Southwestern Collection

Entry from the secret diary of Frank Fujita, detailing Allied bombing raids againstJapan. Courtesy of the Oral History Program, University ofNorth Texas. In March 1942, a unit of Texas National Guardsman—Texas's 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment, 36th Division, later called the "Lost Battalion"—was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Java. Most of the men in the Lost Battalion spent the remainder of World War II laboring on the Burma-Thailand "Death Railway." But the men in E Battery, also taken prisoner by the Japanese, were split off from the rest of the group. These men also spent the war years as prisoners, first on Java, and then at Camp Fukuoka No. 2 on the small island of Koyagi Shima, in the harbor near Nagasaki, Japan. Like their counterparts in the rest of the Lost Battalion, the men in E Battery were routinely slapped and beaten by their captors; they lived in crowded barracks with poor sanitary conditions and were provided no food unless they earned it through labor that was strenuous and dangerous; they suffered from hunger, malnutrition, and resulting illnesses. Yet, most of these men survived the harsh treatment of the Japanese to return home to their West Texas towns after the war. The story of E Battery comes out of Depression-era West Texas, which shaped the characters and outlooks of the men. Kelly Crager, in his article "God Knows What's Going to Happen to Us": The Lost Battery of Texas's "Lost Battalion" during World War II on page 1 of this issue of the Quarterly, tells their previously untold story and describes the factors that combined to help the men of E Battery survive. Southwestern CoiUcäon 70Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly The TSHA has signed two contracts recently. On May 5, the contract with the Texas Almanac was signed, and on May 14, the contract between the Association and the University of North Texas was signed. Dallas Morning News publisherJim Moroney announced that the Almanac , the TexasAlmanac.com website, and the Almanac archives would be donated to the TSHA, stating, "We are pleased to have found a great match and a great home for the Texas Almanac ... a natural fit with the Texas State Historical Association's 110-year history and tradition. Our decision allows The News to focus more on our core business—serving readers with important news and information and providing advertisers with products to achieve their marketing goals." The two editors ofthe Almanac , Elizabeth Cruce Alvarez and Robert Plocheck, will now be employees of the TSHA. The first edition of the Texas Almanac was published by the Galveston News in January 1857, and an edition was published each year through 1873, except for 1866. The 1873 issue was the last nineteenth-century edition, and it was not until 1904 that publication of the Almanacwas resumed , by the Dallas MorningNews, which had been established in 1885 as a North Texas branch of the Galveston News. Additional issues followed in 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1914. Another gap in the series came about with World War I; in 1925 the present series was begun, with annual editions until 1929, when the Great Depression resulted in a biennial cycle for the publication, a schedule that has been followed since. In its 151-year history , the Texas Almanac has become a recognized reference book on industry , commerce, natural resources, history, government, population, and other subjects relating to the political, civic, and economic development of Texas. Copies ofthe Almanacwill continue to be available to book dealers, libraries , and individuals through TSHA's distributor, Texas A&M University Press, at http://www.tamu.edu/upress; or, 800/826-891 1. The signing of the contract with UNT was accomplished with congratulatory and thank you remarks from UNT president Gretchen M. Bataille; Gayle Strange, chair ofthe UNT Board ofRegents; Michael Monticino , associate dean ofarts and sciences; and TSHA president Fran Vick. TSHA board member Watson Arnold was present, as were past presidents Randolph B. (Mike) Campbell and George Green; Donald Chipman was also present, as was Richard McCaslin, author of our recendy published history, At tL· Heart of Texas: One Hundred Years oftL· Texas State Historical Association. After thanking...