Admiral Kajioka was given another chance to save face. With naval reinforcements, support from two aircraft carriers, and two thousand troops he returned on the early morning of December 23, 1941. They were not taking a chance of another humiliating defeat. No moon was up to help the defenders see the approaching enemy as there was on the eleventh. Shortly after mid-night watchers reported barges and landing boats near the beach on the south shore of Wake and Wilkes. This time the enemy had crept in silent and unseen with no preliminary bombardment. The enemy ships commenced firing. At 2:50 a.m. a message was sent to the Pacific Commander in Chief: ISLAND UNDER GUNFIRE. APPARENTLY LANDING. At 3:19 a chilling reply came from Admiral Pye's headquarters. NO FRIENDLY VESSELS SHOULD BE IN YOUR IMMEDIATE VICINITY TODAY. KEEP ME INFORMED.93 The relief force was delayed and would be shortly recalled. Wake was now on their own.
After the war Commander Cunningham learned that the relief force was only 625 miles away before it was recalled. Cunningham believed if the relief forces were able to soiree forth, not only would Wake have been saved, but also a great naval victory could have been won. It was one of the darkest marks on the Navy's entire war record. When considering the full story by Admiral Joseph Reeves, former Fleet Commander in Chief, he considered the recall a disgrace. Reeves was quoted as saying, "By Gad! I used to say a man had to be both a fighter and know how to fight. Now all I want is a man who fights." 94 Historian and Retired Rear Admiral Samuel E. Morison wrote to Retired Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Cunningham 30 March 1960 and said, "It seems to me that the abortive expedition to relieve Wake Island, and not Pearl Harbor, marks the all-time low for the United States Navy."95
The invaders grounded two destroyer transports off the south shore of Wake and sent troops ashore from both. Two barges unloaded onto the beach at Wilkes. Two other landing craft put men ashore on Wake east of the channel entrance. As these landings began, the bulk of the active defense on Wake fell to mobile forces comprised of Marines, sailors and civilians, for a major portion of the defense battalion's strength was immobilized at the three and five-inch guns. The only clear factor that emerged as the battle began was the overwhelming numerical superiority of the invaders.
The battle raged back and forth for hours. Cut communication lines disrupted communication around the island early. Reports were few and sketchy. At five o'clock Cunningham sent a message to Admiral Pye: ENEMY ON ISLAND. ISSUE IN DOUBT.96 Japanese flags could be seen on Wilkes at daylight and it was assumed that it had fallen to the enemy. In fact it was a bright spot for the defenders. A force of one hundred troops was landed there and was wiped out by the defenders counter attacks. The carrier planes started swarming over the island at dawn. At 6:30 Major Devereux reported that his lines were being heavy pressed and he believed he could not hold out much longer. Cunningham informed Devereux that no friendly forces were in the vicinity. He asked Devereux if he believed it would be justified to surrender to prevent further loss of life. They had to think about the over thousand unarmed civilians. Devereux said, "It is solely up to the commanding officer." Cunningham took a deep breath and authorized Devereux to surrender if he felt he could no longer hold out.97
After the war, Major Devereux, would claim that the above conversation did not take place and he was "shocked" about the decision to surrender. He said the possibility of surrendering on December 23rd was "farthest from my mind", but later confirmed it was the right decision. The facts show a different story. The above discussion between Major Devereux and Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham was confirmed by a signed deposition by then second-in-command, Commander Campbell Keene. On December 20, 1946, Captain Campbell Keene reported to the Secretary of the Navy that, "About one hour after daylight on the morning of December 23, 1941, I picked up the telephone and found both Commander Cunningham and Major Devereux on the wire. Major Devereux was at this time reporting that he was being hard pressed at his Command Post by the Japanese, and that he did not believe he could hold out much longer. Commander Cunningham told him, if he did not feel he was able to continue fighting, to surrender (Italics added). A discussion ensued as to the advisability of surrendering or continuing the battle. During the discussion, Major Devereux said, "You know WILKES (ISLAND) has fallen." Commander Cunningham answered in the affirmative. Major Devereux then stated he did not feel he should make the decision to surrender, that decision should be made only by the Commanding Officer, Commander Cunningham himself. After a slight pause, Commander Cunningham informed Major Devereux that he was authorized surrender of the island and for him to make the necessary steps to affect it. Major Devereux answered that he was not certain of his ability to contact the Japanese Commander and asked Commander Cunningham also to attempt to make contact with the enemy. Commander Cunningham answered that he would see what he could do. I had heard reports of the fighting which had been going on during the night and knew the situation was serious, but no thought of surrender had entered my mind until I overheard the above conservation. It is obvious that there had been prior conversations between the two Commanders of which I had no knowledge."98
Cunningham hung up the phone and sent a final dispatch to the Commander in Chief, reporting two destroyers grounded on the beach and the enemy fleet moving in. All codes, ciphers and secret orders were destroyed and the communications transmitter antenna taken down. At this point the antenna was good only as a target for Japanese planes. No more messages were going to be sent out. Time was running out. At 7:30 Devereux called back asking whether Cunningham had been able to reach the Japanese by radio. Cunningham had not been able. Devereux repeated that he could not hold out much longer. Cunningham thought they had already resolved the issue and repeated his order that he was authorized to surrender. Devereux asked Cunningham to try and contact the enemy, because he was not sure of his ability to contact them. Cunningham responded, "I'll see what I could do." Before Cunningham could do anything, it was all over. Devereux had rigged a white flag and moved south towards the enemy.
