WEBVTT

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friends. I'm very anxious for you to meet a man whom I have been admiring

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for some time since coming to Manila
Mr K. A person. He is a Norwegian. He

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came out into the orient a great many
years ago and in 1941 was accredited

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to the pre Norwegian press and he also
had privileges in the radio in this

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area, which I believe if I'm not
mistaken, made him one of the most hated

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of the allied nationals in this area
because of the bitterness which we

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had for the Nazis. During the days
when we were fighting Germany, he was

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liberated from Manila february the
ninth of this year having been here

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throughout the entire Japanese
occupation. And now I'm going to question

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him briefly and I think you're going
to be fascinated by his answers. Mr

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Pearson. Where were you when the
Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor? I had

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arrived in Manila from shanghai with
my wife. Only a few hours before it

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happened, we were on our way to
Washington and scheduled to continue the

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voids from here on one of the
President liners. Well, specifically where

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had you been For many years? In fact,
since November 1918, I had lived in

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China most of the time in Shanghai.
Well, why didn't you get out of Manila

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before? It was too late. Well, that
was not so easy. Especially after the

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war had started. Especially since I
felt the risk was too great as far as

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my wife was concerned. Besides, I felt
I wanted to help the american

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authorities, if that were at all
possible. Was this your first contact

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with war? No, it seems my whole life
has been a succession of wars and

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troubles and unrest. I spent the first
world war at sea the greater part

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of it in the region sailing ships,
square eggers as we term them or cape

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horn nose. I was in Philadelphia when
the United States declared war on

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Germany the first time. I have also
watched the many provincial scraps in

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China, the fighting and coming to
power of Chiang Kai Shek in 1927 and the

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Japanese war around and in Shanghai in
1932. And the war in Shanghai of

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1937, which of course they also termed
a mere incident. Well, was your

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contact with the Japanese here in
Manila. Your first experience with these

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people, As you will note from what
I've already said, it was by no means

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my first contact with the Barbarians
from Nippon. I've had them in my hair

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, so to speak for 10 years before I
met up with them here, I suppose then

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that perhaps you had formulated some
kind of an opinion of the alleged

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Japanese mind and psychology. Most
decidedly. I have had what you might

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term some excellent opportunities,
including my experience with the

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Japanese military police, because I
had the doubtful privilege of spending

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a little time in Fort Santiago and
undoubtedly you heard about that place

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that couldn't have been good. No. Bear
in mind also that I saw the brutes

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in action in china, it has always been
the same pattern. They have always

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run through to form and they have
always improved on their best reality.

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The Japanese must be considered
subhumans. In fact I think I should prefer

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the java man of a million years ago.
He killed of necessity the Japanese

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killed to satisfy an innate lust for
blood and sadism. And then there is

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of course the fanatical desire to die
for the emperor and become

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divinities. As you know, it's not only
a soldier who commits harakiri in

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Japan, this suicidal trait is an
honorable end to adapts frustration, but

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I'm afraid the subject is somewhat too
complicated to be dealt with in a

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brief conversation. I think that
becomes obvious. Mr Pearson. Do you think

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that the Japanese had anything
constructive in mind when they came into

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the Philippines? There has never been
any constructive attitude on the

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part of the Japanese except as far as
their own empire and their selfish

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ambitions are concerned history bear
ample witness to that. They have been

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good imitators, nothing else. The only
thing I believe they're really

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invented was a flytrap which sold
extensively in china wherever they have

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set their squat feet misery and want
have invariably followed their slogan

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of Asiatic co prosperity was bound to
become a boomerang and it has as you

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very well know, Mr person did the
looting. That has so desolated manila

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began immediately upon their
occupation Or did it come a little later The

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Japs began their systematic looting
when they entered. Many lie in January

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1942. And they have been ever at it
ever since. As long as there was

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anything to loot. Of course, after
they turned the americans and british

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here they made a thorough job of
ransacking their homes. All this

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apartment stores were of course
cleaned out. Most of it went to Japan and

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the best of it. And as long as they
had any ships to take care of it later

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on due to heavy shipping losses, it
became a problem for them to remove

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things and they also had to live more
and more under land for the same

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reason. Although you weren't interned
here, that is to say you weren't

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actually in prison. Did you have in
the city itself? Any freedom

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whatsoever? To a certain extent? Yes,
that is to say within Manila itself

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, especially during the first two
years. As long as the war went in their

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favor, you see, the official attitude
at least was one of toleration for

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those outcasts who could not claim the
privilege of being born a member of

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the emperor's tribe. Their attitude is
best described by themselves. Those

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who were candid enough to say so. For
instance, commandant McCabe credited

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with being a graduate of Howard
University and a doctor of divinity if you

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please ushered some 500 American
British and other nationals into the

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concentration camp at bag you with
these words? Remember you americans are

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merciful. We are not after the worthy
commandant had spoken a group of Jap

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infant room and fired their rifles
into the air to make it perfectly clear

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to the prisoners. That means were at
hand for enforcing japanese

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protective custody as they termed the
internment of all including women

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and Children. The aged and sick were
the Japanese. That is the Filipino

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natives here apprehensive from the
start of the occupation or did their

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apprehension come later? Yes, we were
all apprehensive. The Filipinos and

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the foreigners I suppose except the
Nazi and some other pro access

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individuals. But the Japanese military
did their best to dispel that

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feeling, especially in the case of the
Filipinos. Then came the death of

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thousands of filipino and american
prisoners of war. The death march from

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Bataan. The slapping of faces by the
app centrists and Jap civilians and

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then came a period of attempted
kindness, urging collaboration with the

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benevolent Asiatic brothers from
nippon. Then came the reverses and the

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jap inferiority complex really began
to show its true colors. Then the

