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Livio "Ollie" Olivotti
Story of
Liveo “Ollie” Olivotti, as told by his wife of nearly 50 years, Harriet
Liveo,
or “Ollie” was born in Merrill, Wisconsin on January 27, 1921. He attended
local schools, and after high school, he joined the National Guard, and then the
Army Air Force. Near the end of training as an aircraft mechanic at Chanute
Fields, Illinois, he heard that they were taking volunteers for the Philippines
and he wanted to travel and go to college (courtesy of the US Army Air Force) so
he signed up – sailed out of New York on the USS Grant and landed in Manila, but
soon was sent to Clark Field – that was 1940. After the Japanese bombed Clark
Field – Dec ’41, they stayed and tried to get some planes together, but on
December 24th, they were ordered to the Barrio (train station) and rode all
night – they didn’t know they were retreating to the Bataan Peninsula. Now he
lived in a hole in the ground, with a blanket for a bed. They were constantly
bombed, and had only one meal a day. He celebrated his 21st birthday there in
January 1942. On April 9, 1942 he heard they had surrendered, so several of
them headed for the hills and found a medical supply dump. He found a cartridge
belt and filled the pockets with medicines – things they would need for malaria,
etc. While scavenging there, they looked up and were surrounded by Japanese
with American 45 pistols. All the Americans were unarmed and the Japanese took
anything of value – watches, rings, anything gold, but not his medicines. They
joined the “death march”. When they were able to get water, Ollie would put
some iodine pills in it because he knew the water was contaminated. Food was a
handful of rice. The march for him was eleven days, and 5 handfuls of rice the
whole time.
He saw
hideous things – a native on his knees in praying position, his head lying on
the ground beside him. Some Americans would lose their minds and run for water,
only to be killed by the guards. They would also shoot down both sides of the
column so the GIs wouldn’t step out of line. First stop Camp O’Donnell. Ollie
saw a truck with men and tools so he jumped on – he wanted to get away from the
crowded conditions. He was taken to build a bridge in Japan. He could bathe in
muddy water, and sleep in a school house on a wooden floor. Some prisoners
cooked, so they had food. Here he has an attack of malaria , and the guard had
him go sit on the grass. Ollie took a whole handful of all the pills – next
thing he knew the guard was waking him to walk back to the school house. He
never had another attach of malaria all his life! One night a prisoner escaped
and the guards took 5 men that slept on each side of him and shot them, making
the other prisoners watch.
Next
stop, Cabanatuan. Here Ollie was on burial detail. He lost his best friend,
Norman Clegg of Chicago, there, but they got a bun to eat, full of weevils, but
food!
Next to
Manila, October 8, 1942. They boarded the Tottori Maru and sailed to Formosa.
Uneventful except the captain or "skipper" turned into the line of fire after
the American submarine the "Grenadine" sent 2 torpedoes toward the ship. so the
torpedoes went along side of the ship and "we were never hit." Everyone
was sick from the soup, it tasted like soap. So on top of everything else,
they all had dysentery. The railing became the bathroom. At Formosa,
the ship and all the prisoners had to be hosed down.
Always volunteering, the call came for 5 men to carry some
buckets. Ollie slipped on the wet gangplank and broke his shoulder.
Moaning and groaning in agony, sick with dysentery & beriberi, a Catholic
priest gave him his last rights. Soon an American, Dr. Shabart, came and
set his arm and in a few days the pain was gone. The problem was the
lice running up and down the canvas and wood splint.
Later he arrived in Mukden. Because of his arm, he
was sent to work in the kitchen at the MKK - Manchuria Tool and Die Factory.
The only brush with the japanese was when he forgot his precious soap and went
back to retrieve it when "tinko" lights out was called and he got caught.
Has solitary confinement in a 7x7 cell for about 2 weeks, standing at attention
all day. Ollie thinks that because a high ranking officer was coming to
visit, he was let out of the cage. Every night they were stripped and
searched for contraband, even at 20 degrees below zero (outside in the snow).
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