Hell and beyond : a diary of war and captivity / by Josiah Wistar Worthington ; compiled and edited by Frances Worthington Lipe

Hell and beyond : a diary of war and captivity / by Josiah Wistar Worthington ; compiled and edited by Frances Worthington Lipe

Prisoners of war--Japan--Diaries.

Prisoners of war--United States--Diaries.

World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.

Worthington, Josiah Wistar--1888-1953--Diaries.

A different account of the war in the Philippines and subsequent imprisonment by the Japanese, in two ways: first, Worthington was a veterinarian and thus saw the Bataan campaign from that unusual perspective. He was involved in caring for the remaining horses and mules in Bataan, and when food ran short, sending them to the abattoir. He also tried to procure carabaos and other animals to supplement the food rations on Bataan. Second, he did not write about his experiences in conventional diary form. Since the Japanese did not allow any criticism, he concealed his opinions of them in verse, written in school notebooks. He wrote some 1400 verses in all, and reading through them one gets to glimpse his experience in Bataan, his attempt to escape by banca, capture at sea and prison camp (Nasugbu, Tagaytay, Bilibid, Camp O’Donnell,). As a senior officer, he was taken out of the Philippines early, and was imprisoned in Taiwan, later being moved to Japan and Mukden, Manchuria.

The editor/compiler is his daughter, who wanted to keep her father’s memory alive. She was an active member of the Ex-POW organization, writing articles and compiling Japanese prison camps on a map (which is inserted in the book). She transcribed, confirmed and annotated her father’s writings and wrote his biographical sketch. In addition to her father’s diary, she added his official report to the US Army Veterinary Corps, and provides maps showing where he was in the Philippines and Japan.

Worthington, Josiah Wistar.

Lipe, Frances Worthington (ed.)

[Boerne, Tex. : Worthington Books], c2006.

2006

29 x 23 cm.

Hardbound

D 805 .J3 W9 2006

16122

xx, 275 p.

ill., maps

with folded paper