On the lighter side.....My father was a WWII paratrooper in the
Pacific. Part of his Div (11th AB) rescued civilian prisoners of the
Japanese at Los Banos prison camp on Luzon. Thru reunions in the 80’s
my parents became friends with Jerry and Margaret Sams who lived
w/in 5 mi in rural NorCal. Jerry and Margaret had been prisoners
of the Japanese at Los Banos. Margaret wrote a book called Forbidden
Family about her and her family’s experience as POWs of the Japanese.
One story was about her being removed from Santo Tomas prison
camp to have a baby in a Manila hospital. She awoke one AM to the
sound of much Filipino laughter from the gardeners outside the
window to the nurses in the hallway. The local Japanese run paper
had a front page story that AM about a Japanese fighter pilot
who had shot down four US fighers. He ran out of ammo w/one
more Yank to kill so he opened his canopy and threw his lunch,
a rice cake, at the enemy. The surprised Yank flew his plane into
the ocean.
I’ve got “Forbidden Diary.” Great book !!
That she was able to keep such a detailed diary was simply amazing.
Sorry Sivad. I find *NOTHING* amusing about this incident.
If I understand it correctly....an American pilot perished.