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last year 1944 From one February when
the military took over Also the

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civilian internment camps. Then the
last few months before the american

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entry, the building of barricades in
the streets the digging of holes for

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mines to forced labor. Well, did you
have an opportunity to visit any of

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these occupation camps. That is where
the prisoners were, or were you

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prohibited? It was possible during the
first two years to obtain

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permission to visit internees and the
internees could also obtain passes

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for longer or shorter periods to leave
the camp, mainly in the cases of

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illness. We could also send in parcels
of food, clothing and money because

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all of that was stopped on February
the 1st 1944 when the military

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authorities took over the camp. Mr
Pearson was the arrival of american

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forces here in Manila. Your first real
personal contact with americans and

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their methods. I have always been a
keen student of american ways of life

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and americans. Don't forget I'm a
Norwegian. I have always entertained a

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sincere admiration and I can
truthfully say, a real affection for your

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people. A considerable number of whom,
as you know, hailed from our

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shore's, We knew America. That is why
we also knew the war would be won. I

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believe you plan an immediate return
to the United States, Do you not? Yes.

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In fact, I'm promised a plane for
tomorrow morning After 37 months, as

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you may imagine under jap domination,
I feel a change of surroundings is

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necessary. But I'm planning to return
to see the American forces enter

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Tokyo. Do you plan to go to Norway
during your visit in the United States.

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That will depend on my conversations
with the Norwegian ambassador to

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Washington Since I have only visited
my country once for a period of seven

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weeks in 1928, I naturally want to get
back and I have not heard from my

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family there for more than four years.
Besides, I want so much to help in

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the reconstruction of a country which
has suffered so much under the Nazi

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yoke. And now mr Pearson, I have a
question for you. That may sound a

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little pointed, but I want to know
what we should do with the Philippines.

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In your personal opinion. That is what
you might term leading question.

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And I think it has already been
decided you will keep your promise of

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independence to the Filipinos. America
has never yet broken her promises.

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I do not even have to court senator
tidings to state that well, should

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they be given their independence
completely or should we make certain

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reservations? Oh, that's another
leading question and one that a diplomat

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might wait. But I'm not a diplomat.
The reservations in my opinion would

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be strong military bases in the
islands. And talking of independence.

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Every nation in the world should
realize by bitter experience that no

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country can anymore be quite
independent of another politically. The word

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has changed fundamentally. We are all
interdependent and have to think

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less of national boundaries. Custom
barriers and the rest of the pre war

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model if we are to preserve a lasting
and just peace. What's the situation

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over in china? You've spent a lot of
time there. Is it hopeful

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as it is more than 3.5 years since I
left and as I was naturally cut off

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from all communications with the
outside world during the Japanese

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occupation, I'm afraid I'm not in a
position to express any expert opinion

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at present. I can say this however,
that I consider the situation very

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hopeful. Also after victory against
Japan has been one I have come to like

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china and the chinese very much during
my many years of stay in their

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country, they are truly a great
people. Thanks to their energy and

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philosophy of life, they will recover
faster probably than any other

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nation in the far east. Despite more
than eight years of war and suffering

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, there are of course many
imponderables and there are many problems,

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difficult problems to be solved before
china can take a rightful place

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amongst the United Nations. Mr
Harrison, in your personal opinion, is

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there a possibility that the war out
here in the pacific might end quickly

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? Well to that I ought to reply like
Churchill. I think that I am not a

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prophet. But what I have seen of the
Japanese makes me believe that they

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will go on to almost complete
destruction. There is a possibility that the

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war could end quickly, but it would
require another long talk to tell you

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why I personally, my guest for what it
is worth is that the war will last

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1.5 year longer. Bet that period will
be shortened by six months at least

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if Russia entered the war against
Japan, one more reaction now and I'm

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going to let you go. Mr Pearson. What
do you think of our american

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fighting man? Well that is a question
which I find it both easy and

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difficult to answer difficult because
it is very hard to describe certain

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feelings. You must remember that I owe
my life and what is more my liberty

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from Japanese bondage to the United
States of America. That is why I want

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to return here and remain with the men
and try to tell the story of their

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gallantry, their devotion to duty and
their magnificent fighting province

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, not only to my own countrymen, but
if at all possible to the american

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public as well. I want them to know
what a Norwegian feels about it all

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those parameters on dark, moist nights
in the jungle, the savage, fighting

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against a mad subhuman horde, the
heat, the mosquitoes, the malaria, the

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nervous exhaustion which can and do
play havoc with the strongest

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character in physic. It's a fight to
death to kill or be killed. That the

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americans have what it takes and a lot
more. Besides words can be cheap

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and as often as not it is impossible
to do justice to what one sees in

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here every hour of the day and night
and they seem so many and so long

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these days and nights. But the G I
know that at the end of the road there

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is home America and their loved ones
for whom they are perfectly willing

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to give all. It is only when you are
on actual combat and try to share

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their struggles that you realize deep
down in your heart of hearts, what a

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colossal debt. Not only their own
country, but the world go to these men.

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I agree with you heartily Mr Pearson
and I thank you personally for all of

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Arizona for this expression so
sincerely and so intently made friends. Mr

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person is a Norwegian by birth and by
citizenship. He's been out here in

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the orient a great many years. He went
through the Japanese occupation of

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Manila. I'm sure you've gathered from
his remarks that he is an authority

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on what has happened out here and what
may happen in the future. I thank

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him and hope he has a marvelous trip
to the United States and can return

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for the entrance into Tokyo as he has
suggested he should certainly love

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to do. I think we now have shortly
within a few minutes here in Manila an

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interview with general Stilwell. So
we'll let you go now until another

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time and here is fredMacpherson