Written by Todd DePastino
Every once in a while, you see an artifact that takes your breath away. Such was the case last week, when US Navy SeaBee veteran Russell Knight shared the images below of the World War II mess kit that belonged to John Hando, a private assigned in 1941 to the HQ Company of the 192nd Tank Battalion. He arrived in the Philippines 17 days before the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Manila. He was taken prisoner and survived not only the Bataan Death March, but Camp O’Donnell, transfer to Japan on a “Hell Ship,” and working in mines. He was released in September 1945.
Russell explains how he acquired the mess kit:
I got the mess kit from John Hando’s daughter about 10 years ago. John passed away years ago, and I never met him, but I did meet his wife and daughter. I followed his wife by accident about 15 years ago. I was coming home from work at Wheatland Tube Company. She had a flat tire in front of me and she damaged her front tire. I saw a that his wife had a POW plate. I changed her flat tire. I ask for a glass of water, when she brought it to me, she had some money in her hand, I told her I did not want to take her money. She called her daughter Shelly and told her what had happened. Her mother called me her Knight in shining armor.
After the surrender of American and Filipino forces to the Japanese in April 1942, Hando and approximately 75,000 others were forced to embark on what became known as the Bataan Death March. The march began without the prisoners knowing their ultimate destination. The first five miles were uphill, a grueling challenge for men already weakened by hunger, dysentery, and malaria. Japanese guards, who were assigned specific distances to cover, hurried the POWs along, using short whips to beat those who lagged behind. Those who fell were bayoneted on the spot.
During the march, the POWs were subjected to relentless heat, with no water and minimal food. Japanese guards showed no mercy to those begging for water, often beating them with rifle butts. The POWs passed many artesian wells along the way, but attempts to drink from them were met with gunfire or bayonets. Instead, they were permitted to drink dirty water from roadside ditches, many of which were contaminated with corpses. This led to widespread dysentery among the POWs.
As the march continued, the physical toll on the prisoners became increasingly apparent. Men who were too weak to continue were either shot or beaten to death. Food was scarce; on the rare occasion it was provided, it consisted of a pint of boiled rice, insufficient for men enduring such extreme conditions. Attempts by local Filipinos to aid the prisoners were met with severe punishment, including beheadings.
By the time the survivors reached their destination, Camp O’Donnell, they had witnessed unspeakable horrors. The camp, an unfinished Filipino training base, was quickly transformed into a POW camp. The prisoners were stripped of their belongings, including extra clothing, blankets, knives, and matches. The camp commandant made it clear that the POWs were enemies of Japan and would be treated accordingly.
Conditions at Camp O’Donnell were dire. Housing was grossly inadequate, with most POWs forced to sleep on the ground or under buildings. Those who managed to sleep in barracks shared spaces designed for 40 men with as many as 120 others. There was no protection from malaria-carrying mosquitoes, leading to widespread illness. The POWs were given three meals a day, consisting mostly of rice. The food was often so poorly prepared that it made men violently ill. As the days passed, many men began to starve themselves, losing their appetite entirely.
Water was another scarce resource. The camp had only one water faucet, and prisoners often stood in line for hours to get a drink. Japanese guards would frequently turn off the water, forcing the next man in line to wait even longer. Although a second faucet was eventually added, the Japanese continued to control access, turning the water off at will.
The death toll at Camp O’Donnell was staggering. Every morning, bodies were found throughout the camp and taken to the hospital, where they remained for days before being buried. The POWs themselves were responsible for burying the dead, often in mass graves. The bodies were stripped of clothing, which was then boiled and given to other prisoners in need. Conditions were so severe that the Japanese eventually opened a new camp at Cabanatuan to reduce the death rate.
In June 1942, Hando and other POWs were transferred to Cabanatuan Camp #1, where conditions, while still harsh, were somewhat better than those at Camp O’Donnell. The camp was divided into three sections, with most POWs from Bataan housed in Camp #1. Here, the prisoners were allowed to run the camp themselves, with the Japanese only intervening when necessary.
Despite the marginal improvements, life at Cabanatuan was still incredibly difficult. The barracks were overcrowded, and the POWs slept on bamboo shelves without mattresses, bedding, or mosquito netting. Disease continued to spread, with many prisoners developing sores and becoming ill. The “Blood Brothers” rule was enforced, meaning that if one man escaped, the other nine in his group would be executed. This rule effectively prevented any successful escape attempts.
Food remained a major issue. The POWs were fed primarily rice, often of poor quality. Occasionally, they received rotten fish or corn, the latter of which caused severe bowel problems when consumed. To supplement their diet, prisoners resorted to eating rats, dogs, and even grasshoppers. Despite these desperate measures, many POWs continued to suffer from malnutrition and related illnesses.
The Japanese enforced strict discipline in the camp, often resorting to brutal punishments for even minor infractions. POWs caught attempting to escape were tortured and executed, sometimes in full view of the other prisoners. On one occasion, three POWs were tied to posts near the main gate, beaten, and forced to endure public humiliation before being shot.
The camp hospital was a grim place, where sick POWs were given little space to lie down and received minimal medical care. The worst cases were placed in “Zero Ward,” a section of the hospital so neglected that it was missed during Japanese inspections. Men in this ward were often too weak to move and died in squalid conditions, their bodies buried in mass graves.
Throughout their captivity, the POWs received limited aid from outside sources. Occasionally, packages of food and medicine were smuggled into the camp, often at great risk. One such effort, led by a German Catholic priest named Fr. Antonio Bruddenbruck, provided much-needed supplies to the POWs. Unfortunately, Fr. Bruddenbruck was later executed for his efforts.
The Japanese eventually announced a slight increase in the daily food ration for the POWs, but in reality, the meals remained meager. The POWs continued to work long hours, often on menial tasks such as digging latrines and sump holes. Disease and malnutrition were rampant, and the death toll continued to rise, though at a slower pace than before.
John Hando’s survival through the Bataan Death March and the brutal conditions of Camp O’Donnell and Cabanatuan was a testament to his resilience and determination. The experience left him physically and mentally scarred, as it did for all who endured it. When the war finally ended in 1945, and the surviving POWs were liberated, they emerged as living witnesses to one of the most horrific episodes of World War II.
