Girl Survived the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, written by Barbara Noe Kennedy in January 2024.

Leanne and her younger sister, Virginia, were both born in California where their father, Lee Edward Blinzler, was working for a mining company in Yreka. After that mine closed, Lee moved the family to the Philippines. Soon after, Leanne’s mother died and Leanne and her sister were boarded at the Holy Ghost College, Manila, to be taken care of by German nuns. Leanne continues her story to tell how she, and her sister, eventually ended up in Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) in December 1944.

The Blinzlers were repatriated on the U.S.S. Admiral W. L. Capps, leaving Leyte, 20 March 1945, arriving in San Francisco on 8 April 1945 (see additional passenger list for Lee Edward Blinzler).

In 2012 Leanne wrote the book MacArthur Came Back: A Little Girl’s Encounter With War in the Philippines.

The above photo is courtesy of Barbara Noe Kennedy and the article contains several other photographs covering before the War, during and after liberation in January 1945.

Link to the complete article online.

A WWII Manila Prison Camp’s Maestro of Mirth, by Martin Meadows

THE DAVE HARVEY STORY
[Guest star Danny Kaye]

Little Theater Under the Stars. 1946, F. Stevens
[“The Little Theatre Under the Stars,” illus. from Santo Tomas Internment Camp, 1946, by Frederic H. Stevens]


PREFACE. The purpose of this Preface is to call attention to matters that otherwise might be overlooked in the main text, despite their relevance to this work.  Some of the following points might not seem to be worth mention, but they affected this study in one way or another, and they merit attention on that score.

    (1) Substantively, much of this narrative has been made possible by the invaluable research efforts of Cliff Mills of Philippine Internment renown; Maurice Francis, U.K. honcho of The Gang; and CPOW head Sally Meadows — all of whom, it should be noted, have similarly contributed to several of my other STIC articles.  Without their various and innumerable findings, this mini-biography would not have gotten off the ground (“mini” because it is a bit shorter than the typical printed volume).

    (2) Procedurally, it is essential to emphasize that, as far as is known, the subject of this chronicle did not write anything about himself, and nobody else has written about him either (other than brief comments).  Thus I was free to decide how to deal with the available material, published and online, unconstrained by existing works about the biographee.  Needless to say (he said needlessly), I handled that material in a completely objective — if not objectionable — manner (in my opinion).

    (3) To contextualize this mini-biography, it is essentially a spin-off from, and in one limited section a continuation of, an earlier article, one that led me to recognize the need for much more information on the biographee.  That article’s title, “STIC Signature Songs (and Sources),” will be cited herein as SSSS.  [Meadows (a)] 

    (4) Now to footnoting (mandatory for ex-academics).  Or rather, in this case, “text-noting” — names/titles and pages (if any) of sources are placed within the text; the sources in full are listed at the end (though not in scholarly-journal format).  Substantive comments are placed either at the ends of paragraphs, as [notes], or in SIDEBARS for less directly relevant material.  For online sources, n.p. (no page) and n.d. (no date) sometimes are necessary.  To simplify setup of the lengthy bibliography, italics are omitted there.

    (5) An episode of purely personal significance was a direct outgrowth of this account.  Initially it was to be included herein as a SIDEBAR, but instead it has appeared separately; its mention here is to call attention to its indirect relevance and online existence.  [Meadows (b)] 

    (6) Finally, an explanation is in order for the broad scope of this work, which, for the sake of thorough coverage, extensively discusses the various relationships (direct and indirect) between the biographee and several of his most consequential friends and/or associates.  My guiding assumption was that doing this study properly required doing it as exhaustively (and exhaustedly) as possible.  So much for preliminaries.