Cunningham drove back to his damaged cottage; shaved, washed his face and put on a clean blue uniform. He drove down the road and surrendered. PFC Jack E. Davis who was with Battery G on Wilkes Island would describe, while fighting back tears, the following at The Defenders of Wake Island get-together on August 16, 2001 in Quantico, Virginia, "When I looked across the channel and saw Commander Cunningham coming down the road, surrounded by Japanese, wearing his dress blues, I knew it was over." Retired Master Sergeant Ewing Laporte wrote on September 10, 2001, "I was there, about 75 yards from Commander Cunningham when he drove up to attain the surrender. In his dress blues he made a formidable figure. It is shameful the enemy was spiteful, hateful and sadistic. To this day, I have no liking for anything Japanese." The Japanese paid a high price for Wake's surrender. The Japanese lost hundreds in their efforts to capture Wake Island, especially in the sinking of two of their battleships. Almost a hundred Japanese lost their lives on Wilkes alone. The American's gained a new battle cry, "Remember Wake".
Commanding Officer, Fourteenth Naval District, Admiral Claude C. Bloch, would write in his own hand the following on Commander Cunningham's November 28 - December 23, 1941 Fitness Report, "This officer was sent to Wake Island to Command on November 27, 1941. He performed his duties in an outstanding manner and in conducting the defense of Wake Island, lived up to the best traditions of the Navy. He is physically qualified for any duties ashore and afloat of Flag Rank."99 Cunningham's Commanding Officer, Admiral Bloch, would rate Commander Cunningham "within the top 10%" for reactions during emergencies, performance at battle station or in battle duties, assuming responsibility when specific instructions are lacking, exercising judgment, inspiring subordinates to work to the maximum of their capacity, maintaining discipline among those under his command, and military conduct. Admiral Bloch would conclude the fitness report by stating; "I have not seen or heard from this officer, since he left Pearl Harbor for Wake in November 1941. In making this report I have been largely governed by my belief, that the outstanding service of Commander Cunningham should be recognized."
The grueling years of imprisonment were about to begin. On January 12, 1942 it was announced that the prisoners would be leaving on the ocean liner Nitta Maru to begin their confinement in prisoner of war camps. Three hundred civilians were kept on the island as a labor force in clear violation of international agreements. Two hundred of these civilians were later transported to imprisonment, but 98 were found murdered on the island after the war. The 98 civilians had been lined up and shot in 1943 when the Japanese feared an American invasion was imminent.
