Savage Sniper

“You men know that General MacArthur is especially concerned with the status of prisoners of war held by the Japanese. The Japanese have several POW camps, some that we know about and some that are just coming to light. He has warned the enemy in no uncertain terms about the dire consequences of harming any of these POWs. However, the fear is that the enemy will use these prisoners as pawns or bargaining chips.”

“That’s against the Geneva Convention,” Philly complained.

“When has that ever stopped the Japanese?” Deke responded, some heat in his voice as he remembered how the Japanese had killed his buddy within minutes of the beach landing on Guam. He had witnessed nothing but cruelty from the Japanese. More incidents came to mind. “For starters, you saw how they killed all those civilians back in Palo.”

Flanders jumped back in. “Speaking of which, there’s a fear that the Japanese may kill the prisoners outright rather than release them. The prisoners are mostly Americans, airmen who’ve been shot down, sailors picked up at sea, maybe even a few infantrymen captured back in forty-one. There are a few Australians mixed into the bunch.”

“I like those Aussies,” Philly said. “They sure know how to fight.”

Flanders continued, “Unfortunately, we have evidence that there has already been some killing of prisoners, although these are isolated incidents, thank God.” The major paused, looked around to make sure no one else in the tent was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice. “There was a situation recently where the enemy forced our men to dig what they said was an air-raid trench, but it turns out our boys were digging their own grave. They doused our men with gasoline and set them on fire. Burned alive.”

“Those slant-eyed sons of bitches,” Philly muttered.

Deke felt a white-hot surge of anger go through him. He was sure that the others felt the same way.

“If General MacArthur is so damned concerned about the POWs, then why the hell doesn’t he send in some paratroopers or a bunch of tanks to go liberate them? Seems to me that this is all a lot of hot air.”

“Deke,” Lieutenant Steele said, growling a warning. “That’s enough of that, soldier.”

A look of irritation passed over Major Flanders’s face at Deke’s outburst. He opened his mouth to say something, then reconsidered when he met Deke’s angry gaze.

Deke knew better, but he couldn’t help it. His anger bubbled over sometimes when it came to the hot air spouted by the likes of officers, businessmen, and bankers. There were those who talked about it and those who acted. Deke didn’t have much patience with the first group.

Sadie had once compared him to a chicken pot pie that was all hard crust on the outside and bubbling hot on the inside.

“You’re nothin’ but a mouthful of hot gravy waiting to burn somebody,” she’d said.

He felt Yoshio touch his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

“Look, son, we’re all on the same side here,” Flanders eventually said with something that sounded like empathy. “I’m getting to the part where we do something about it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Conditions at these camps are pretty rough,” Major Flanders continued. “It’s doubtful that the Japanese have enough food to feed their own troops at this point, let alone any prisoners. Our boys are kept on starvation rations at best.”

“We ain’t exactly livin’ high off the hog ourselves,” Deke said. “But it’s a whole lot different when you’re a prisoner.”

“You said it, soldier,” Flanders said, warming to the topic. “But it gets worse. The conditions are filthy — no showers, no clean clothes. Medical attention is almost nonexistent. Finally, our boys are badly mistreated, everything from slave labor to beatings just because it amuses some Jap prison guard.”

None of them liked the thought of fellow Americans being held captive by the Japanese. One thing for sure was that Major Flanders did not paint a pretty picture of the American POWs’ fates. He went on in gruesome detail, describing everything from starvation to beheadings.

“Bastards,” Philly muttered. “I’d really like to get my hands on those Japs.”

“That’s the spirit,” Flanders said. “General MacArthur does not want any more of our men to be abused or murdered by the Japanese, nor does he want our boys to be used as hostages or cannon fodder. As we become aware of these camps, he wants our men liberated by any means necessary. Some of the larger camps near Manila are still beyond our reach.”

“The Japanese still hold Manila,” Lieutenant Steele pointed out.

Flanders nodded, then looked pointedly at Deke. “Here’s the part where we do something about it. There’s at least one POW camp here on Leyte that’s cause for concern. Some of our sources with the Filipino resistance say that the commandant is a real hard case. The Filipinos have given us a location, and we’ve verified it through aerial photographs. We want our men freed from that camp. That’s where you boys come in.”

If the major had intended to whip them up into a righteous frenzy, he had succeeded.