雷蒙德·巴裏/Raymond Barry
It was a seventeen-jewel Elgin in a locket-style case, and my mother bought it before she was married in September 1916.It was a typical watch of the era, functional yet decorative—a prized piece of jewelry for a woman of that time.When you pressed on the winding stem, the locket would spring open, exposing the face of the timepiece.The watch was given to me around the time I was thirteen or fourteen, and I had it converted into a wristwatch.For me, it was just another one of the things I owned.When I left for the service in April 1941, I took the watch with me.
My unit was sent to the Philippine Islands.On board ship, crossing the Pacific, I almost lost the watch after carelessly leaving it tied to a waterline while taking a shower.Thankfully, an honest GI found it and returned it.The watch still did not seem that special to me.It was just one of my practical possessions.
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.
I had the watch restored to its original case and added a chain identical totheoriginal.Onceagain,mymother’swatchwasadelicate ladies’locket-style watch.I gave it to my wife.Later, I found that my brother still had the original watch chain.When he heard that I had restored the watch, he gave me the chain.Now, eighty-four years after my mother bought it, my daughter wears the watch.It is still in working condition.
放在精美禮品盒裏的是一塊鑲有17顆寶石的“愛而近”牌手表，那是我的母親在1916年9月結婚前買的。那塊表極具時代感，功能齊全又有裝飾作用——對於當時的女性而言，那是一件非常珍貴的飾物。當你按一下發條鈕，小盒就會彈開，表盤便隨之露出。在我十三四歲時，母親將那塊表送給我，我讓人把它改造成了一塊手表。對我而言，那僅僅是另一件屬於我的物品。1941年4月，我離家參軍時，帶走了那塊表。
我們的部隊被派往菲律賓群島。在橫渡太平洋的海船上，我很粗心，在洗澡時將表係在吃水線上，險些丟掉。幸運的是，一位好心的美國兵發現了它，並將其歸還於我。當時，那塊表對我來說隻是一件物品。除此之外，似乎再沒有什麽特別之處了。
空襲珍珠港之後，我們退到巴丹半島。我開始關注我的手表了。敵軍如此臨近，我將母親給我的手表帶在身邊真是笨極了。當我們被告知要向日本投降時，我意識到我的手表可能會成為日本人的戰利品。我不忍將其扔進叢林，又不想其落入敵軍之手，我想靠智慧躲過逮捕人員。我將表拴在左腳踝上，用襪子蓋上。為了加強保護，我又穿了一雙護腿。想不到的是，從此我開始了一場長達34個月之久的“藏表”遊戲。
我們的部隊投降了，被迫進入現在臭名昭著的“巴丹死亡行軍”。我用帶子將表裹住，塞入短褲的小表袋裏。一天，我被遣往呂宋島北部進行分隊勞作，在一輛卡車的後鬥裏，我被一個始終都不離開的日本兵看守著。他的眼睛恰好看到了我小口袋的鼓包。他伸出一隻帶著手套的手摸了一下鼓包。我整個人都僵住了，屏住呼吸，恐怕會失去這件現今已很珍貴的物品。令人驚奇的是，守衛並沒有好奇地詢問我的口袋，我的表再一次安全了一段時間。之後，我想方設法找到了一件新的皮革，並將表放在裏麵，藏在了我的襯衣口袋裏。無論我的身體或衣服有多麽潮濕，這塊表都始終完好無損並保持幹燥。
持續了大概70天的分工勞作後，我們再一次回到死亡行軍中，步行到了卡巴那端戰俘集中營。我在這裏待了兩年半。我取下表的繃帶，用藥、紗布和膠帶裹住表麵，這樣的包既小又易於藏匿。最終，我所在的集中營得到解放，我帶著表回到家。進門後，我得知母親已經去世了。如今，這塊表讓我回憶著自己的劫後重生，也讓我回憶著母親的一生。
我將表放回到它原來的盒子中，並加了一條與原來相同的鏈子。母親的表再次成為一款精美的女士紀念表，我將它送給了妻子。後來，我發現我的兄弟還保留著原先的表鏈。當聽說我要重修這塊表時，他將表鏈送給了我。如今，在母親買這塊表的84年之後，我的女兒帶上了那塊表。它還一直在工作著。
1.那塊表極具時代感，功能齊全又有裝飾作用——對於當時的女性而言，那是一件非常珍貴的飾物。
2.無論我的身體或衣服有多麽潮濕，這塊表都始終完好無損並保持幹燥。
3.如今，在母親買這塊表的84年之後，我的女兒帶上了那塊表。它還一直在工作著。
1.convert into: If you convert the trousers into a skirt, nobody could identify it.
2.hold one’s breath: If you don’t want to be detected, you must hold your breath.