"OLD" BILIBID PRISON
Our trucks entered the main gate of Bilibid, where we dismounted and
walked to a large stone building in the back of the old prison. I was
assigned an area two by six feet in the middle of the hall on the
second floor. My bed was a blanket on the concrete floor. The windows
were all boarded-up.
We were greeted by other prisoners: "American planes have been making
daily bombing raids on the port area only a few blocks away and on the
ships in the harbor - Manila Bay." We thought, "That's good! Maybe
they won't be able to get
us out."
"MacArthur must be getting close! When the air-raid alarms sounded,
the guards have been chasing all of the prisoners inside the
buildings."
"We were able to find peepholes where we could watch the U.S. planes
dive down through heavy flak of anti-aircraft guns, to drop their
bombs on important targets."
It was not long until we had a front seat to a bombing raid.
We watched black smoke billowing up from burning oil tanks really a
great show! It was also quickly evident that slow starvation was the
daily pattern at Bilibid. The high walls made it impossible to get any
extra food. My weight was now 110 pounds.
In November, I developed dengue, a mosquito-born disease called
"break-bone fever." It was properly named-felt .like every bone in my
body was breaking. For ten days I was in the prison hospital,
overlooking the main gate and Rizal Ave. I didn't care much whether I
lived or died - one chill after another. No appetite! I couldn't eat
the thin lugao they brought me. Lost weight and strength. I was in bad
shape to start a trip through MacArthur's blockade.
About December 1st, I was pronounced well! I dragged myself back to
the big stone building and my area on the concrete floor. My bones
were getting very close to the concrete.
Shortly, a typhoon arrived; the winds blew, the skies darkened and
heavy rains beat down-generally very unpleasant. No planes arrived to
make their daily attacks.
In a few days, we began to hear ships' whistles and bells again. That
meant ships were moving in and out of Manila Bay, unmolested by bad
weather and U.S. planes. This was a bad omen! The Japs would probably
get us aboard a ship and on our way through MacArthur's blockade.
Again, the Japanese ordered our medical officers to examine all
prisoners in Bilibid, to determine those healthy enough to complete
the trip to Japan, and those sick enough to remain behind the stone
walls-to be recaptured by MacArthur's troops in a few weeks. My better
sense told me it would be smarter to be sick and be rescued, but my
conscience kept telling me I should go along.
Liberation of Bilibid Prison: MacArthur's invading forces landed on
the beaches of Lingayen Gulf on January 9th, 1945, with the aid of
Col. Russell Volkmann's Northern Luzon guerrillas Headquarters were
established in Dagupan.
On February 4th, a flying column of the 1st Cav. Div. Under Brig. Gen.
William Chase entered Manila and relieved the prisoners from Bilibid.
As a soldier broke down a boarded-up window in the stone wall near
where Ted Winship was busy quanning (cooking), Ted asked, "Who are
you?"
The soldier answered, "I'm Sgt. Jones! We've come to liberate you!"
Ted countered with: "Where the hell have you been for three years?"