author - "Eugene C. Jacobs"
Before either could answer, bombs were falling on all sides of thehospital. "There they are!" I exclaimed. Not yet realizing howdangerous the bombs could be, we casually walked to the windows andwatched the tremendous explosions moving across the camp-towardheadquarters-raising clouds of dust to the rooftops. The war arrivedat Camp John Hay at 0809 hours, Dec. 8, 1941. Between twenty andtwenty-five twin-engine bombers were overhead in a diamond formation.Soon some 150 bombs of various sizes were bringing disability anddeath to many of our soldiers-drilling on the parade ground-and totheir families in their small homes. It seemed unreal that Camp Haycould be the first target of the Japanese bombers, actually startingWorld War II in the Philippines.
Where were our American planes? We probably did just what the Japaneseplanned that we would. We called Clark Air Field-about one-hundredmiles to the southwest, and told them, "Camp John Hay is being bombed!Get some fighters up here, and keep tho
Before either could answer, bombs were falling on all sides of thehospital. "There they are!" I exclaimed. Not yet realizing howdangerous the bombs could be, we casually walked to the windows andwatched the tremendous explosions moving across the camp-towardheadquarters-raising clouds of dust to the rooftops. The war arrivedat Camp John Hay at 0809 hours, Dec. 8, 1941. Between twenty andtwenty-five twin-engine bombers were overhead in a diamond formation.Soon some 150 bombs of various sizes were bringing disability anddeath to many of our soldiers-drilling on the parade ground-and totheir families in their small homes. It seemed unreal that Camp Haycould be the first target of the Japanese bombers, actually startingWorld War II in the Philippines.
Where were our American planes? We probably did just what the Japaneseplanned that we would. We called Clark Air Field-about one-hundredmiles to the southwest, and told them, "Camp John Hay is being bombed!Get some fighters up here, and keep tho