A soldier on the battle for the Philippines, 1945

Witnessing the brutality of war and atrocities against civilians could overwhelm the most fair-minded of men. Sidney Diamond, an officer in the 82nd Chemical Battalion, wrote loving, humorous, and hopeful letters to his fiancée almost every day throughout his time in the army. Diamond enlisted in April 1942, interrupting his pursuit of a chemical engineering degree at City College in New York City. After training he was sent to the South Pacific in June 1943 and received a Silver Star and commendations for courage. In this letter, written on January 21, 1945, he expressed his reactions to the horrors he witnessed as US forces pushed the Japanese out of the Philippines:

Sometimes, while slapping away in the jungles there arose the great big "What the hell am I in this for" — Well — I know now — Regulations prohibit atrocity stories in mail but for unmitigated brutality — barbarism — cruelty — the Japanese take the grand prize — Every time we enter a town the Filipinos turn out with tears of joy . . . I’m glad we’ve helped these people and hope we can drive the enemy out of the Philippines quickly.

This is one of the last letters that Diamond wrote. On January 29, 1945, he was killed by a Japanese mortar during an assault on Fort Stotsenburg, north of Manila.

Excerpt

There is one point though that I’d like to bring out — Perhaps you’ll understand —

Sometimes, while slapping away in the jungles there arose the great big

"What the hell am I in this for" — Well — I know now — Regulations prohibit atrocity stories in mail but for unmitigated brutality — barbarism — cruelty — the Japanese take the grand prize — Every time we enter a town the Filipinos turn out with tears of joy and a great shout of "Mabachai" which means — "Long Life," Good Luck or something — They won’t let you do a thing for yourself — They’ll assist in digging holes and unloading troops [illegible strikeout] "Victory" with the accompanying V of the fingers is by word—

Sometimes [illegible strikeout] I’d pass an old man who still didn’t comprehend that there’d been a change — Stelle I’d choke with fury when he’d take off his hat and bow down — as they were forced to do towards Nip officers & men — or when I’d give a kid a piece of candy and ask him his name — he’d reply "Hai" which is nip for "Yes sir" —

So far we’ve been with the foward elements and on many occasions have been the first American troops into a village — [illegible strikeout] "Guerillias" would meet us — then people would come with food — and happy smiles —

Emotions are difficult to transcribe on paper but I’m glad I’m here — I’m glad we’ve helped these people and hope we can drive the enemy out of the Philippines quickly —

A complete transcript of this letter is available here.