GOLD BRAID AND BLOOD
The Story of Felix Powell, P.O.W.
Heroes by the thousands have passed through the wards of the Carl Vinson Medical Center in Dublin. This is a story of one of those ordinary men who, when his time came, exhibited the courage and fortitude which so typifies the American spirit of freedom. Felix Powell was born to be a sailor or so his mother told him. His granddaddy encouraged him by calling him admiral. Felix was a typical country boy of the thirties. His father's folks were from Treutlen County. Most of his free time was spent playing marbles and fishing and swimming in the biggest body of water he knew, the Ohoopee River, near his boyhood town of Norristown. Felix was a star basketball player for the perennially powerful Adrian Red Devils. As he grew older he dreamed of becoming a sailor and perhaps wearing the gold braid on his dress whites. But never in his dreams did he ever fathom the bloodshed he was about to witness.
Felix, fresh out of high school, enlisted in the Navy in the late 30s. Seaman Powell volunteered to serve in the Asiatic Fleet, also known as the "Suicide Fleet". His first assignment was aboard the "U.S.S. New Mexico" in 1940 at Pearl Harbor. As 1941 progressed rumors of war ran rampant throughout the fleet. Most people remember December 7, 1941. In the days that followed Felix's Powell's "Hell on Earth" was just about to begin. Felix was assigned as a Fireman 1st Class at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Phillipine Islands. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japaneese launched a vicious attack on the islands. From their shipboard perch they witnessed the horrible death and daily destruction of Manilla.
Soon the Phillipines fell into the hands of the Japaneese. Powell, at that time, was stationed in a fortification known as Fort Hughes. Nearly every American on the islands was taken prisoner. The captors allowed the men to bring only the clothes on their backs. Their possessions were plundered. The prisoners were immediately put to work burying the dead and assembling military supplies. Many times his fellow Americans had to be placed in mass graves in bomb craters with little or no cover. The men worked all day with little rest and even less food and water. Felix couldn't sleep for thinking of food and water. Oh what he would give to get some of his mamma's cooking. When word of his capture got back to Adrian, his mother, his sister Delia, and Claudie Thompson were busy preparing jars of pickled cucumbers. Food half eaten by the guards and even catsup mixed with water were real treats. In the early days the prisoners had to use iodine to help purify their drinking water which was often mixed with bath water.
The prisoners were then herded in ships like cattle. Some of the men died due to the extreme heat. Others, like Peter Fred Larsen of Dublin, were struck by friendly fire in unmarked prison ships. Some of the transport pens were covered with manure, which reminded Felix of his mule lot back in Norristown. Powell and his mates were taken to Corrigador where the food situation was a little better, but not much. There the lucky ones found blankets to steal. Felix and his buddies patched up an old garbage can with tin can lids for a water container, the envy of the entire camp. Rain was sometimes a blessing, for drinking water and taking baths, and sometimes a curse, when it was cold and no one had any dry clothes.
The American prisoners were forced to participate in the "March of Humiliation" through the streets of Manilla. Grateful Filipinos showered the Americans with candy, bananas, and cooked eggs. The guards mashed as many as the could, punishing those who tried to bend down and pick up the gifts. The march began to take its toll on the "long legged" boy from Adrian who never had any trouble running up and down the basketball courts. Powell was taken to Cabanatuan Camp # 3. Next was Pasay Concentration Camp, the home of "the White Angel." "The White Angel" was no angel. He his fellow goons "Cherry Blossom", " The Wolf", and "Pistol Pete" were among the most brutal war criminals. They were eventually prosecuted for the crimes of reprehensible brutality. At Pasay, Powell was sentenced to be executed by firing squad with 28 other men. The man who had caused the disturbance was executed instead and Felix's life was spared. But what life? By now Felix, a six foot tall man, weighed only 98 pounds and for many months had no shoes. Food scraps were prized among the prisoners. Little things like the man he met from Lyons, Georgia, kept Felix going, living - just surviving.
Felix returned to Cabanatuan Camp # 1 where he remained until the end of 1944. In 1945 the Japanese government moved thousands of prisoners to the Japanese Islands to work in the coal mines. Felix was stationed on the Island of Kyushu. Felix and the prisoners were forced to work day and night in the mines. For several days after the second atomic bomb was dropped, the men remained in the mines. Finally they came out and began the arduous task of finding their way back to friendly forces. American planes dropped relief supplies but they weren't quite enough. Felix witnessed the total destruction of Nagasaki, a sight he never forgot. Finally he and many others made it back aboard ship. Felix knew he was getting close to home when he recognized a man from Metter whom he played against in the region tournament in 1938. From Japan he was taken to the Islands of Okinawa and Guam. Doctors determined that Felix had developed tuberculosis in his left lung, probably a result of his long stay in the mines. Once again he was confined, this time to the hospital isolation ward. Finally in October of 1945 Felix spotted the Golden Gate Bridge. There was one more bridge he wanted to see. That was the Route 80 bridge near Thompson's store on the Ohoopee. But fifteen more months of hospitalization was in order. Powell spent time in Oakland and New York hospitals, with a too short stay at the Naval Hospital in Dublin. Fifty years later Felix Powell is back in the Vinson V.A. Medical Center in Dublin.
Felix Powell wrote of his days in the war in his unpublished 560 page manuscript, "Brush Harbor" or "Gold Braid and Blood." The next time you pass by the V.A. Hospital and see the American flags, thank Felix Powell and the thousands of Americans who have been inside those brick walls and who fought, died, and survived to protect our most precious freedoms.
