Cassie DePeckel
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Mary Rose Harrington slaps her leg and frowns to see a smear of red there.
Another mosquito got her.
Her legs are already covered in welts from other bites.
The mosquito nets they've been using are so torn, they're practically useless.
It's December 1942.
Harrington stands in a crowd of a few hundred prisoners in the courtyard at Santo Tomas.
Ten yards away, a dozen Japanese guards stand watch over cardboard boxes stamped Red Cross.
Inside are relief packages, and the captives are desperate to get their hands on them.
But the guards show no sign of turning them over.
Harrington and the other prisoners have been waiting for an hour now.
She finally pipes up at the guards.
Hey, when do we get our packages?
Come on.
An interpreter snaps his head to look at her.
When the commandant is here.
The crowd around her murmurs in frustration.
Harrington stares at the boxes.
Her stomach grumbles just thinking about what might be inside.
She's heard there's candy and crackers and tinned meat.
It all sounds delicious.