Escape from Davao by John D. Lukacs

Author:John D. Lukacs [Lukacs, John D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2010-05-10T16:00:00+00:00

Evidently, Laureta had not discarded the notion that the Japanese were employing their Axis al ies to dupe the guerril as. That anyone could successful y traverse the swamp was apparently stil too baffling to believe. “Grashio and Shofner were understandably indignant as they presented their papers showing they were officers in the United States Army and Marine Corps, despite their names,” recal ed McCoy.

To suggest that they were anything but Americans, that their sores and cuts were not real, that their bodies did not ache and shake with pain and malaria, was an insult to the two men.

The escapees had little choice but to comply. Once satisfied that the escapees were who they represented themselves to be, Tuvil a and Rivera notified Laureta that it was safe to return to Kapungagan. Trailed by heavily armed bodyguards, Laureta final y emerged from the jungle at noon, as contrite as he was cautious, on April 17.

“My apologies, gentlemen, for being so suspicious,” he said as they retired to his office. “But there is a price on my head and the Japanese have employed tricks before to get me.”

Claro G. Laureta, compact with tightly shorn black hair, was in his mid-thirties. Barely five feet tal , he wore a Japanese uniform shirt, carried a .45 automatic pistol and a sheathed bolo, and had the feverish look of a man who was weighed down by malaria attacks and the responsibilities of a sprawling command. As Laureta and the escapees shared their stories, mutual respect and admiration replaced the awkward hostility. Shofner described Laureta best: “A strange, paradoxical personalty, he had a sentimentality which could set his eyes brimming with tears over a patriotic song, and a streak of granite toughness which could bring summary beheading for a guerril a who transgressed his iron-clad rules.”

While the Americans had been struggling to survive in prison camp, Laureta and his men had been struggling to survive in the jungle. The constabulary officer had arrived from western Mindanao in the midst of the panic that ensued after the civilian evacuation. Shortages of food, medicine, and clothing led to massive civil unrest, enabling bandits to seize power and Japanese spies and informants to proliferate. The erstwhile policeman labored instinctively and intensively to restore order. Once the intimidating, iron-wil ed dynamo had effectively turned the Davao area into his own district, he focused on the invader. His motivation was simple: to avenge the likely deaths of his wife and children.

“I do not know if they are dead or alive,” he said tearful y, his black eyes flashing. “For months I have searched for them but I can find no trace. You can see why I hate these Japs and why I have devoted myself to kil ing as many of them as I can.”

Though their presence was another burden on his shoulders, Laureta was sympathetic to the Americans’ mission. He agreed with their stated desire to reach friendly forces and tel America the truth about what was happening to its men in the Philippines.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.