In the early part of November 1942, I was sent to this hospital and although only a month there, it was a month too long. The conditions were frightful, deaths occurring at the rate of one or two a day, while the food ration was only half that issued at the previous camp.
The Japanese would only issue a full ration to those able to work - it is one of their rules that as soon as one is ill and cannot work, food at once is cut by half. This was the general rule in Japan, and applied to both civilians and Service personnel alike, and intends to force the sick to continue working in order not to starve.
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