Irrepressible American humor bubbled up out of the Jap-infested bamboo jungles of Bataan Peninsula last week. It had broad sweeps of satire, muted undertones of tragedy.
Plane-hungry U.S. and Filipino troops under General Douglas MacArthur adopted a slogan: "Better buy one bomber than be buried on Bataan." They agreed to contribute as much as a month's pay per man to a "Bomber for Bataan" fund.
When news came through of the Japanese submarine attack near Santa Barbara, the grapevine telegraph slyly tapped out a suggestion: "General MacArthur should send a message to the commanding general of the Ninth Corps Area [which includes "air-raided"...
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