After the U. S. Fleet left Manila Bay in late December, 1941, the only contact the besieged allies had with the outside world was by means of an occasional submarine. All of these support and supply trips, except one, were conducted by Asiatic Fleet submarines, based in the East Indies or Australia. The one exception was when the Trout (SS-202) came out from the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor in January, 1942. She was loaded with 3,500 rounds of desperately needed 3-inch anti-aircraft ammunition which was successfully delivered on February 3. As a substitute for the weight removed, two tons of gold bullion worth over two million dollars and eighteen tons of silver pesos valued at $360,000 were placed in the bilges of the Trout. This was part of the treasure hidden by the authorities prior to the Japanese occupation of Manila. All available gold bullion, silver pesos, Philippine securities, and official U. S. documents had been transported to the caves of Corregidor for safekeeping. The only portion of the treasure evacuated from Corregidor was this unplanned load carried by the Trout.
After the surrender of Bataan on April 9, it was obvious that Corregidor's days were numbered. Excess materials, such as submarine spare parts, torpedoes, rifles, ammunition, pistols, etc., were destroyed or dumped into the sea to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. The commodity which had by far the greatest value, of course, was the 350 tons of silver pesos. The idea of blowing up the caves was quickly abandoned in favor of a proposal to make recovery considerably more difficult for the Japanese-namely, by dumping in deep water. Caballo Bay, which lies south of the main part of Corregidor and is formed by the crescent-shaped tail of this island and nearby Caballo Island, was ideally suited for this purpose. The water in the central part of the bay ranges from 110 to 120 feet deep and the main mountainous bulk of Corregidor to the north provided some protection against observation by the Japanese on Bataan.
The treasure to be dumped was stowed in cloth bags containing 2,000 pesos ($1,000) each and placed in wooden boxes which measured 14"x14"x24", each holding three bags, or 6,000 pesos ($3,000) per box. Filled with money, the boxes weighed about 300 pounds apiece - a good load for two men. It was imperative, of course, that all operations be conducted after dark in order to avoid discovery by the Japanese who would have immediately opened up with their heavy artillery or bombers. When the concentrated weight of each box is considered, it can readily be understood why this silver became scattered over so wide an area. Although not directed at this particular operation, the Japanese constantly maintained a harassing cannon fire from Bataan and the general direction of Cavite against Fort Hughes on Caballo and the fortifications on the main part of Corregidor. This shell fire added an additional note of urgency to the operation.
Thus, shortly before the U. S. and Filipino forces surrendered on May 6, 1942, a king's ransom, estimated at between 14,000,000 and 17,000,000 pesos (or 7-8½ million dollars) was dumped in the deep water south of Corregidor. More than one fourth of this silver was recovered by the Ship Salvage Group of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in 1945 and 1946. Not so well known is the fact that the Japanese Army, likewise, succeeded in recovering a portion of this currency soon after it was scuttled. Nine U.S. Navy divers, captured on the fall of Corregidor, were forced to dive and assist in this recovery by the Japanese. At no time were the Japanese naval divers employed on this venture, even when they appeared in the area some months after the surrender to conduct salvage operations on the Dewey Drydock which had been scuttled in Mariveles Harbor by U.S. forces just prior to the fall of Bataan. Apparently the Japanese Army assumed full responsibility for the recovery of the silver.
By offering high wages the Japanese were able to hire eight Filipino divers and eight pumpmen. These divers were experienced in the shallow diving required around Manila Harbor; however, they had no previous experience in deep diving and were completely unfamiliar with the techniques of decompression which is essential for the prevention of the dreaded bends when diving in deep water. Although concerned by the depth of water, nevertheless they were attracted by the high wages and the urgent need to provide for their families. After they had agreed to dive, a native casco or barge was fitted out as a diving platform. This particular casco was about sixty feet long by twelve feet wide. It was typically flat-bottomed with tapered ends. The diving equipment available consisted of full diving helmets and dresses which had been in use for some time and one Navy shallow-water helmet of the Morse type. Diving air was supplied by an old manually operated U. S. Navy Mark III hand pump. All the diving air hose was overage. Although this equipment had been used without accident in the shallow diving around Manila Harbor, where the water never exceeded a maximum of 35 feet, it was definitely dangerous for the far greater strains involved in the forthcoming deep diving operations.
By the end of May, all preparations having been made, the casco was towed from Manila out to Caballo Bay and anchored. Another casco, fitted with a deckhouse, which was used as a living barge for the Filipinos was towed out at the same time and moored at Corregidor, North Dock, facing Bataan.