INTRODUCTION. During its 37-month existence in World War II (WWII) under Japanese control (1942-1945), Santo Tomas Internment Camp (STIC) in Manila usually contained about 4,000 civilian prisoners, mostly Americans, along with other Allied-country nationals, mostly British.  Almost all of those (non-infant) internees knew and respected one man in particular — a veteran professional showman named David Harvey MacTurk.  Few if any other internees matched his popularity. And since the end of WWII, likely thousands more, relatives and friends of former internees, have learned about him, for his renown remains unmatched within the internee community.  It derives from the fact that he had served as the Camp’s Mr. Entertainment — an iconic performer who had presided over and dispensed most of the programs that immeasurably buoyed the morale of his fellow internees throughout their captivity.  Thus he was admired by almost all of his fellow internees — almost, because he made no secret of his belief that the prisoners had been betrayed and deserted by the U.S. government, a view that did not sit well with those who disagreed with him.
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Some liberated STIC women and children

Some freed STIC internees with children, 1945 photo
This Associated Press photo appeared in many U.S. newspapers in February 1945, including The Spokesman Review, of Spokane, Washington. I’ve included the caption which appeared on 13 February 1945, page 20. This same photo appears on the cover of the video Victims of Circumstance.

CHILDREN AND MOTHERS SMILE AT FREEDOM: With three years of Santo Tomas internment camp life behind them these children and their mothers can still smile. From left to right,

  • Mrs. Howard [Mary] Schlereth and Linda, 5 of Columbus, OH
  • Mrs. Robert [Beatrice] Wabraushek and Leslie, 5 of Los Angeles, CA
  • Mrs. Tom [Susan] Yule, Rosalind, 6 and Sheila, 9 of Flushing, NY
  • Mrs. Paul [Janina] Malone, of New York, NY

They were freed when Manila was recaptured (S-R AP wirephoto)

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Angels and more

Following are some items relating to the civilian internment camps, liberation of the camps, the Battle of Manila, etc., and the many “Angels” who helped the internees survive. Click on any of the images to enlarge.

Angel of Santo Tomas 2022, byTammy Lee
A new children’s book was recently published by Tammy Lee titled The Angel of Santo Tomas. It tells the story of a Filipina doctor, Fe del Mundo, who administered add to the internee children for the Red Cross, in Manila, and at the Holy Ghost Children’s home. She later helped care for the wounded in the Battle of Manila.

Suggested for children ages 5 to 7.

 


Liberated U.S. Navy nurses in Honolulu, March 1945The U.S. Naval Institute recently published The Angelic Nurses of World War II on their website. This brief article tells of their ordeal after the Japanese invasion and in the camps. It has a few photos of the eleven U.S. Navy nurses liberated from Los Baños in February 1945. They were Lt. Mary Frances Chapman, Lt. Cmdr. Laura Mae Cobb, Lt. Bertha Rae Evans, Lt. Helen Clara Gorzelanski, Lt. Mary Rose Harrington, Lt. Margaret Alice “Peg” Nash, Lt. Goldia Aimee “Goldie” O’Haver, Lt. Eldene Elinor Paige, Lt. Susie Josephine Pitcher, Lt. Dorothy Still and Lt. Carrie Edwina Todd. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.


Civilians being collected for internment, 1942Mystery Woman
 
This photo shows a group of civilians being collected for internment in Santo Tomas in early 1942. Can anyone help identify the woman in front wearing the white gloves and dark glasses? If you recognize her, please reply using our Comments form. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

 


Angels of Bataan – U.S. Army Nurses in Japanese Captivity, is a 45-minute audio recording by historian Mark Felton posted on YouTube.  He has written extensively on World War II topics and posted many videos and audio on Youtube.




The Angel of Santo Tomas drawing, 1943, J. E. McCall

Mrs. Patricia E. Intengan as “The Angel of Santo Tomás,” in the drawing by J. E. McCall, supplied by Caroline Bailey Pratt. This is Plate XXIX from the book Santo Tomás Internment Camp, 1945, by James E. McCall

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Los Baños Liberation 77th anniversary

Newly freed Los Baños internees

Some of the newly freed Los Baños internees (Carl Mydans photo)

One of the most successful air, water and land military operations was the rescue of more than 2,100 civilians interned in the Los Baños Internment Camp on Luzon. Also known as Camp #2, Los Baños was built by over 800 of the male internees to re-leave overcrowding at Santo Tomás. On the morning of February 23, 1943, members of the U.S. 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment boarded C-47s which were to drop them near the camp. Meanwhile, Army amtracs of the 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion were on the way to transport the internees to freedom. Many Filipino guerrilla groups provided useful intelligence to the Americans and participated in the attack on the Japanese guards. Two internees, Freddy Zervoulakos and Pete Miles, who had escaped also gave useful information on the Japanese routines within the camp.

