Ann Wohlhueter of Stafford County spent three years of her childhood in a Japanese detention center during World War II. By Arch Di Peppe

Date published: 4/16/2005

FOR A 9-YEAR-OLD American girl finishing three years in a Japanese detention center during World War II, liberation was sweet.

"The [U.S.] soldiers gave us their C-rations, and we got sick from eating the chocolate. Our stomachs couldn't handle the food after being on such a limited diet for so long," remembers Ann Wohlhueter of Stafford County. Now 69, she looks back at the years she spent in captivity during the Japanese occupation of Manila in the Philippines.

Before the Second World War, Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was considered one of the most beautiful cities in Asia and was often described as the "Pearl of the Orient." Ann Wilson Wohlhueter was born there in 1936. Her father, Eugene Wilson, was from Illinois and went to Manila as a teacher. He later joined the civil service. Her mother, Josephine Hemenway, was from the Philippines and was a secretary. Ann was an only child.

Manila was bombed by the Japanese on the same day they attacked Pearl Harbor. It was Monday in the Philippines, since that country was on the other side of the international date line.

On Dec. 25, 1941, Gen. Douglas MacArthur declared Manila an open city, which meant there would be no resistance to enemy takeover. The Japanese were quick to occupy the city, and then they were faced with the question of what to do with the thousands of American and European civilians.

"I was almost 6 years old," recalls Wohlhueter. "Notices were sent to the various neighborhoods to be ready to be picked up by the Japanese. People in our area were picked up on Jan. 6, 1942. We were told we could only bring clothing for three days. Their calendar must have been different from ours because they held us for 37 months," she says.

The Japanese decided to use Santo Tomas University in Manila as a detention center. Santo Tomas was founded in 1611 and was the oldest university in Asia. It comprised numerous buildings in a four-square-block area, and the campus was surrounded by high walls.

Date published: 4/16/2005