The captives were ordered to pass through two lines of the ship's crewman. Cunningham described the scene this way, "I had barely picked up one of my bundles when a Jap struck at my hands and tore it from them. It was like a signal. The double line erupted in hate, and as we ran the gauntlet we were dealt kicks, blows and slaps by men who had no part in our capture. Near the bottom of the last ladder we were all sprayed with a disinfectant, but in my case it was hardly effective, since I was wearing a topcoat."100 Winfield and twenty-nine other officers were herded into the ship's mailroom. They were lucky. It was near the engine room, so it remained warm. The enlisted men and civilians were confined in the cold cargo spaces in the hold. In the months ahead they were to find out that keeping prisoners half-starved was a studied policy. The Nitta Maru's crew were masters at it. Winfield said, "In all our long record of semi-starvation as prisoners of war, the twelve days we spent in the voyage from Wake were, at least in my estimation the worst."101
If you did not follow directions fast enough a resounding slap on the face would follow. Winfield said, "Since none of us knew any Japanese we had difficulty understanding what was expected of us. There was a great deal of slapping. Captain Platt was taken out into the passageway one day and beaten with a club for excessive talking. There was a lack of officer supervision, and the guards took it upon themselves to beat the prisoners."102 The guard commander, Toshio Saito, was especially cruel. He relieved Commander Cunningham of his Naval Academy ring "in the name of the Emperor". The Emperor never received the ring. Cunningham's yeoman, Glenn Tripp, had his high school ring taken by the same guard commander. After the war both rings were found in the residence of the former commander of the guard. They were looking for Saito to try him for war crimes when Winfield's ring was discovered. Saito, on the other hand, was never found. (Authors Note: Admiral Winfield Scott Cunningham's 1920 Naval Academy ring is in the possession of the author.)
During the long trip Toshio Saito showed just how cruel he could be. He gathered 150 spectators together on the ships deck around five bounded and blindfolded American Wake Island prisoners and announced, "You have killed many Japanese soldiers in battle. For what you have done you are now going to be killed for revenge. You are here as representatives of your American soldiers and will be killed. You can now pray to be happy in the next world."103 Each one in turn was then beheaded, bayoneted and mutilated before they were thrown overboard. Now you understand why they were looking for him after the war. Such brutality was a trademark of many Japanese soldiers.
During a two-day layover in Yokohama, Japan propaganda pictures were taken and some, including Commander Cunningham, made sound recordings that were used for radio broadcasts back to the United States. An NBC reporter, after hearing the broadcast recordings, said that the speakers sounded sad and dispirited. The January 19, 1941 broadcast from Commander Cunningham said, "This is Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, United States Navy, age 42. At Wake Island I was in command of all the naval and Marine Corp forces. My home address is Annapolis, MD. Since the capture of Wake the prisoners, including myself, have been fairly treated and all in good health, looking forward to getting back to our homes. To my wife in Annapolis, MD., I wish to send my best greetings and hope for her welfare and that of our child, and I also wish to assure her that I am in perfect health and expect to be so for a long time." This forced statement about being "fairly treated" at least let the family and friends know that he was safe for now.
On January 21, 1942, Mrs. Cunningham would receive her first official written notice that her husband was still alive and a prisoner of war. The letter was from Captain L. E. Denfeld, Assistant Chief, Bureau of Navigation, and it stated, "From the latest report which has been received, it appears (italics added) your husband, Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, USN, was at the Naval Air Station, Wake Island, at the time of the capture by the Japanese military forces. As his name does not appear on any casualty list thus far received, it is probable that he is now a prisoner of war."104 It took the January 19th broadcast by the Japanese reporting the capture of Commander Cunningham for the Navy to confirm his apprehension at Wake Island.
Long days of worry and dread were taking place at the home front inflicting punishment of a different kind for the family and friends of the prisoners. When Wake Island was captured, Mrs. Cunningham at first could not receive any word concerning her husband. The Navy reported to her that they could not confirm if Commander Cunningham was on Wake Island at all. The Japanese played the tape recording of "the captured Commander of Wake Island, Commander Cunningham" on January 19, 1942. The Navy Department again said, "We can not confirm that anyone by that name had been on Wake." It was not until April 29, 1942 that the Navy could finally "confirm" Commander Cunningham was a prisoner of war and was at Wake Island. Captain L.E. Denfeld wrote to Mrs. Cunningham again and said, "Information has just been received from official Japanese sources, via Geneva, to the effect that your husband, Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, USN, is a prisoner of war in the Shanghai vicinity, but the exact locality of internment is not known at this time. This confirms (italics added) our previous letter to you dated January 21, 1942, indicating that he was probably a prisoner of war, as he was at the Naval Air Station, Wake Island, at the time of the capture by the Japanese military forces on December 23, 1941." It is no wonder Commander Cunningham did not receive any credit for the defense of Wake Island. The Navy could not even give his wife definite answers about his whereabouts, let alone the nation. They left it to the Marine Corp' Publicity Department to take full dominance of publicity for the defense at Wake and left little room for the Navy and Army personnel to receive deserved and equal credit.
