Page 68 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2023 - Online Magazine
P. 68
Carl Foster Forty-One Months
in Hell
by LaVila Henry
at 4:00 A.M., his unit was told to A convoy of three trucks
prepare to leave immediately, appeared, and 300 soldiers were
to make a last ditch stand at lined up and loaded. They would
California Airstrip. be the group to prepare facilities
at O’Donnell, their first prison
Small arms and ammunition camp. Jammed in like sardines,
were distributed. Many felt it Carl wished he were on the
would be their last day since fringe instead of squeezed tightly
American forces were in chaos. in the middle. Soon, he realized
They were told to hold the line as the benefit of his location as those
long as possible, so their military on the outside suffered blows
forces could destroy equipment from gun butts, rocks, sticks,
that could have been used by the and fists. On the way, one of the
enemy. trucks ran off the road. Surveying
the situation, a Japanese officer
By dawn, their troop was took out his pistol and killed
in place. Midmorning, a the Filipino driver. The men in
reconnaissance car approached that truck were crammed into
their line. Displaying a white the other two vehicles already
banner, it sped past them
W ar is hell! Let us never toward the enemy’s position. packed beyond capacity.
Its significance didn’t register
Finally, they arrived at the village
forget!
until about noon when they got
The night was black the word that General King had of Calumpit and were unloaded.
Their empty bellies reminded
with no moon. The preceding unconditionally surrendered them they hadn’t eaten. Carl had
day, Carl and his unit had pulled their forces in Bataan. Shortly, managed to salvage his water
back their anti-aircraft guns at a Japanese tank, truck, and foot canteen, which proved to be
Bataan Peninsula, Philippines soldiers approached. invaluable.
and destroyed them. Food and
equipment had already been in Five Japanese infantrymen The next day, after hours of
short supply for days. Japanese were the first to reach Carl’s travel, they arrived at Fernando,
troops had broken through. group. After frisking them and Pampanga and unloaded. Again,
taking what valuables they still no food. However, there was one
Carl Curtis Foster had started his possessed, they were ordered spigot with a small stream of
journey on a cattle ranch between down the road. Surrounded water. They lined up to fill their
Carlsbad and Artesia, New by machine
Mexico. The war in Europe was guns and
already raging, and, at age 21, he rifle-bearing
and his buddies wanted to help. soldiers, they
On January 6, 1941, they enlisted dumped their
in the New Mexico National firearms into
Guard. After basic training in a pile. In
El Paso, Texas, they were soon about an hour,
shipped to Clark Field, an Air the group of
Force base in the Philippines. surrendered
American
On April 9, 1942, Carl was there soldiers had
when the Japanese troops broke grown to
through the American lines, and around 700.
68 Lubbock Senior Link
