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Major Geo. B. Moore. 5807 Cornelia Ave., Chicago, visited Col. Jackson last week. He was with Capt. Howard Humphreys, Class *36, whose death in a Japanese prison camp was announced in this paper last week. In fact, they were roommates for a while.Maj. Moore gave an account of his experiences with Capt. Humphreys, as follows:“I first met Howard, or Humpy as we called him. when he first came to the Philippines in August, 1941. During the months that we worked together there, I could not help noticing what a likable, clean lad Humpy was. His abilities as an officer were superior. xxx“After the fall of Bataan in October, 1942, I was sent to Davao on the island of Mindanao to a prison camp.“He was also sent to that P. O. W. camp. We spent about a year and a half there, and it amazed us to see the remarkable physical condition that Hump was able to maintain. He wasnever ill nor mentally depressed. He*was able to get along well with our captors, and, to my knowledge, was never struck or beaten by them, which was a very rare occurrence. I personally* was beaten three or four«Mtimes, as most prisoners were.»“One memorv that returns to me is that, after our day's work in the rice paddies, we would go to the river to bathe, and there Humpy, in competition with the Japanese guards, would put on a diving exhibition. Needless to say, he surpassed them in this, and even the Japs were forced to admit he was a better man, They greatly admired his diving ability, and this' may be the reason why he was never beaten.“To my knowledge Humpy never suffered a day's illness in prison until he contracted his fatal illness aboard ship en route to Japan. We embarked on December 13, 1944, and completed the voyage on January 30, 1945. Our imprisonment was never a picnic, but it was endurable up to the time of this boat trip, yvhich was terrible. There were 1600 prisoners aboard, and I doubt that more than 300 of them still survive. This prison ship trip stands out as a horrible experience.aaThough our imprisonment was bad,iwe did have our moments of good humor . Humpy enjoyed singing as a member of our glee club. The director was Major Larry Pritchard of'Ottawa, 111., who also passed away. Humpy’s natural good humor, vitality, and sportsmanship were constantly boosting us up when our morale was low.During Captain Humphrey’s final illness he was under the constant care and close supervision of American doctors. However, they ware limited in medicine and equipment. Amoebic dysentery is a terrible disease and often defies the best of treatment. Everything possible was done to cure Humpy and to make him more comfortable. He died about April 15, 1945, at Camp Fukuoka No. 3, near the city of Moji, on the Island of Kiu-shi, Japan. His body w'as probably cremated according to Japanese custom, and the ashes put in a small box and stored with all the other boxes in that camp.I wish to convey through Col. Jackson my deep sympathy to therparents, and my tremendous admiration of their son and my friend, Howard Humphreys.”1Major Moore reviewed the parade of the cadets at Western on Sunday, October 27.ari the y the Eato Re their back T wo Ruez Lilly Wall eadei set t an lt;Vero tookthe.: WstartplUHjthecalleMob]puntwased opass. W Grinfieldrellto threadbogged adetspericera’sballfourversiTYsera]CoopA. H LeRtMorsZimrTousC. ]VDeutWo r Grin M. I Wleff,Englt;MA,Iteditoei n \W. 'pilotcrew*Col.QuinSuhrhonoalomtors,thatnel”FIVFihearpzan;LouiGrie;by tlHised.C'cmgWell
Newspaper Details
Alton Western Military Academy Shrapnel
Alton, Illinois, US
Thu, Nov 08, 1945
Page 2
Full Page
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Anonymous
IL, 10 Mar 2022
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