Kim Yelas and her missionary parents lived in the Philippines and fled from the Japanese during World War II.

They were eventually captured and lived in several Philippine POW camps until they were finally set free by American soldiers.

Her parents were working in the mountainous northern region when the war broke out. Their village was at an altitude of 5,000 feet and most of the people were rice farmers.

They lived near a river her father named “The Champaign River” because it bubbled. The lowlanders in the southern part of the Philippines were taller and lighter skinned because of the Spanish occupation.

Those in their area were short and dark skinned. The women took a rectangular piece of woven material, wrapped it around them and caught it at their waist, like a skirt.

Her parents loved the mission, and the people were friendly and affectionate.

Yelas’ dad built a school and an English nurse lived with them. Her father hiked because he went to many out-stations where they carried the gospel.

He also had a shortwave radio and had been an Army chaplain and was familiar with guerilla warfare.

Yelas turned 2 on Dec. 11, shortly after Pearl Harbor was invaded. Her father was asked to give up his shortwave radio, but he refused, so the Japanese came after him.

Her mother had a backpack beside the door ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Her father had the foresight to build a cabin in the mountains and had buried cases of food for emergencies.

One day, the houseboy ran inside shouting, “Follow me, the Japanese are coming.”

They heard later that the Japanese shot holes in the altar thinking they were hiding behind it. They took everything of any value from their home and then burned the house.

For three months, they lived in their hidden cabin. They hid for 18 months in the jungle, moving every day or every night.

Yelas learned her ABCs and her numbers from a pack of cards and the Bible. Every morning, she woke up to look for her pet chicken’s egg, her breakfast.

One morning, her mother woke up to see a Python looking at her. They saw many snakes and monkeys while they were running.

When the Japanese finally found them, she remembers they sat her on a tree stump, and her mother kept saying, “Don’t cry.” She had long, curly hair so the first thing they did was set a rice bowl on her head and cut her hair.

It took 14 days to travel to Bontoc, the capital at that time. They never let her father lie down; they would tie him to a tree at night. At one time, he had to dig his own grave and they buried him alive. They laughed, then dug him up and moved on.

Then they took them to Baguio, the summer capital. Eventually, Yelas’ father was put on trial, but they decided he was not in the Army during the war, so he was not killed.

They put the family in a POW camp with 200 others. The men and women were separated and everyone had a job.

Her father was fortunate to work in the kitchen. Their daily ration was two handfuls of rice. Sometimes, he was able to bring her a bite of potato or something else.

Yelas’ marked her third, fourth and fifth birthdays in the POW camp. The teachers in the camp organized a school, but they had no books, pencils, or other supplies.

Yelas has a kindergarten diploma from the POW camp, as well as a doll, and a knitted Christmas stocking.

For her fifth birthday, she wanted a doll. Her mother asked for some ticking from one woman who had a mattress, she traded potato skins for colored embroidered floss, got yarn from a nurse for the hair and obtained some sheer material from someone who had a ballerina costume.

They were in that camp for two years. Some of the Japanese guards were nice; they sneaked brown sugar to her for her rice and, one time, she had some pollywogs and she wanted a leaf from the other side of the fence.

With sign language, she managed to tell the guard and he plucked the leaf and handed it to her. She said the guards loved children and they missed their own families.

Food rations had been cut down and both parents were down to 80 pounds. They gave Yelas some of their food to help her stay healthy.

During their imprisonment, they received one Red Cross box with dehydrated eggs and Spam and that was a day for celebration.

In the Manila camp, every day her father climbed to the top of one of the buildings and said “the Americans will come.”

One day, he came down and excitedly whispered, “I can hear American tanks. They are here.”

Then the sky was filled with parachutes; they looked like mushrooms to her. Japanese soldiers were shooting them down.

However, they kept coming and the tanks came to their rescue. When Mac- Arthur arrived at the POW camp, everyone bowed down, weeping.

The soldiers picked her up and threw her in the air and she screamed in fear. American soldiers looked so large to her because she was accustomed to seeing the small Filipinos.

One of the soldiers found out her dad was from Boston and asked if he would like anything special. He asked for “a chocolate candy bar.”

The next day, the soldier returned and opened his flack jacket to show Hershey candy bars lined all the way around his belt. Of course, in the Manila heat, they were melted, but her dad was in 7th heaven.

They were sent to the island of Leyte, where her family was fed and put on a ship to America. Their long ordeal was over.

When the war ended in 1946, her father was one of the first Americans they allowed to go back in. He took blankets, food and other supplies to those who helped them survive.

One unique experience happened when he was walking through the debris and rubble of the bank where they had kept a safe deposit box.

He happened to see the corner of an envelope sticking up and reached down for it. It was from their box and contained her grandmother’s engagement ring.

In 1947, Yelas’ parents returned to the Philippines again and ministered to the people there. They rebuilt the mission and later, her father became headmaster of the Episcopal school.

They served in the Philippines for 40 years.

Yelas lives with her husband in Tyler.