Description
Object description
Edited wordprocessed transcript (38pp) of a diary covering his service from January 1942 as a junior United States Marine Corps officer in the cruiser USS HOUSTON which was in frequent action in the South West Pacific until she was sunk on 1 March 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Java Sea, his rescue by the Japanese, his experiences as a prisoner of war in Java in Serang, where they suffered some ill-treatment by the Japanese (March - April 1942) and Cycle camp, Batavia (April - October 1942), his voyage on the prison ship DAI NICHI MARU from Java to Singapore (October 1942) and his time as a prisoner in Singapore in Changi camp (October 1942 - May 1944) and Changi Gaol (June 1944 - August 1945) where he became the senior American officer during 1943, with interesting references to his own indifferent health (he was continuously in Changi camp hospital from January - May 1943) and the incidence of illness among the prisoners, scales of camp rations and the importance of outside purchases (despite their ever-rising cost) and occasional Red Cross parcels, the receipt and dispatch of mail, the movements and deaths of other American prisoners of war who were in Java and Singapore, the impact on Anglo-American relations in Changi of the increasing frequency of thefts by American prisoners and issues over prisoner of war pay; together with photocopies (21pp) of the annexes to his original diary listing the names and addresses of fellow American, Australian, British and Dutch prisoners, equipment that he had lost during the war and personal plans and ideas which he hoped to develop after his release.
Content description
Edited wordprocessed transcript (38pp) of a diary covering his service from January 1942 as a junior United States Marine Corps officer in the cruiser USS HOUSTON which was in frequent action in the South West Pacific until she was sunk on 1 March 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Java Sea, his rescue by the Japanese, his experiences as a prisoner of war in Java in Serang, where they suffered some ill-treatment by the Japanese (March - April 1942) and Cycle camp, Batavia (April - October 1942), his voyage on the prison ship DAI NICHI MARU from Java to Singapore (October 1942) and his time as a prisoner in Singapore in Changi camp (October 1942 - May 1944) and Changi Gaol (June 1944 - August 1945) where he became the senior American officer during 1943, with interesting references to his own indifferent health (he was continuously in Changi camp hospital from January - May 1943) and the incidence of illness among the prisoners, scales of camp rations and the importance of outside purchases (despite their ever-rising cost) and occasional Red Cross parcels, the receipt and dispatch of mail, the movements and deaths of other American prisoners of war who were in Java and Singapore, the impact on Anglo-American relations in Changi of the increasing frequency of thefts by American prisoners and issues over prisoner of war pay; together with photocopies (21pp) of the annexes to his original diary listing the names and addresses of fellow American, Australian, British and Dutch prisoners, equipment that he had lost during the war and personal plans and ideas which he hoped to develop after his release.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 2005-01