Alma Salm typed his original memoir manuscript on a typewriter sometime in the late 1940s. It is 246 single-sided pages and contains Salm’s hand-written edits and insertions.
The memoir posts on this website appear as Alma wrote them, with some standardizing of punctuation and spelling.
Salm’s original dedication
Salm’s manuscript begins with the following dedication. These are his words as he wrote them:
To: Those who so ably commanded our Pacific Forces, General Douglas MacArthur, and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, and their staffs and subordinates—I give my deepest thanks.
To: Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci, U.S. Army, and his fearless band of U.S. Sixth Rangers and Alamo Scouts, and the loyal Filipino guerrillas who undertook our deliverance in an exploit of unmatched daring—to these men I extend my undying gratitude.
And to: My family who with courage and fortitude carried on with prayerful hearts and unwavering faiths in our ultimate freedom—
I humbly dedicate this chronicle of my experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, Luzon.
– Lieut. Comdr. Alma Ernest Salm, United States Navy
In addition, Salm’s title page begins with this quote:
“A day, an hour, of virtous liberty is worth a whole eternity in bondage” -Joseph Addison
Graphic content
Some memoir-related posts (including context and bios) contain information and descriptions that readers may find disturbing.
In such cases, we note “Graphic Content” at the beginning of the post.
Strong feelings
Salm sometimes shares strong negative feelings about the Japanese who imprisoned him. These feelings extended to the nationality as a whole.
We have decided to leave in such comments, as we have no wish to rewrite history or change someone else’s words.
Although some of Salm’s words are difficult for our modern ears, the context of his incarceration and torture helps one understand where such feelings originated.
Ready to read the memoir?
We suggest starting with part 1–“This Is My Story”: Life as a Japanese Prisoner of War during WW2
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