Author Reveals His Experience as a Child Prisoner of War

by Wavalene Kumler Tong ‘59 taken from Towers magazine, Spring 2009

Few who knew Curt Tong '56 when he was an Otterbein student or professor and basketball coach (1963-1972) knew about his life in the Philippine Islands. He rarely talked about his first 11 years in the Pacific, so it would surprise many to learn that he and his family spent over three years incarcerated by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Only recently has Curt begun to revisit those dreaded memories and to share them with family and friends.

The result is his recently published memoir, Child of War: Son of Angels, written from a child's perspective, aged 7 to 11 years old. His account describes the joys of island life prior to Pearl Harbor and the suffering, starvation, anxiety, as well as compassion and the occasional humor of imprisonment during WWII. From the character and leadership "styles" of the various Japanese commandants who governed them, to the conditions, camaraderie and struggles within the internee community, his story reveals that love was key to their efforts to survive. Also key to the story is the friendship with Carl B. Eschbach '26, a United Brethren missionary also stationed in the Philippines.
Life for the Tong family began in the Philippines when Curt's parents were missionaries to Davao, Mindanao, in 1931. There, Curt and his sisters (Eloise '54 and Annarae) were born. His mother, Margaret, and the children moved to the mountains of Luzon to attend school in 1941. They left their father, Walter, in Mindanao to continue serving the Filipinos and aborigine tribes.

After only three months of classes, the Philippine Islands were attacked, almost simultaneously with Pearl Harbor, and schooling ceased. Weeks later, Curt and his family surrendered with many other Americans and British as captives of the Japanese military.

While Curt's dad was interned in far-off Davao, Carl - known as Uncle B to the Tong children - became Curt's surrogate father for most of the war years. Fortunately for the Eschbach family, mother Ruth returned to the States with their children prior to the war. Uncle B was not only Curt's "father" but the chosen leader of the internees throughout captivity in three different concentration camps.

The prisoners were freed and returned to the United States when the Japanese were defeated in WWII. Influenced by surrogate father Carl, Curt and Eloise both attended Otterbein. Curt earned 12 varsity letters in baseball, football, and tennis, and led the baseball and football teams as captain his senior year. An ROTC at Otterbein, he served in the Air Force after graduation, undertaking pilot training and coaching the Strategic Air Command basketball team, which won the Air Force Tournament. While in the service in 1958, Curt married Wavalene "Jinx" Kumler Tong '59 in a ceremony officiated by Carl Eschbach and Walter Tong.

Returning to civilian life, Curt earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at Ohio State University while teaching and coaching at Bexley High School. In 1963, Curt became head basketball coach, assistant football coach, and professor of physical education at Otterbein, earning coaching honors and spearheading winning seasons until 1972.
In 1972, Curt left Otterbein for the University of Vermont, where he developed a graduate program in physical education. In 1973, he began a decade of coaching the men's basketball team for Williams College (Mass.), also coaching the women's tennis team and serving as chair of the physical education department. His last professional move was to Pomona College (Calif.) where he was the athletic director and taught creative writing from 1983 until retirement in 1998.

During numerous sabbaticals and throughout retirement, Curt traveled to teach and coach worldwide, most often in Asia, including Japan, China, and the Philippines.

In late October 2008, Curt, Eloise and Annarae returned to their birthplace. They were invited to represent their parents at the centennial celebration of the Davao United Church of Christ. The celebration honored the men and women who were instrumental in founding the parish and rebuilding the church after the war. This was a memorable trip, and the first time that Eloise had set foot on the islands since liberation in 1945. Not only were the trio honored in Davao as they celebrated the centennial, but they also visited Manila and Baguio, both sites of incarceration. Physically, much had changed, thereby making recognition of former landmarks a challenge. However, the delicious fruits, warm climes and generous, loving Filipinos had not changed.

Curt and Jinx have three children and seven grandchildren and are retired in Williamstown, Mass.