Correspondence Diary: Holograph, 1942-1943

File — Box: 6, Folder: 6

Identifier: III

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

In this series of letters from 23 October 1942 to 11 July 1943 written from internment camp to his sister, Jean, McDougall writes of his daily life. The letters from 1942 describe the physical characteristics of Palembang Jail and the barracks camp at Palembang, Sumatra. He tells Jean of his concern for the family, of his own health, writing, and study.
Between March 5 and July 11 McDougall writes his letters as a continuing narrative describing his experiences, feelings and impressions of his life between 11 February and 13 March 1942. He describes the journey from India to Java, his activities on Java gathering war news, and finally his escape aboard the "Poelau Bras" and its sinking.
On June 3, 1943, his birthday, he temporarily abandoned his narrative to philosophize and evaluate his life on becoming thirty-four. He concludes that because his spiritual sense has been awakened the rest of his life has not been wasted.
October 23, 1942, page 2-back.
"Seven months is a long time in a concentration camp. Seven months of hoping your families, somehow, will learn you are alive. That's the most important thing in the lives of most of these men...."
December 17, 1943, page 6.
"We had our first real contact with the outside world today...two men...received a package each from their wives in South Africa, sent to their former Singapore addresses via the Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Tokyo...."
March 5, 1943, page 16-back.
"Although I wanted to get that plane I had a hunch the N.E.I. [Netherlands East Indies] was a poor place to be for me because its fate would be sealed with Singapore's fall. I told Atkinson 'I'll probably arrive in Batavia [Java] just in time to be captured by the Japanese.'"
page 21.
"New York was so pleased (and also London) with my yarns, they doubled my salary, promised to reimburse me for S. [Shanghai] losses, gave me wide open expense account."
page 22-back.
"I took your call and your words still linger in my memory. You all were concerned lest I be trapped in Java. As a matter of fact I wasn't unduly worried myself. Something always turns up, or rather always had..."
March 7, 1943, page 26.
"At 9:15 our fears were justified. A Japanese reconnaissance plane circled us, leisurely flying round and round us as the 2 1/2 inch submarine gun on the stern deck cracked sharply & ineffectively...."
page 34.
"As I looked at him [DeWitt Hancock] the Poeloe Bras' ["Poelau Bras"] bow pointed straight skyward, poised for a moment, then slide [sic] down with a long sigh and disappeared in a ruffle of foaming waters. A black jet shot skyward, as though a high pressure hose had suddenly been turned on and off, leaving a thin column of water without visible support, disconnected and suspended senselessly in the air. Then it dropped back. The Poeloe Bras was no more...."
June 3, 1943, page 44.
"Although my last 10 years, since 24, have brought me little else in the way of worldly progress, although I have nothing to show for them. They have not been barren. They yielded me a spiritual treasure beyond price."

Dates

1942-1943

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.