February 23, 1945, Time for roll call — 7:00 A.M.
“Listen! Quiet everyone! Is that thunder in the distance or airplanes”

“American or Japanese?”

“Oh, pray God their American…”

The very air seemed electric with excitement. Then one of the men called out, “They’re paratroopers!”

Everyone started pointing and screaming with joy. “They’ve come! They’ve come!” It became the vibrant song of heart and soul.
From Escape at Dawn by Carol Terry Talbot and Virginia J. Muir.

Ex-Los Banos internees aboard U.S. Army amtrac

Ex-Los Banos internees aboard U.S. Army amtrac

Dorothy Still and the other nurses and orderlies had peered cautiously outside as the amtracs entered the camp. They watched as the first ones flattened the barbed-wire fences and turned into the circular drive in front of the hospital. An Army major and a colonel jumped out. The colonel went back to talk to the amtrac crews while the major strode toward the front of the hospital. Dorothy went outside to greet him.

“Good morning, I’m Major Burgess. Who’s in charge here?”

“Dr. Nance is in charge,” Dorothy said.

Just then Nance walked out of the hospital.

Burgess told Nance that everyone had to get out of the camp as quickly as possible. They discussed the best way to evacuate the sick and elderly from the hospital and various barracks.

Dorothy couldn’t get over the sight of the U.S. soldiers, so much bigger and healthier than any men she had seen in years. They wore a new kind of helmet, not the “tin-pan things” of the First World War that were still being worn in 1941. And they all looked so lively and alert.

“Ma’am, what are you holding?” one of the soldiers asked.

Dorothy looked down at the bundle in her arms. She had forgotten she was holding baby Lois [McCoy], who was now fast asleep. She showed the soldier the sleeping baby, then went back into the hospital and gave Lois to her mother. She told the worried woman about the American soldiers right out front.

“They’ve come to take us home,” Dorothy said.

Outside, the amtracs dropped their tailgates, and the hospital patients and other nonambulatory internees were brought out. One of the first to be boarded was Margie Whitaker’s father, Jock, who was now down to eighty-five pounds and “on his last legs.”

During the gun battle earlier, Margie [Whitaker] and her younger sister, Betty, had hidden in their barracks under the bed. When the first U.S. soldier came through telling everyone to be ready to leave, Margie asked if the Marines had landed. After all, she had been waiting so long for this day.

“Sorry, sister, Army paratroopers.”

She and Betty rushed to the bathroom, where they brushed their teeth and washed their faces. The teenage girls – eighteen and fourteen years old – only then thought they were fit to be rescued.

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77th anniversary of Baguio/Old Bilibid Liberation

Old Bilibid Prison, Manila

On February 4, 1945, the day after the liberation of nearby Santo Tomás, the Japanese military abandoned Old Bilibid Prison. Later that day, men from the U.S. 37th Ohio Division accidentally discovered over 800 POWs and 500 civilian internees there. The civilians had formerly been held in Bagiuo Internment Camp, but were moved from to Old Bilibid, starting to arrive there at midnight, December 28, 1944.

Spirits Unbroken, 1946, by R. Renton HindAt six o’clock on the evening of the third of February … someone on the second floor saw a couple of “jeeps” arrive at the juncture of Quezon Boulevard and Calle Espana only a few hundred yards away. The boulevard was but a block from us, running north and south, while Espana was the avenue upon which the Sto. Tomas University faced, the buildings of which were plainly visible from Bilibid. Shortly afterwards they were joined by tanks and some army trucks representing a total force of 700 men comprising units of the First Cavalry (mechanized) and the 37th Ohio Division. It required a little time for us to realize that MacArthur’s men had arrived, so sudden and without warning was their advent… It was learned later, that our troops knew nothing of our presence at Bilibid, else we might have been relieved that night. At 8:45 [p.m] the tanks knocked at the Sto. Tomas gates and admission being refused they proceeded to level them and enter the grounds.  R. Renton Hind, Spirits Unbroken, 1946.