The Navy permitted Wake to become distinctively a Marine saga and Major James P.S. Devereux was identified as the island commander. After the war Commander Cunningham would state, "During my years of imprisonment I was concerned how the public felt about my leadership of Wake Island, but after the war I discovered that most of my countrymen did not know I even existed. To others I was a shadowy figure whose very presence on Wake had not been confirmed until the enemy identified me, and whose apparent function had been that of a well-meaning figurehead who left the conduct of the battle to his subordinates. Wake Island had developed into a massive legend of Marine Corps heroism, and there was no room for a Navy officer in that legend, even if he had happened to be in command of the Marine heroes."105
After the Yokohama, Japan layover the Nitta Maru continued on its journey and arrived on January 23, 1942 at the final destination of Shanghai, China. They still had a few miles march to their first prisoner of war camp, but brutality was the first thing that greeted them when they disembarked the Nitta Maru. Commander Cunningham said, "One of the guards, a buck-toothed petty officer wearing glasses, ran up and down the line of prisoners, dealing out blows and kicks for no apparent reason other than to satisfy some sadistic cravings."106 The camp was located outside Woosung, China and was a few miles down river from Shanghai. They were marched the five miles to the camp in the freezing cold. When they arrived at the camp the enlisted men and civilians were packed thirty-six people to a barracks and officers were quartered two or three to the smaller rooms. All were unheated and extremely uncomfortable. Colonel Yuse commanded the prisoner's new home. Commander Cunningham was senior officer present until January 31, 1942 when the marine guards from Peking and Tientsin arrived under the command of Colonel W.W. Ashhurst.
The responsibility for Wake's surrender bore down on Commander Cunningham unrelentingly. Cunningham kept thinking, "I thought of the brave men who had died under my command, and the others who were now mistreated prisoners because I had made the decision to surrender. Over and over I reviewed that decision and others I had made, and I wondered whether different ones might have saved us."107 His thoughts began turning to escape. Winfield believed it the duty of every prisoner to try to escape, but Cunningham had an extra reason to escape. He wanted to get back to the war and fight again and avenge the humiliation of Wake's defeat.
Cunningham's cellmate was Lieutenant Commander C.D. Smith of the Naval Reserves who was called to active duty a few weeks before Pearl Harbor to take over all U.S. Navy interests in Shanghai when Rear Admiral William Glassford sailed for the Philippians. He also commanded the gunboat U.S.S. WAKE that was in Shanghai harbor waiting for demolition if the Japanese attacked. Commander Smith hatched a plan of escape and Cunningham jumped at the chance. Commander John Woolley of the Royal Navy Reserve, Superintendent of the Wake Island contractors Dan Teters, and a Chinese boy named Loo who was from the area and ship boy on the U.S.S. WAKE rounded out the plotters.
On the night of March 11, 1942 they made good on their escape. They avoided the guards and carefully dug under the electrified fence. They reached the banks of the Yangtze and Smith convinced everyone to move downstream in search of a sampan and ride the tide to Pootung and the friendly Chungking Chinese. The Chinese boy tried to convince the group to go west. Later, after they were captured, Cunningham thought to himself, "Strangely enough, we paid no attention to Loo. Convinced that Smith knew what he was doing, we ignored the advice of a man native to the area and took the word of the Occidental who said he knew better."108 They followed the river to a point near the confluence of the Yangtze and Whangpoo River's. After hours of searching for a sampan without luck they decided to try and contact a local Chinese farmer for help. They took shelter in a farmer's barn near the city of Powashan. They thought they found someone sympathetic, but the local betrayed them to the Wang Ching-wei Chinese government troops. They tried to bargain with them with rewards, but their dreams of freedom were soon dashed when they saw Japanese troops appear and surrounded them.
