Child of War

Curtis Whitfield Tong

Published by University of Hawaii Press 2010

Child of War

A Memoir of World War II Internment in the Philippines

Curtis Whitfield Tong

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824860608

Overview
Contents

About this book

Hours after attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers stormed across the Philippine city of Baguio, where seven-year-old Curt Tong, the son of American missionaries, hid with his classmates in the woods near his school. Three weeks later, Curt, his mother, and two sisters were among the nearly five hundred Americans who surrendered to the Japanese army in Baguio. Child of War is Tong’s touching story of the next three years of his childhood as he endured fear, starvation, sickness, and separation from his father while interned in three different Japanese prison camps on the island of Luzon. Written by the adult Tong looking back on his wartime ordeal, it offers a rich trove of memories about internment life and camp experiences.

Relegated first to the men’s barracks at Camp John Hay, Curt is taken under the wing of a close family friend who is also the camp’s civilian leader. From this vantage point, he is able to observe the running of the camp firsthand as the war continues and increasing numbers of Americans are imprisoned. Curt’s days are occupied with work detail, baseball, and childhood adventures. Along with his mother and sisters, he experiences daily life under a series of camp commandants, some ruling with intimidation and cruelty but one, memorably, with compassion. In the last months of the war the entire family is finally reunited, and their ordeal ends when they are liberated from Manila’s Bilibid Prison by American troops.

Child of War is an engaging and thoughtful memoir that presents an unusual view of life as a World War II internee—that of a young boy. It is a valuable addition to existing wartime autobiographies and diaries and contributes significantly to a greater understanding of the Pacific War and its impact on American civilians in Asia.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Foreword Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Chapter 1. Davao, 1931–Aug. 1941 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2. Baguio, Aug. 1941–Dec. 1941 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Chapter 3. Camp John Hay, Dec. 1941–April 1942 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Chapter 4. Camp Holmes I, April 1942–Nov. 1942 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Chapter 5. Camp Holmes II, Dec. 1942–Dec. 1944 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Chapter 6. Bilibid Prison, Dec. 1944–Feb. 1945 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Chapter 7. Homeward Bound, Feb. 1945–April 1945 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	250
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 272
Illustrations
- Other: 11 illus.

eBook

Published: September 30, 2010
ISBN: 9780824860608