[excerpts] ...

Red Cross Parcels
Two shipments of American Red Cross parcels arrived in our camp. The first was in July 1944, when 200 parcels arrived for Americans only. Each parcel weighed 50 pounds and was divided into four sections, each containing one pound of powdered milk, four small cans of butter, three cans of Spam or Prem, one pound of cheese, sugar, raisins or prunes, Ration‐D chocolate, four packs of American cigarettes, and assorted cans of jam, salmon, liver paste, and powdered coffee. We were wealthy! But in a situation like ours, wealth is to be shared. Our British friends said that there was hardly a person in camp who had not received something from those parcels, thanks to American generosity.

In January 1945, when the Japanese issue of food was at its lowest point, an even larger shipment arrived: 14 cart‐ loads, each cart carrying over 100 parcels. Tears, unashamed, streamed down the internees’ faces as they looked on in utter amazement. Each person in camp received one of these parcels: British, American, Belgian, etc. What a day! How rich we all were to have 50 pounds of good American foodstuffs—and not even rationed unless we disciplined ourselves to ration our own supply.

To us grown‐ups who hadn’t tasted milk for months and months, the powdered milk was a heavenly treat. The Spam was a welcome change from what little mountain goat and horse meat (at least we suspected it was) we had been given recently. I couldn’t remember tasting anything so good as those Ration‐D chocolates and the powdered coffee! I had never been a tea drinker, so I pounced on the coffee. The cans were only small, one‐ounce size, and some of the contents had solidified, but we chipped out pieces for our much anticipated cup.

Before too many days had passed, I had to decide on my coffee strategy. If I drank it as strong as I liked it, the coffee would last only so long; if I made it weak, it would, of course, last longer. I decided that I would much rather have it the way I liked it for a shorter period of time than to have it weak for a longer period of time and not really enjoy it any of the time.

Most of us set aside a “rainy day “ parcel against the time when food might be even more scarce than it was now, since we had no idea how much longer we would be detained.

Besides food, clothing, toothbrushes, and toothpaste came in. What a luxury to brush my teeth with a good brush once more. And shoe polish! Not too many in camp still had shoes, but I was one of the fortunate ones. What a luxury to be able to polish my shoes! While the intrinsic value of all these things was considerable, particularly in that situation, their value as a morale builder was beyond calculation. We had been told that our country was on the verge of collapse, but these parcels were ample evidence that this was far from true. The spirit of the camp rose perceptibly after those parcels arrived. I know every internee would join me in saying thanks to all who had any share in sending them to us, and thanks to the Japanese officials who had allowed them to be brought in.

I received one other parcel in May 1945, from a person whom I had never met—a Mrs. Bataille from Tongshan. It contained one and a half pounds of bacon and one and a half pounds of crackers. The note on the card attached to the parcel expressed the hope that the parcel would arrive in good condition and extended best wishes. Thank you, Mrs. Bataille. May God reward you for this “cup of cold water” given in His name.

[further reading]
http://weihsien-paintings.org/books/KeptInSafeguard-MaryScott/MaryScott(web).pdf

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