The Iron Gates of Santo Tomas A Firsthand Account of an American Couple Interned by the Japanese in Manila, 1942-1945

A gripping eyewitness account of internment during World War 2 in the Philippines. Emily and husband Charles Van Sickle were trapped in Manila after its surrender to the Japanese in 1942. They were incarcerated in the vast 48-acre campus of Santo Tomás University which was enclosed on three sides by high concrete walls and iron bars. Van Sickle offers a fascinating, detailed and insightful account of life at Santo Tomás. The prisoners -- 5000 at the outset -- were thrown on their own resources for food and the simplest types of comfort. As they suffered together, the internees managed to form a community of sorts that sustained them until their liberation in February, 1945.