Civilian internees liberated at Old Bilibid Prison, 1945February 4, 1945: There had been some snipping on Rizal Avenue, and some soldiers of the 37th Ohio Division, who were preparing to bivouac, were ordered by one of their officers to rip away some boards that covered a large hole in the prison wall and find out what was beyond. When they tore the boards away, they were dumbfounded to find American POWs on the other side.  Donald E. Mansell, Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun, 2003.

On February 5th, the now former internees were move to the abandoned Ang Tibay shoe factory, which the Japanese had turned into an airplane repair show. On the 6th they were finally fed by the U.S. Army. That breakfast on the morning of the 6th will long live in our memories- cereal, milk, sugar, coffee, wheat bread and bacon and eggs. Lined up in four queues the 1300 of us including released prisoners of war were promptly served this wholesome “home-side” food. We wandered about the place all day, listened to the radio, through the kindness of the Signal Corps, talked with the prisoners of war and towards evening-the fire near Bilibid having burned itself out-we were loaded into trucks and taken back to town. Some of us were fired upon by Jap snipers but, fortunately, their marksmanship was poor.  R. Renton Hind, Spirits Unbroken, 1946.

Old Bilibid Prison graves

Old Bilibid Prison graves

February 7, 1945: About ten there were big cheers in the hall and someone said it was General MacArthur and his staff. I was too dull and weary to go to look and not much interested. I was standing in our space by the double bunk when MacArthur came through the door at the far end of the room… When the General passed the bunk he turned and looked into my face directly. He grabbed my hand and shook it, over and over, up and down. I was totally dumb. Natalie Crouter, Forbidden Diary, 1980.

Old Bilibid Prison hospital, 1945

Old Bilibid Prison hospital, 1945

The former internees stayed in the prison until February 22nd, when they began to be flown in groups to Leyte to be repatriated.

77th anniversary of STIC Liberation

Liberation of Santo Tomas, February 1945

3 February 2022 is the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Santo Tomás Internment Camp by elements of the U.S. First Cavalry Division. I have compiled some photos, quotes and links to celebrate this event. The U.S. Army photograph at left shows the flag-raising which occurred at 9:15am on Monday morning, February 5, 1945.

Here’s a little more info about that flag draped over the entrance of the Main Building in Santo Tomas. It was brought into the Camp in 1942 by a family who had sewn it into a pillow. It was deployed right after the Japanese guards who had taken the hostages in the Education Building were marched out of the camp. The ex-internees gathered around sang God Bless America.

On Liberation evening, the people on the south side of the Main Building saw the searchlights and tanks as they entered the gate. Screaming like fury, they raced down the stairs and out of the door from the main lobby into the plaza to greet the liberators. By the time I got to the lobby, I could only get down to the mezzanine level. Troops were holding the people back at the bottom of the stairs and a tank was sticking it’s snout through the double doors from the plaza to the lobby. It is my belief that the troopers drove the tank through the door to act as a cork to prevent more people from flooding into the plaza. Then shortly afterwards, Japanese began to snipe from the windows of the Education Building, and the tank was backed out and the troopers herded the internees back into the lobby. They then deployed in front of the Education Building and a fierce fire-fight developed. It lasted about 20 minutes, then the Japanese retreated to the third floor and dispersed among their hostages.

Angus Lorenzen, 5 February 2022

"Battlin Basic" crew

The “Battlin Basic” was the first U.S. tank to enter Santo Tomás at about 8:40pm, Saturday night, February 3, 1945, according to A.V.H. Hartendorp. I hope to post an article on the U.S. tankers at STIC in the near future.

Liberation Bulletin, 1945, Peter Richards

The 8-page STIC Liberation Bulletin, 1945, by internee Peter C. Richards, includes camp chronology, statistics, prices of commodities and even advertisements. This copy includes notes from the original owner.

