Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Harold J. Hart Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 91st Bomb Squadron, 27th Bomb Group
- Location of Service: Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/837
Born and raised in Hagerstown, MD, Corporal Harold Hart joined the Army Air Corps in June 1941 with the intent of becoming an aircraft mechanic. In the fall of 1941, he was startled to receive orders overseas, as he had been reassured by recruiters that his service would be stateside. Arriving in the Philippines in November 1941, he was stationed at Fort McKinley in Manila, and was in the base hospital recovering from tonsillitis on December 7, 1941. Evacuated to the Bataan Peninsula in late December 1941, he was captured by the Japanese on April 9, 1942, and spent the rest of the war as a POW. In his oral history interview and memoir, he narrates the details of his captivity, describing the Bataan Death March, time spent in Camp O'Donnell, Cabanatuan and Bilibid Prisons, and his transfer to mainland Japan. He describes keeping "still and calm" throughout it all, in order to conserve energy--a move which may well have kept him alive.
Interview / Recording
Share
-
PlayJoining the Army Air Corps in order to become an aircraft mechanic; no money for college; first duty station at Bowling Air Force Base; transfer to Savannah, Georgia. 00:00:58.4 - 00:02:46.2
-
PlayBeing informed they were shipping out; thinking they were headed to Australia; evacuated to Bataan Peninsula; food shortages; living off the land. 00:07:43.0 - 00:11:22.7
-
PlayCombat mentality of Japanese; where his battalion was when they surrendered; strategy of American commanders in choosing to surrender. 00:15:21.7 - 00:19:14.0
-
PlayEating water buffaloes, iguanas, and snakes before capture; once captured, forced to get rid of identifying insignias on uniforms; forced to stand in columns and then to march; no water; men being beheaded and killed; nearly losing a friend who had cerebral malaria; learning to keep mouth shut. 00:19:14.2 - 00:25:29.7
-
PlayFalling out of line on march; falling asleep; waking up to no one around; trying to decide what to do; recaptured, but not killed. 00:26:23.0 - 00:27:36.5
-
PlayVolunteering for work detail in the hope of getting fed; digging up material that the Americans had buried when they surrendered; weighing only 95 pounds. 00:28:23.5 - 00:31:10.1
-
PlayWork detail as a gardener for a year; transfer to Japan; brutal conditions on ship; arrival in Japan; work in nickel mine. 00:32:59.6 - 00:35:49.6
-
PlayKnowing that the Americans were close; being given American cigarettes from the Red Cross packages; started to get medicines, clothes, and food; commandeered a train to go to Yokohama; startled to see white faces. 00:36:48.2 - 00:39:53.6
More Resources
About this Item
Title
- Harold J. Hart Collection
Names
- Elliott, Robert F.
- Hart, Harold J.
Home State
- Maryland
Headings
- - Hart, Harold J.
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
- - Prisoner of War -- United States
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 91st Bomb Squadron, 27th Bomb Group
- Location of Service: Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Dates of Service: 1941-1946
- Prisoner of War: Yes
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2002)
- Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Copy photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 1948)
- Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/837
Cite as
- Harold J. Hart Collection (AFC/2001/001/837), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video