Heroes by the thousands have passed through the wards of the Carl Vinson Medical Center in Dublin. This is a story of one of those ordinary men who, when his time came, exhibited the courage and fortitude which so typifies the American spirit of freedom. Felix Powell was born to be a sailor or so his mother told him. His granddaddy encouraged him by calling him admiral. Felix was a typical country boy of the thirties. His father's folks were from Treutlen County. Most of his free time was spent playing marbles and fishing and swimming in the biggest body of water he knew, the Ohoopee River, near his boyhood town of Norristown. Felix was a star basketball player for the perennially powerful Adrian Red Devils. As he grew older he dreamed of becoming a sailor and perhaps wearing the gold braid on his dress whites. But never in his dreams did he ever fathom the bloodshed he was about to witness.
Felix, fresh out of high school, enlisted in the Navy in the late 30s. Seaman Powell volunteered to serve in the Asiatic Fleet, also known as the "Suicide Fleet". His first assignment was aboard the "U.S.S. New Mexico" in 1940 at Pearl Harbor. As 1941 progressed rumors of war ran rampant throughout the fleet. Most people remember December 7, 1941. In the days that followed Felix's Powell's "Hell on Earth" was just about to begin. Felix was assigned as a Fireman 1st Class at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Phillipine Islands. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japaneese launched a vicious attack on the islands. From their shipboard perch they witnessed the horrible death and daily destruction of Manilla.
Soon the Phillipines fell into the hands of the Japaneese. Powell, at that time, was stationed in a fortification known as Fort Hughes. Nearly every American on the islands was taken prisoner. The captors allowed the men to bring only the clothes on their backs. Their possessions were plundered. The prisoners were immediately put to work burying the dead and assembling military supplies. Many times his fellow Americans had to be placed in mass graves in bomb craters with little or no cover. The men worked all day with little rest and even less food and water. Felix couldn't sleep for thinking of food and water. Oh what he would give to get some of his mamma's cooking. When word of his capture got back to Adrian, his mother, his sister Delia, and Claudie Thompson were busy preparing jars of pickled cucumbers. Food half eaten by the guards and even catsup mixed with water were real treats. In the early days the prisoners had to use iodine to help purify their drinking water which was often mixed with bath water.
The prisoners were then herded in ships like cattle. Some of the men died due to the extreme heat. Others, like Peter Fred Larsen of Dublin, were struck by friendly fire in unmarked prison ships. Some of the transport pens were covered with manure, which reminded Felix of his mule lot back in Norristown. Powell and his mates were taken to Corrigador where the food situation was a little better, but not much. There the lucky ones found blankets to steal. Felix and his buddies patched up an old garbage can with tin can lids for a water container, the envy of the entire camp. Rain was sometimes a blessing, for drinking water and taking baths, and sometimes a curse, when it was cold and no one had any dry clothes.
The American prisoners were forced to participate in the "March of Humiliation" through the streets of Manilla. Grateful Filipinos showered the Americans with candy, bananas, and cooked eggs. The guards mashed as many as the could, punishing those who tried to bend down and pick up the gifts. The march began to take its toll on the "long legged" boy from Adrian who never had any trouble running up and down the basketball courts. Powell was taken to Cabanatuan Camp # 3. Next was Pasay Concentration Camp, the home of "the White Angel." "The White Angel" was no angel. He his fellow goons "Cherry Blossom", " The Wolf", and "Pistol Pete" were among the most brutal war criminals. They were eventually prosecuted for the crimes of reprehensible brutality. At Pasay, Powell was sentenced to be executed by firing squad with 28 other men. The man who had caused the disturbance was executed instead and Felix's life was spared. But what life? By now Felix, a six foot tall man, weighed only 98 pounds and for many months had no shoes. Food scraps were prized among the prisoners. Little things like the man he met from Lyons, Georgia, kept Felix going, living - just surviving.
Felix returned to Cabanatuan Camp # 1 where he remained until the end of 1944. In 1945 the Japanese government moved thousands of prisoners to the Japanese Islands to work in the coal mines. Felix was stationed on the Island of Kyushu. Felix and the prisoners were forced to work day and night in the mines. For several days after the second atomic bomb was dropped, the men remained in the mines. Finally they came out and began the arduous task of finding their way back to friendly forces. American planes dropped relief supplies but they weren't quite enough. Felix witnessed the total destruction of Nagasaki, a sight he never forgot. Finally he and many others made it back aboard ship. Felix knew he was getting close to home when he recognized a man from Metter whom he played against in the region tournament in 1938. From Japan he was taken to the Islands of Okinawa and Guam. Doctors determined that Felix had developed tuberculosis in his left lung, probably a result of his long stay in the mines. Once again he was confined, this time to the hospital isolation ward. Finally in October of 1945 Felix spotted the Golden Gate Bridge. There was one more bridge he wanted to see. That was the Route 80 bridge near Thompson's store on the Ohoopee. But fifteen more months of hospitalization was in order. Powell spent time in Oakland and New York hospitals, with a too short stay at the Naval Hospital in Dublin. Fifty years later Felix Powell is back in the Vinson V.A. Medical Center in Dublin.
Felix Powell wrote of his days in the war in his unpublished 560 page manuscript, "Brush Harbor" or "Gold Braid and Blood." The next time you pass by the V.A. Hospital and see the American flags, thank Felix Powell and the thousands of Americans who have been inside those brick walls and who fought, died, and survived to protect our most precious freedoms.
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