Brownell Cole served with the 31st Infantry during World War II. Stationed in the Philippines when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Cole fought alongside American and Filipino forces during the defense of Luzon and the retreat toward the Bataan Peninsula. As a member of H Company, a machine gun unit, he recalls the difficult fighting that pushed his regiment north through Bataan before they were eventually taken prisoner near Corregidor.

Cole describes the long forced march taken by the 31st Infantry and their capture. Along the way, Filipino civilians quietly tried to help the prisoners, flashing a subtle “V for victory” and leaving food where soldiers could quickly grab it without drawing the attention of Japanese guards. The men survived on whatever they could find, including roasted beetles and sugar cane from the surrounding fields. His memories reflect both the hardship of captivity and the courage and kindness of local people who risked punishment to offer small acts of support.

Interviewer: How did they treat you there then at Camp O’Donnell?

Brownie Cole: There weren’t any of those camps that they treated you at all. They just beat you. Slowness in working, being not prompt in a roll call. For any slight thing. The Japanese love to do that. They get their kicks out of that.

Interviewer: How would they beat you? The rifle butt?

Brownie Cole: Rifle butt mostly. Yeah, they’d come over with a rifle butt. Then of course they all carried sticks, long sticks because they were so afraid that someone might try to get a weapon away from them. So they used that stick to maintain distance. The favorite place to be hit on a guy was right across there. Because there were a lot of nerves right up in there, in the back. The shoulder blade,

Interviewer: Now, that camp, what did you eat there?

Brownie Cole: Well, we had to start out with Lugao. Lugao is rice dipped where you pour the rice into a pan, bring it to a boil, and then pour it out. Then you’d have to figure out how you’re going to salt or sugar or whatever you use. Then they had mongo beans. Oh, mongo beans were delicious. All this food that I’m talking about is delicious because we were hungry. We were starving.

Brownell “Brownie Cole” was liberated in August of 1945 following the Japanese surrender. He weighed only 95 points and was subsequently returned to the United States. After receiving treatment at Schick General Hospital, a V.A. Hospital in Clinton, Iowa, he settled in Valley City, North Dakota, where he married and worked as a postmaster. He died in 2009.