Earlienne Rillo and Monica Gomez

Earlienne Rillo and Monica Gomez

Corona

US History Period 5

3/28/13

Gerdy Ungerer

POW

1942-1945

Gerdy Ungerer

The coal miner’s daughter, along with the others, was riding in a cramped, open truck, with no food or water for the duration of the whole trip, eight long, antagonizing hours under the sun. This wasn’t her worry, however. A diamond cross that hung on a chain around her neck was being eyed by one of the Japanese guards and she was afraid that it too, like many of her things, would be taken away by them. Surprisingly, the Japanese driver showed her a catholic gesture to tell her that her necklace was safe. This gave the coal miner’s daughter hope as she was taken to Camp Bangkinang. This would be the camp that she would spend the majority of WWII in.

Gerdy Ungerer was born on June 11, 1928. She lived in Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra, in the town Sawah Lunto. She was Dutch Portuguese, which would later be the reason why she was sent to camp. Her father was in charge of of the production of the coalmine, thus making Gerdy the “coal miner’s daughter”. His job, being one of respectable status and high wage, gave Gerdy, as she recalls, a “spoiled life”. She would always be driven to and from school by her chauffeur. She also had a new dress for every Sunday of the year. When she was reminiscing of her youth, a small smile appeared as she told of how the other children would, behind her back, teasingly call her “the princess of Sawah Lunto”.

In 7th grade, Gerdy was sent to an expensive catholic school on the island once called Java now known as Jakarta. Every morning, she would go to church. In class, she would learn things such as basic etiquette. However, this school life was interrupted, when WWII started.. She had to take a ship to coaster back to Sumatra. Gerdy ended up being the only woman on the ship, and because they were worried about her well being and the possible actions of the men on the ship, she had to stay in the captain’s cabin for the duration of the trip, which ended up being five days, to protect her from the other passengers onboard.

On March 1942, she, along with 2400 women and children, were sent to the Padang Camp. When a “7” earthquake hits, Gerdy tightly held onto a pole. The only casualty of the earthquake was a woman who died in the kitchen. After the earthquake, the cap is no longer seen as suitable, and the women and children are moved to a former jail. The jail they were moved to, was only meant to hold 600 men but ended up holding 2400 women, children and 10 orphan boys from the age 15 to 17. The women and children were obviously cramped in the jail and to make matters worse, the jail only contained one bathroom and three wells.

She later moved from the jail to Camp Bangkinang in a 5 hour trip in open trucks. She received a glimpse of hope from the Japanese soldier, who was, surprisingly, catholic, reassured her that her that her necklace was safe. When arriving to the camp, they were separated into blocks. The camp had blocks A, B, C, D, and E. Gerdy was placed in Block C. The camp’s perimeter was surrounded with a 3-meter high wall topped with barbed wire. The camp was built of bamboo, with wooden floors. The prisoners were given no mattress or pillow and had to sleep on the floor. A group of about one hundred women and boys were put to hard, manual labor. Women and boys cut trees and planted cassava and yucca roots. Some, in desperation, and hunger, ate the roots. Most of the women were not caught because if you leave at least one root on the plant, it stays alive. One lady had mistakenly taken all of the roots, and the plant died, so she was caught and then was beat and kicked to the ground. The pain was so severe that it caused her to urinate in her pants.

However, with these harsh realities, there were also glimpses of joy and hope. The same Japanese driver, who showed her the catholic gesture, would later give her a package of dried fish. This was a delicacy because the camp’s usual meal consisted of rice and tapioca flout which when cooked was nicknamed “blubber”. Other things that brought happiness to the camp were a guitar and ukulele they had brought with them to the camp. At night, there were sing-a-longs under the moon, which shone so brightly that one could read under its light. One night, by request, Gerdy sang “Lady of Spain” and her aunt, reminded of her husband, cried. A boy who also listened to Gerdy sing, fell in love with her when he heard her voice. The Japanese guards also enjoyed these sing-a-longs and even taught them a Japanese song.

One story that Gerdy will never forget is when she snuck into the jungle after the war and found a tiger’s nest. She was wandering and found an obscurity in the trees and bushes so she went to investigate, when she walked in, she found this huge circular room, with a radius of about eight feet all around. She was in awe. She found a bunch of tiger fur and took it home with her as a souvenir. When she arrived back at camp, she excitingly shoed her mother and told her of how she acquired the fur. Her mother grew very angry with her for doing something so dangerous, what would have been of her if the tiger and cubs had come back to the nest? Her mother made her feel as though she had to trash the fur, so she did. The decision to do so is something, which Gerdy regrets to this day.

Among the Japanese was one Korean guard, nicknamed “Cyclops” because of his size (he was 6’2). Gerdy, who was smuggling a package, which she traded with the Indonesian for, was told by another Dutch girl “slanted eyes is watching you”. Gerdy then hid in the bathrooms with her package. Cyclops found Gerdy, but did not find the smuggled package. This was because Gerdy threw the package to the stall behind her. Luckily, the girl in that stall gave it to Gerdy’s mom and didn’t steal it. This was very lucky for Gerdy’s family and honorable for the other girl considering how scarce food was for the Dutch. However, the guard knew what he saw and did not believe Gerdy. He yanked her away and she was beat five times, her right ear bleeding, and she had to stand in the corner. Two boys constantly checked on her but she waved them away, scared that they too would be beaten like her if they were seen talking to her.

Gerdy had to deal with this and so much more during her stay in the camp, but she pulled through all of it, and eventually, the war ended. When the news that the war was over reached the camp, a lady pulled out a Dutch flag she had smuggled in her pillow case and waved it proudly. After the war, while people were waiting to be transported, food was dropped from planes. Her grandmother was one of the first to be transported, in August. Gerdy however, was one of the last and was transported in November. In 1945, she was moved to a different camp, more dedicated to her safety from the English and Indians from the Indonesian Revolution. Here, she met, yet again, her soon-to-be husband, Daniel. Daniel recognized her from when his sister had introduced them in High School, but Gerdy had to be reminded. Soon they started spending a lot of time together at the camp and finally Daniel made a move ad kissed her. These we happy times for her. Sadly, she then learned that her grandmother did not survive. She was sick while in camp and with them given such a terrible diet, she did not have the strength to pull through. Gerdy had tried to give her grandmother all of the food that she could, but even with her sacrifices, her grandmother had passed.

Although the war was over, it still had lingering effects. Gerdy’s diet, from feeding her grandmother before herself, had seriously stunted her growth. Three years after the war, she still had the recurring dream of a Japanese soldier chasing her. 16 years ago, when she started talking about her experiences, the nightmares returned. However, they went away after she shared her experiences more. An MRI scan in 1986 showed that she has a crack in her skull that has never healed. She now has to walk with a cane or use a wheelchair. She has had over 14 surgeries and has died twice during surgery. She also has a pacemaker #5 to help her heart.

Gerdy later married Daniel and has three kids; Dave, Andy, and Anita. They were all very successful in their careers. She lives in Oceanside, retired with Daniel. Many years later, on a return trip to Indonesia and Sawah Lunto, she was invited to the mayor’s and news of her return was spread to everyone and even covered by the newspaper. She talks with many people still and even writs to the queen of Holland. She shares her experiences and she shares her faith. When asked what kept her strong during all those years she says that it was her faith. She says “Never give up. Believe in yourself. Believe in God.”