After the bombing of Pearl Harbor， we retreated to the Bataan Peninsula. Now I started to become a little concerned about my watch. With the enemy so close by， I felt foolish for bringing something that had been given to me by my mother. When we were told to surrender to the Japanese. I knew that my watch could become a Japanese souvenir. I couldn' t bring myself to throw it into the jungle， but I didn' t want to lose it to the enemy， either. I did what I could to outsmart my captors. I fastened the watch onto my left ankle and pulled my sock over it. For more protection， I put on a pair of leggings. Little did I know that I was about to embark on thirty-four months of playing a "hide the watch" game.
My unit surrendered， and then we were forced into the now infamous Bataan Death March. I wrapped the band around the watch and squeezed it into the small watch pocket of my pants. One day， while out on a work detail in northern Luzon， I was standing in the dump box of a truck， guarded by one of the ever present Japanese soldiers. His eyes were at just the right level to notice the lump in my small pocket. He reached out with a gloved hand and touched the spot. I froze and held my breath， fearing that I was about to lose my now prized possession. Surprisingly， the guard was not curious enough to ask about what I had in my pocket， and again the watch was safe for a while. Later， I managed to find a new chamois， and I swaddled the watch in it， concealing it in my shirt pocket. No matter how wet I became， the watch remained safe and dry.
The work detail lasted about seventy days. After that， it was back to another death march and on to Cabanatuan Prison Camp，where I remained for two and a half years. There I removed the band from the watch and wrapped the face in medical gauze and tape. It made a small， easy-to-hide package. At last， when my camp was liberated， the watch and I made the trip home. When I walked through the door， I learned that my mother had died. Now her watch， which had become a reminder of my own survival， was also a reminder of her life.