They were taken to the city jail in Woosung and interrogated by the feared Kempeitai who were the army elite. Surprisingly, no brutalities occurred. Winfield said, "Our interrogators actually seemed to be in good spirits about something."109 They learned later the reason they were so happy. It was the simple fact that the Kempeitai looked with disdain on other army elements, represented in this case by the miserable Colonel Yuse. Winfield learned, "The fact that we had escaped from him and then recaptured by them filled them with such glee that they were almost grateful to us for the chance to humiliate him." They rubbed it in Colonel Yuse's nose one more time when they were brought back to the camp to show how easy it was to escape.
Flying Sergeant Robert O. Arthur, remembered that day years later, as a retired Major, by saying, "On March 11, 1942, Commander Cunningham and three others escaped from Woosung prison, near Shanghai. At once the Japanese insisted that we all sign a paper saying we wouldn't try to escape or we would be killed. The Wake Island personnel refused to sign, even though we knew we would not be held to this. So we were labeled "dangerous prisons" and shipped to a prison camp at Kawasaki, a town between Tokyo and Yokohama. That would be my home for almost four years. We were quartered in a flophouse with bedbugs and lice, eight men to a room with one small window for air. It turned out that after ten to twelve hours of work on the railroad, we were so tired we just didn't care."110
Commander Cunningham and his fellow escapee's luck were running out. They were all taken to Shanghai on March 13, 1942 to be confined in the infamous Bridge House, headquarters of the Kempeitai and scene of its most terrible torture sessions, to await trial for their crimes.
Smith, Wooley, Teters, Loo and Cunningham were all placed in different cells that contained about twenty prisoners. They were required to keep seated at all times except for a few exercise periods, when they walked Indian-file around the cell. No talking was permitted. Winfield said, "It was hard to keep still, for the cells were full of lice and the odor of filth and decay was always present. Sitting for 18 hours a day was hard on the legs and back. Plumbing facilities consisted of a wooden bucket in the corner of the cell. Most of the prisoners were Nationalist Chinese soldiers and they were receiving exceedingly brutal treatment. They were given no baths, no medical treatment for injuries or disease, and were constantly being beaten. On two occasions during the first ten days I was there I woke up to find one of the prisoners dead."111 The food provided to foreign prisoners comprised of approximately a pound of bread with about two ounces of sugar daily.
They stayed 33 days at the Bridge House before being transferred to the Kiang-wan Military Prison on the outskirts of Shanghai on April 15, 1942. After being stripped for a physical examination by Japanese non-commissioned officers, they were brought before a Japanese army court -martial. They were now considered part of the Japanese army, because they were now captives of the army. The trial lasted several hours. The escapee's were not given a public defender. The court officers were attempting to find the ringleader, but the escapees stood by their story that all were equally leaders except in the case of Loo. The court decided that they would all be punished as ringleaders and deserters from the Japanese Army. They were forced to wait seven weeks in solitary confinement in rooms that were 41/2 by 9 until they would receive their sentences. The cells had concrete walls and wooden floors. No furniture was provided and the one window was 9 feet above the floor. Being alone averaged out to be around twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes a day. Winfield said, "A single day of solitary confinement can be torture in a cell that had a small window that was too high to look out of. Seven weeks can feel like a lifetime."112
They were brought before yet another court of officers on June 2, 1942 and tried again. Apparently, the Japanese were not happy with the first trail. The defendant's tried to bring attention to the various international conventions concerning prisoners of war, which prescribed 30 days solitary confinement as the maximum penalty for escape attempts, but the Japanese contended that they were not signatories of the Geneva Convention and were not bound by its provisions. They were tried under provisions of the Japanese military law as deserters from the Japanese Army. The military members of the escape party, Woolley, Smith and Winfield would receive ten year's imprisonment. Dan Teter's was given two years and Loo one. Winfield was actually relieved, "It didn't sound good, but it was a lot better than being shot. We almost beamed at the senior officer."113
Seven days later they were moved to the Shanghai Municipal Gaol, also referred to as Ward Road Gaol, to serve their sentences. Commander Cunningham was able to send out one notice to his family, which in part released his affairs to his wife just in case something bad would happen. The post card was dated 9 June 1942 and the heading read, "Shanghai Municipal Gaol. Ward Road. Foreign Section."114 It said, "My dear wife and daughter, I hereby give my wife, Louise Cunningham, full authority in all financial matters affecting me. I am very well, my darlings, and feel that some day everything will be all right again. Your daddy, W.S. CUNNINGHAM." Written on the bottom left corner on the post card read, "From: Winfield Scott Cunningham, Commander, U.S. Navy." This last part showed how Commander Cunningham saw himself, but the Japanese saw and treated him so much different.
