August 15, 1999
I'm working on a book about a survivor
of the "Oryoku Maru" named Estel Myers.

He was a pharmacist's mate in the US Navy and shipped out of San Francisco on the U.S.S. Henderson.   I'm awaiting his military records from the NPRC for exact details on where he went and what he did pre-war.

After the "Oryoku Maru" was bombed her first night day out of Manila, she limped into Subic Bay.   The prisoners swam to shore at Olongapo, where those who tried to escape were fired upon by Japanese machine guns set on top of the sea wall.   They were rounded up and marched about a half mile to the tennis court.

I mentioned this incident because it seems to appear in many "Oryoku Maru" stories.   The same is true of a sugar incident, when Estel volunteered to be the prisoner punished for stealing the sugar, the surviving c.o. denied his request since his medical experience was needed in caring for the wounded.   Estel, later assisted in the amputation of a man's arm while they were all interred on a tennis court.

I'm working with the brother of Estel Myers in piecing the story together.

I believe strongly that there can never be too many books, movies or news items about the incredible sacrifices the men and women who fought in the Pacific made.   I am thrilled that this work will be available soon as it is not just one man's, story, but a mosaic of many men's stories.   Although non-fiction, it is written as a narrative, tracing the experiences of PhM1c Estel Myers from Shanghai to Manila to Japan aboard the Oryoku Maru.   It is the dark, dank hold of this ship that is the beast referred to in the title."

Judy Pearson
onewmsvc@fastq.com