Forbidden Diary: True WWII Prison Survival Story
[NEW: To see the faces behind the characters' voices, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast]
Audio-drama based on a WWII diary written by Natalie Crouter during her internment in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines.
Three weeks after the first bombings of the Philippines on December 8, 1941, Natalie, her family, and 500 civilians were marched at gunpoint to a deserted U.S. military post (Season One: 1941). Thus began their survival story of body and mind from 1942 to 1945. Under the watchful eyes of Japanese guards, the prisoners set up their own society while constantly scrounging for food—often aided by heroic Filipinos. Japanese commandants and homesick soldiers filtered in and out of camp as guerrillas on the outside fought to take back the Philippines. The camp commandants were civilians plucked from town, a remarkable Japanese officer who saves the internees' lives, and a vicious, demoted lieutenant. Natalie’s diary is a fascinating, real-life view of wartime captivity and a gripping tale of courage, tenacity, and hope.
The original art, entitled "The Double Fence," was drawn by Fern Harrington Miles in 1942. To read about Fern and other prison artists interned with Natalie Crouter, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-artist-credits.
Forbidden Diary: True WWII Prison Survival Story
1942 - Episode 8 Epilogue: Interview with MacArthur Memorial Archivist
Jim Zobel, archivist at the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial, talks about the museum’s fascinating civilian POW artifacts. The MacArthur historian and author explains why Natalie believed that America was coming to the rescue and what was really happening--why MacArthur's troops retreated to Bataan and MacArthur went to Corregidor. In this fascinating interview, Zobel also describes what life was like under Japanese occupation, how soldiers were treated in Japan’s military, and why Filipinos sided with America.
On September 30, 2023 the MacArthur Memorial Museum, in Norfolk, VA, will open a military and civilian POW exhibit entitled, The Price of Unpreparedness: POWs in the Philippines during World War II. For more information go to www.macarthurmemorial.org.