Commander Cunningham was required to wear the uniform prescribed for criminal prisoners. The governor of the Gaol was a Japanese named Tsugai, a former municipal police official. They were no longer treated as prisoners of war, but as troublemakers who lost their combatant status and were serving out criminal terms. They settled into the routine of long monotonous days (18 to 20 hours per day spent in a cell) indistinguishable from one another, but the conditions were generally better than they had experienced up to this point. For the first time since the fall of Wake, they were given the opportunity to write home once a month. As punishment for escaping they were not allowed the use of tobacco products, or receive packages from home or the Red Cross, but they could receive short return notes from their families.
On July 9, 1942, four enlisted marines, Corporal Connie G. Battles, Corporal Charles W. Brimmer and Corporal Jerold B. Story, and Pfc. Charles A. Stewart, who escaped from the prison camp on March 31, and who was recaptured on April 17 arrived at the Gaol. In Corporal Story's signed deposition before the War Crimes Office, he wrote, "We had no counsel during our trail for escaping from Woosung. When the trial was over we were informed that Battles, Steward and I were sentenced to four years in prison and that Brimmer was sentenced to seven years. Brimmer had admitted that he was the ringleader of the escape. Actually this was not the case, but Brimmer admitted to the fact to stop the beatings. When they told Brimmer that he got seven years, we all started to laugh and told him he would be an old man before he left the prison. As we started to walk out of the courthouse the Japs called us back and raised Brimmer's sentence to nine years, evidently because we had laughed."115 In July of 1943, American civilian Pat Herndon, who received a two-year sentence for fighting with other prisoners, joined the group at the Gaol.
Spare time was spent reading. A copy of Dale Carnegie's book How to Win Friends and Influence People made the rounds. Winfield said, "The good Mr. Carnegie's advice on the achievement of popularity was being absorbed by an audience the author had never dreamed of acquiring, and the progress of the book from prisoner to prisoner was accompanied by a marked upswing in the polite virtues. Eventually the book's happy influence wore off and all hands became their old combative selves again."116 As before, thoughts soon turned again to escape. No one had ever escaped from the Shanghai Gaol, but Winfield was determined to be the first.
While Winfield languished in prison and was beginning to become quite sick, his wife received the following letter from Rear Admiral Randall Jacob, Chief of Naval Personnel, dated June 21, 1943, "My Dear Mrs. Cunningham, I take pleasure in forwarding to you the citation of the Navy Cross awarded your husband, Commander Winfield S. Cunningham, U.S. Navy, reported as a prisoner of war, in recognition of distinguished and heroic conduct in the line of his profession against enemy Japanese forces in the defense of Wake Island, December 7, 1941, to December 22, 1941."117 The citation was also forwarded from Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, and "For the President".118 Mrs. Louise Cunningham's response to them both stated, "It gives my daughter and myself, as well as all the members of our families, great pleasure to have this honor bestowed upon Commander Cunningham. If he could know this, it would bring him the greatest pleasure he has ever experienced. My only regret is that he is not here to receive this award personally."119
From March 3, 1942 to October 4, 1942 some of the prisoners were aloud to purchase on credit additional supplies through the American Association of Shanghai, 51 Canton Road, Shanghai, China and were paid for by the Swiss Consulate-General office. A letter from Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Company, Limited, Shanghai was delivered C/O Shanghai Municipal Gaol, To Commander Cunningham that stated, "Dear Sir, Under instructions from our Supervisors we regret no further goods can be supplied on credit from this company." It seems that the Japanese decided that no more privileges were to be given to any prisoner. The total bills paid by the Swiss Consulate were $1,275.40 for W.S. Cunningham, $2,945.56 for C.D. Smith and $2,072.63 for N.D. Teters. It is interesting to note the high prices charged to the American Prisoners: 1 Pipe $100.00, 1 lb. Tobacco $150.00, 1 Warm Slippers $250.00, 1 Marking Pencil $8.95, 4 Pair Woolen Ankle Socks $100.00, 3 Palmolive Soap $5.50 (each) and 1 Hair Brush $35.00.120 It would not be until March 1944 that the prisoners were aloud to start purchasing food through the Swiss Council.
