Object Analysis: WWII POW Diary

The diary kept by Captain Edward Lingo while in Japanese captivity in WWII.

Description:

Edward Lingo served as a captain in the 200th Coastal Artillery Regiment of the New Mexico National Guard and was taken prisoner by Japanese forces in the Philippines in April 1942. The Japanese subjected Lingo and his fellow American and Filipino prisoners to terrible abuse during their three years in captivity.

Captain Lingo survived the war and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He later passed away in 2001 at the age of 88. This journal provides a detailed description of his time as a prisoner of war.

Book I “And he came out alive” by Capt. Edward Lingo
(Courtesy of the New Mexico Military Museum)

Link to Capt. Lingo’s Original Diary

Link to the Transcript of Capt. Lingo’s Diary

Questions:

What was happening in the Pacific in 1941?

Why was the Philippines important to the US?

Why do you think the Japanese treated prisoners so poorly?

What challenges to survival did Captain Lingo and his fellow POWS face?

What does the diary tell us about Captain Lingo’s mental and physical state during his time as a Prisoner of War?

Remembering The Bataan Death March – NGEF
An NGEF Blog Post on Capt. Lingo’s experiences in Japanese Captivity.

The Bataan POW Nest of Sgt. Errett Lujan-Previously Featured in the National Guard Memorial Museum.