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Memoirs of Ruth Hooper

items 13 of 28 items
  • wcu_ww2-453.jp2
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  • rare pieces of Chinese pottery, all the beautiful gifts from Carr’s friends when I joined him in the Philippines, all our clothes and other possessions – we could take nothing. As soon as we vacated the hotel the Japanese Imperial Navy moved in and made it their headquarters since it was American-owned. I left a note for the Filipino boy who took care of our apartment and Miss Flippie (with no hope that he would get it) asking him to please get her out if possible and take her home with him. He lived out in the country. I never knew anything about her until after we had been freed, but still in camp, when I got a note from the boy telling us that he still had Miss Flippie – that she was well and happy. He had secretly climbed up the fire escape and got her out. After we left our rooms and assembled in front of the hotel they made us walk to Rizal Stadium where we assembled on the Soccer Field. There were several hundred already there. Then we were lined up and our passports examined. This was when the family of German Jews were told they could go home. We stood and stood, that line moving very slowly and then finally after they had looked over all papers, they said “men over here, women and children over there”. I looked at Carr and he looked at me, we did not know then what was to happen, that this perhaps was the last time we would see each other. But, they loaded the women and children on trucks and told the men to take up their bags and walk. The trucks took us to the University of Santo Tomas2 where we were told to find a place to sleep as it was then very late in the evening. Then a happy moment when the men came. They were just forced to walk but came to the same place and Carr was with me. Santo Tomas University was not in operation at that time but had been used by Filipino Soldiers
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).