In July 1943 Cunningham acquired a severe case of diarrhea and by February 1944, Winfield's physical condition had deteriorated badly. Escape plans were put on hold. He weighed only 129 pounds, as opposed to his normal weight of 185. Cunningham hid his true condition from his wife by trying to bring her some cheer in prison postcards that he was aloud to mail home. He wrote on October 6, 1943, "Dear Gals and Pals, Autumn has arrived in Shanghai with a bang, or as they told Napoleon about winter in Russia, like a bombshell. It is plenty cool, just right for football and such like sports; and I hope that the hunting will be good this season. It looks as though it might. Our garden is not in such good shape this season; it doesn't look as though the Chrysanthemums will do well. We can't have everything. Well, we hope this may be the last winter we shall have to endure under such conditions. I think that one's health is apt to be less and less equal to the task of coping with the bad food and living conditions as time goes on. Out of the dungeons by Xmas '44, we hope. With Love, Daddy (signed on the side W.S. Cunningham, Commander U.S.N.)."121 The Chinese doctors diagnosed Winfield as having nervous indigestion and he was sent to the Police Hospital on February 23, 1944 for three weeks. He returned to the Ward Road Gaol on March 15 when his diarrhea stopped and a new rule, which allowed them to purchase food through the Swiss Consul, brought his weight back up to 167 by September 1944. Two more arrivals came in May 1944 when Marine Sgt. Coulson and PhM2c Brewer, arrived to serve two-year sentences for attempting to escape from the prison camp.
As Winfield's strength returned, so did his efforts to escape. A second attempt was made to escape on October 6, 1944. Two Danish citizens, Borge Theodore Johan Petersen and a Mr. Olafsen, were released from the Shanghai Municipal Gaol in September and told Commander Cunningham that he would throw several hacksaws onto the prison grounds at a pre-arranged time. The hacksaws were delivered as promised, but a competing escape group (Smith, Woolley, and Story) must had made a new deal with Petersen before he left the prison, and they obtained the saws first. Cunningham's group (Cunningham, Coulson, Brewer, Brimmer and Stewart) could hear the hacking away of the prison bars and could not stand the thought of being left behind. Commander Cunningham decided to confront Commander Smith. Cunningham pointed out that he was senior officer and leaving a fellow countryman behind would not look well when he reported the situation to the Navy Department. Commander Smith and Woolley decided, after heated discussion between them, to ask Cunningham to be the fourth escape member of their group. Cunningham insisted it would be all eight Americans. They were furious at first, but Cunningham offered an alternate plan. They would let Smith's group leave first, giving them an hours head start. They reluctantly agreed.
The American prisons were able to cut the bars of their cell windows. Eight of the nine military prisoner-of-war confines made the attempt with Cunningham. The other escapee's were Commander Woolley, Lieut. Commander Smith, Marine Corporal J.C. Story, Corporal C.W. Brimmer, Marine Sergeant R.F. Coulson, Marine Private C.A. Stewart, and PhM2c A.T. Brewer. Only Corporal Battles remained behind, because he was suffering from epilepsy. They split up into two groups and tried to make it to the friendly Nationalist Chinese in the countryside. Only one of the groups (Woolley, Smith and Storey) was successful. Cunningham's group made it as far as the Soochow Creek, before local police cornered them in a cul-de-sac, and they became prisoners again. His freedom was short lived, but he believed it was worth the try.
The Japanese Military Police also picked Petersen and Olafsen up later that day. They were tried on December 11, 1944 for helping the escapees and sentenced to two years at the Ward Road Jail. After the war, Petersen wrote a letter to Commander Cunningham on December 29, 1945 asking for assistance in becoming an American citizen. He said, "We were taken to the Ward Road Jail and given two blankets, no hot water, and one half to one pound of bread a day. We were given no exercise, and were unable to wash for five months. When the Japanese left the Chinese took over. I was finally released on August 16, 1945. As you know, Commander Smith came back to Shanghai, but both Olafsen and I have no use for him. He talked to much, and it was his fault that we were caught that night."122 Cunningham believed Petersen betrayed him, but he did write a letter confirming his help in the escape attempt and asked the authorities to help in his bid to come to America.
Cunningham wondered what would happen to someone who escaped twice. Would the Japanese anger lead to the death penalty?
