User:Rudraksha/POW

An Interview with Robert (Bob) Dowding

Robert Dowding, is a WWII veteran, retired postmaster and Author of “A Few Survived” – his autobiography. He lives in the quiet Nebraskan town of Seward where he was born 85 years ago.

1) When and where were you born? I was born on 17 November 1918 in Seward, Nebraska

2) What was your childhood like? Well let’s see, I spent most of my days just playing around with my friends and younger brothers. In the summer we would go fishing in the pond and in the winter, when it froze solid we would enjoy ice-skating.

3) From what I have read in your book, you seem to have been rather sharp as a child. You talk about skipping forth grade and receiving the Rotary club award for having the highest grade in your class. Did you have any childhood goals or ambitions? No. I can’t think of anything off hand.

4) As a child, who were your role models? I guess I’d say my dad. He was a mailman. Yeah, he was a pretty good guy. I remember he would take me out for a chocolate milkshake at the drugstore and then we would go fishing.

5) I understand you joined the army at 21. Why did you decide to join the army? Well I was working in the grocery store for one dollar a day and I could make more in the army so I joined up.

6) What was your job while you were in the army? I was a clerk typist in the office at Fort Douglas, Utah and then when we were restationed in the Philippines I work in the machinegun pit. We had a 50 calibre (machinegun) we used to shoot the Japanese planes.

7) I understand you were captured in the Philippines. How was your regiment taken? General Macarthur left the Philippines and went to Australia leaving General Wainwright in command of the Philippine islands. The Japanese captured Corregidor and threatened to kill all the Americans on it if Wainwright did not surrender the Philippines and so we were surrendered to the Japanese.

8) What was your time as POW like? Well we didn’t get much food, which was really hard, just some old rice. We worked in the rice fields all day while we were in the Philippines and then we got transported to Japan to work in the factories.

9) In your book you wrote about the hardships of the depression, war and of your time as a POW. What was the single most difficult part of your time as a POW? Well probably the toughest time was when we went from Philippines to Japan on a ship where there wasn’t even enough room to lay down and we only got cup of rice in the morning and a cup of rice in evening.

10) In your book you speak of God quite a lot. Did faith play a part in keeping you motivated while you were a POW? Yes. I prayed a lot and God kept me going. I had a lot of faith that the Lord would help through and he did.

11) After the war, what did you do? (Before the war) I had taken a civil service test. I hoped to get a job as a mailman. And one month after I left the army I did, I joined the postal service and worked there for 30 years.

12) What is the most important thing in your life? Well I guess that I have a good wife Martha who is a good cook and takes good care of me.