From Cecil Cunningham

Of Deep Creek, Wash., from a hospital ship

somewhere in the Pacific, Sept. 6, 1945

I have been paralyzed in my right leg since March of 1945. I have the use of my leg now, but unable to bear any weight on it. Feel very good otherwise. Have gained weight. March, I weighed 120. August, 125. Now about 140. The American chow sure does wonders. I think I will be walking very shortly. So don’t worry.

The Good Lord must have been looking after our camp (the Yokkaichi prison camp in Japan) and the Allies must of known we were there. Bombs fell all around our compound and yet no one was hit.

We were strafed two times on the 30th of July. … wounded one of our men and killed one Dutch boy.

They had to amputate one left foot. They wasn’t able to sterilize any of the instruments and they were Japanese so they weren’t worth a damn. It was the doctor’s first amputation and he arrived in our camp two days before. They just had two cans of ether and one course of sulfa drugs to give him. Which no doubt saved his life.

The (Japanese) men quit work August 15 and we were sure glad to have that much proof that the war was over. But wasn’t sure until the 19th of August. We were visited by a British dive bomber from H.M.S. Indefatigable. The next day they came back and dropped us 12 big packages. They consisted of food, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and newspapers. We started reading, eating and smoking.

The next day, they came back and dropped about the same thing and we notified them that we needed sulfa drugs. They made a return trip but the plane with the drugs couldn’t raise the landing gear and had to return. They notified us and was putting on an air show to give us a thrill, which they did on all their trips. They hadn’t finished when one plane dropped the medicine.

… We left Yokkaichi prison camp at 5:30 a.m., with eight hours notice to go to a port near Yokohama. Saw my first U.S. soldier. I was speechless. You can’t imagine how much of a thrill it was to see a Marine running up and shaking my hand. I thought he never would quit shaking it. I guess he was as glad to see us as we was him. I have been aboard for four days and still get a big thrill looking at the stars and stripes flying on the ship.

… Saw my first American woman since I was taken prisoner. She sure looked good to me.

… I hope you can read what I have written. This is already more writing than I have been able to do since May 10, 1942 (when he was taken prisoner in the Philippines).

It has been a long sweat with many hardships, but that is in the past. I sure am looking forward to be with you all.

(Cecil Cunningham died in Spokane in 2002).