Cunningham was confined again in the Bridge House for the investigation until November 3, 1944. The diet was solely rice, salt, and tea. The cell was crawling with lice and he was confined only with Chinese prisoners with the same rules and treatment as before. On November 3 he was transferred back to the Kiang-wan Military Prison in the care of the Kempeitai. Winfield went back into solitary confinement for eleven weeks of cold, hunger and sickness. Nervous indigestion overtook Commander Cunningham again and it persisted until March 1945. He wasted down to 115 pounds and commenced experiencing systems of beriberi. Cunningham said, "The only thing that gave me cheer during the frightful winter of 1944-45 were the bombings of the prison area. Eight days after I arrived at the prison the bombs started falling. Some were close enough to shake the building." 123
Six weeks later, on December 11, 1944, they all went before a general court-martial. This was Cunningham's third trial. As usual there was no defense for the Americans and Cunningham was given life imprisonment. Cunningham said, "I was relieved that it wasn't death. This was the third time that I faced hard looking Japanese Army officers. I am prepared to claim the honor among United States Navy officers of having been court-martialed the most times by the Japanese."124 Cunningham was surprised that Corporal Brimmer also received a life sentence, since Cunningham was considered the ringleader. He later found out that Brimmer was tortured into a confession of his earlier escape, so he was considered a ringleader in this attempt also. Stewart, Brewer and Coulson received eight-year sentences.
Japanese officers studiously ignored all prisoners. There appeared to be a calculated policy of exhibiting contempt for prisoners-of-war. Japanese referred this as part of "Bushido", which is translated as "the way of the warrior". The treatment of the prisoners throughout their confinement showed that the detentioners regarded the imprisonment as a merited punishment, rather than a detention do to the misfortunes of war. Commander Cunningham said, "On several occasions during my imprisonment the Japanese informed me that my imprisonment was a personal disgrace, and failing to achieve death in battle, I should have killed myself."
Thirty-nine days after the trial, on January 19, 1945, they were taken to the rail station and rode two hundred miles to Nanking. They were delivered to the Nanking Military Prison. By now Cunningham became so weak. Winfield said, "I weighed about 115 pounds and suffered unceasingly from my stomach. The weather was desperately cold, I had heard no good news from the fighting fronts, and the loneliness was overwhelming. I was starting to lose the will to live."125 The Japanese did not expect Commander Cunningham to live through the winter. Cunningham did survive the harsh winter and was finally taken out of solitary. He was put in the cell of former Ward Road prison mates Pat Herndon and Marine Corporal Battles. He soon served as the mediator between the two cellmates who were not on speaking terms. Cunningham also learned that four of the Doolittle flyers were in the prison. For the offense of being present in a cell when a window was broken by another prison, on June 25, 1945, Commander Cunningham was fitted with a heavy leather belt and his hands were shackled to the belt with handcuffs. This punishment continued for 15 days.
By the spring of 1945, Cunningham started to recover from his illnesses and was cheered by the heavy bombing in Nanking. They all yelled when a P-51 sprayed the prison yard with machine gun bullets. On August 1, 1945 all the prisoners in Nanking and were all moved by train to Peiping, China (present day Peking). Commander Cunningham was handcuffed to another prisoner for the 46-hour trip and his arms were lashed together by a rope secured above his elbows and across his back. He stayed in a closely confined cell in the military prison at Peiping, China from August 3 to August 18, 1945. The five minutes daily that was given for washing was the only interruption during this confinement.
On August 13 Cunningham saw a lot of ashes floating in the air made by burning paper. Ordinarily paper was never burned in China, for it was too valuable. Cunningham said, "We deduced that the Japanese were burning records, and our spirits soared."126 Around noon on the same day the prisoners were forced to stand at attention in their cells. After the war Cunningham concluded, "It must have been at the same time the Emperor's broadcast accepting the surrender terms was put on the air." On the night of August 18th, the 1330th night of Winfield's confinement and his twenty-ninth anniversary of his entry into the Navy, the American's at the camp were brought before the prison commander. His speech was brief; "The war is over. We hope the Americans and the Japanese will shake hands and become friends again."127
They were moved that night to a civilian internee camp known as Feng-tai west of Peking. It was here that Cunningham finally realized he was free.
|