Australian War Memorial photos

This week, I’m posting a small collection of photographs from the Australian War Memorial, at Canberra, Australia. These photos are in no particular order but relate to the Battle of Manila and the liberation of Australian internees in the Philippines. I am not posting descriptions of these photos, as most of them are self-explanatory.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge, but unfortunately, these are not high-definition photos. For print quality images, prints, or for commercial uses please contact the Australian War Memorial. If you reuse these photos, please reference AWM as the source.

On their website, the AWM also has a feature article on VP Day: Victory in the Pacific, and an article on the Japanese surrender at Morotai, on 9 September 1945.

Please use the comment form if you have any comments, corrections, questions or if you recognize any of the unnamed people in the photos.

MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. LEGISLATIVE BUILDING, BADLY SHELL DAMAGED. (DONOR: B. COOPER) SEE ALSO P082/68/13,14.MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. FINANCE BUILDING, EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED BY ARTILLERY FIRE. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS ).
SANTO TOMAS, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. GENERAL BLAMEY SPEAKING WITH AUSTRALIAN CIVILIAN INTERNEE TOM RICHARDS AT SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY INTERNMENT CAMP. AT LEFT IS FRANK BUTTFIELD (DONOR: B. COOPER).SANTO TOMAS, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. SERGEANT MATT LACEY; LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN BLUE CUTLER AND FLYING OFFICER BRUCE COOPER, OF THE 6TH WIRELESS UNIT, RAAF. CUTLER IS HOLDING PAM BUTTFIELD, WHO WAS BORN IN THE SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY INTERNMENT CAMP. (DONOR: B. COOPER).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. DAMAGED POST OFFICE AND SANTA CRUZ BRIDGE IN THE FOREGROUND. PARTIALLY DEMOLISHED JONES BRIDGE IN THE BACKGROUND, BEFORE IT WAS REPLACED BY A BAILEY BRIDGE (DONOR: B. COOPER).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA CHURCH, RUINED BY BOMBING AND SHELLFIRE. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. FORMER INTERNEES FROM SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY INTERNMENT CAMP WITH RAAF PERSONNEL AT NICHOLLS FIELD AIRSTRIP PRIOR TO RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA AFTER LIBERATION. THE CIVILIANS ARE FRANK AND PHYL BUTTFIELD AND THEIR DAUGHTER PAM. RAAF PERSONNEL ARE SERGEANT MATT LACEY (REAR); LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN "BLUE" CUTLER (CENTRE) AND LAC E. GWYTHER (SQUATTING). (DONOR: B. COOPER).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. FORMER INTERNEES IN A TRUCK AT NICHOLLS FIELD AIRSTRIP PRIOR TO LEAVING FOR AUSTRALIA AFTER LIBERATION. FROM LEFT, ABE (SURNAME UNKNOWN) AND PAULA PRATT, WHO WERE ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED; MARIE PRESTON HOLDING PAM BUTTFIELD, WHO WAS BORN IN THE SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY INTERNMENT CAMP. (DONOR: B. COOPER).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY AND QUEZON BOULEVARD, SHOWING AMERICAN TRUCKS IN THE STREET. (DONOR: B. COOPER).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. JAPANESE BARRICADES SET UP IN THE STREETS OF MANILA. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. LOURDES CHURCH IN THE WALLED CITY OF MANILA, BADLY DAMAGED BY SHELLFIRE. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. MANILA CATHEDRAL, IN RUINS. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. THE ESCOLTA IN MANILA, WITH THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL BANK BUILDING ON THE LEFT. THIS STREET WAS THE MAIN BUSINESS SECTION OF MANILA. (DONOR: B. COOPER).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. A STADIUM FOR JAI ALAI (FILIPINO NATIONAL BALL AND RACQUET GAME). BADLY DAMAGED BY SHELLFIRE. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).
MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. SHELL DAMAGED LEGISLATIVE BUILDING (SEE ALSO P82/68/07,13). APPROXIMATELY 800 TONS OF SHELLS HIT THIS BUILDING, YET FOUR JAPANESE SOLDIERS SURVIVED THE BARRAGE. CITY HALL IN BACKGROUND. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES, 1945. THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DAMAGED BY SHELLFIRE. SEE ALSO P082/68/20. (DONOR: B. COOPER; PHOTOGRAPHER: ROXAS).
Japanese surrender at Morotai,, 1945, Australian War MemorialVictory in the Pacific, 1945, Australian War Memorial

NARA photos, continued

Following is but another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books, magazines and websites. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid Prison, New Bilibid Prison, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

Because there are so many photos, I will continue to post them in weekly batches of ten. Eventually, they will be collected into various photo albums on this site. Click any of the photos to enlarge. Please use the comment form if you have any questions or if you recognize any of the people in the photos.

Next week, I will continue to publish photographs from other sources.

Filipino refugees taking-shelter in Palo Cathedral Leyte, 1944Filipino refugees taking shelter in Palo Cathedral, Leyte, 1944
U.S. infantry calling for air-support on Mindanao, April-1945U.S. infantry calling for air-support on Mindanao, April-1945
General-Dwight-Eisenhower-signing-autograph-LuzonU.S. General Dwight Eisenhower signing his autograph for Nellie Ordonez on Luzon, 1946. Nellie was a civilian employee at the headquarters of the Pacific Air Command.
Straffing of Zamboanga Harbor, Mindanao 1945Allied strafing of Zamboanga Harbor, Mindanao, 1945
Hidden radio set displayed in Old Bilibid Prison, February, 1945Lt. Homer Hutchinson, of Pasadena, California, shows his secret radio set to other liberated prisoners of Old Bilibid Prison, February 1945. Lt. Hutchinson built the radio with parts stolen from the Japanese and hid it in the seat of a stool.
U.S. General Douglas MacArthur and General Carlos Romulo arriving at Corregidor, 1945U.S. General Douglas MacArthur and General Carlos Romulo arriving on Corregidor, 1945
Two just released prisoners walk with G.I. at Old Bilibid Prison, February 1945Two recently released prisoners walk with a G.I. at Old Bilibid Prison, February 1945
American machine-gunners in position at Randolph Field, LeyteTwo American machine-gunners in position at Randolph Field, Leyte
Invading Japanese bicycle-mounted troops crossing river,1942Invading Japanese bicycle-mounted troops crossing a river on Luzon,1942
U.S. serviceman making a "grass skirt" out of discarded parachutes outside the Recuperation Ward on Leyte, 1945U.S. serviceman making a "grass skirt" out of discarded parachutes outside the Recuperation Ward on Leyte, 1945

More photos from Fred Hill WWII collection

Fred Hill near Dulag, Philippines

Fred Hill near Dulag, Philippines

This week, I’m continuing to show from a collection of photographs from the Pierce Library, at Eastern Oregon University, called the Fred Hill World War II Photographs. Fred served during the War and took many photographs during his service. He also collected photos from others, so some of these may have been published before in books, articles, websites, etc.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Unfortunately, these are not high-definition photos. For print quality images, prints, or high resolution tiff files, or for commercial uses please contact the Library Director at Eastern Oregon University. If you reference any of these photos, please cite Pierce Library, Eastern Oregon University, as the source.

Please use the comment form if you have any comments, corrections, questions or if you recognize any of the unnamed people in the photos. Thanks to Patty Gene Croft Stevens for identifying Beulah Schechter and Patricia Chittick in last week’s listings.

I am still looking for people to view a short Japanese propaganda video shot at Santo Tomás early during the War. I am hoping to annotate a version of the video with comments and identify any of the recognizable internees.

Aerial view of Old Bilibid Prison, 1945Aerial view of Old Bilibid Prison, 1945
Young boy sits inside STIC shanty, 1945Young boy sits inside STIC shanty, 1945
STIC shanties, 1945STIC shanties, 1945
Aerial view of STIC, 1945Aerial view of STIC, 1945
Manila Hotel damage, 1945Manila Hotel damage, 1945
U.S. military model of Corregidor, 1945U.S. military model of Corregidor, 1945
Baguio rental cottages, 1945Baguio rental cottages, 1945
Samar Street cleared of mines, Manila 1945Samar Street cleared of mines, Manila 1945
Aerial view of Baguio, 1945Aerial view of Baguio, 1945
Japanese "Sally" bomber being shot down, 1945Japanese "Sally" bomber being shot down, 1945