Captain Takiuti, of the Japanese Army Engineers from Army Headquarters in Manila, had been placed in charge of the silver recovery and a Mr. Yosobe acted as Salvage Master. Yosobe was a Japanese who had lived in the Philippines for many years and was married to a Filipino woman. At first the diving went fairly well and the initial nervousness of the divers quickly disappeared. They were, however, unable to explain the frequent severe headaches and the fatigue which plagued them on returning to the surface. What they failed to realize was that the maximum air capacity of the hand pump which they were using was barely satisfactory at a depth of ninety feet. At the 110-120-foot depths to which they were diving, there was insufficient air to properly circulate the full diving suits being used.
On one of the first dives the Filipinos located the wooden chests which were scattered along the bottom. Soon the boxes were being hoisted aboard the casco at the rate of several a day.
From the very start the operation was characterized by misfortune to all the participants except the Japanese. The lack of deep diving training created a tendency for the Filipino divers to remain on the bottom for longer and longer periods. The incidence rate of headaches, fatigue, and nausea increased. One day one of the divers was stricken with the bends a short time after surfacing. After a few hours of vigorous massage, the pain was relieved, although this is not normally the case. All diving was halted, while Yosobe and the Filipinos discussed this alarming new development. Unfortunately, the diver had gained relief by the simple expedient of massage which gave them all a false sense of security. This, coupled with Japanese insistence, resulted in a resumption of the diving operations after a two or three day rest.
Later, two more divers were stricken with severe cases of the bends. The first diver began to show the symptoms at about the time the second diver was beginning his ascent. Thoroughly alarmed at his appearance, Yosobe directed a vigorous massage using all available personnel not busy with the second diver. By the time the second diver reached the surface he, also, had preliminary symptoms of the bends. Within a short time both men had lost consciousness. They were rushed by fishing boat to the South Pier and hurriedly transferred to the hospital on Corregidor. Here again knowledge of the proper treatment was lacking and both men died in agony the next morning.
Thoroughly frightened by these developments, all the Filipino divers except one refused to do any further diving, even though the Japanese offered bonuses and a sizable increase in pay. The one courageous diver who persisted in diving had decided that the trouble lay in the inadequate air supply. He believed that if he switched to the Morse shallow-water hat, where the air was only required in the helmet and not the whole suit, the danger would be largely eliminated. His first few dives tended to confirm this conclusion, for he experienced none of the headaches and fatigue which had characterized the earlier diving. Unfortunately, the Filipinos were unfamiliar with this shallow-water type outfit. The Morse-type dress consists only of a helmet attached to a breastplate on which are located the necessary weights to sink the diver. Normally this outfit rests on the diver's shoulders without being strapped on. It was customary in the U. S. Navy, however, to run the life line and air hose beneath the left arm to prevent the outfit from being pulled off accidentally. This technique was not known to Yosobe or his Filipinos. As a consequence, while the diver was on the bottom, a few days later, either the tender accidentally pulled the helmet and breastplate off the diver's shoulders or he collapsed from over-exertion and lack of air. At any rate, the diver and the Morse hat became separated and the unfortunate man was never seen again. This third fatality concluded all diving by the Filipinos.
To date eighteen boxes of silver worth about $100,000 had been recovered. This small amount of silver merely whetted the Japanese desire to continue the operation and secure the remainder of this fortune. Although momentarily frustrated by the refusal of the thoroughly frightened Filipinos to carry on any further diving operations in this depth of water, Captain Takiuti immediately started looking around for other sources of divers. One obvious source was among the large number of C. S. Navy personnel captured on or before May 6. Both the submarine tender, Canopus (AS-9), and the submarine rescue ship, Pigeon (ASR-6) carried a complement of divers. Nine of these men had been captured.
For about a month after their capture, these men were shunted from one compound or prison to another. One night in late June while they were at Cabanatuan, V. L. Sauers, P. L. Mann, M. Solomon, G. McCullough, W. A. Barton, and C. Giglio were ordered to report to Japanese headquarters. On arrival they were told that the Japanese authorities knew they were divers and that they were being sent to Manila to engage in salvage work. They were given no choice, but even so, they felt that chances for survival were better almost anywhere than at Cabanatuan. Working for the Japanese might present opportunities for sabotage and possible escape.
Early the next day the six divers were sent to Manila. They were quartered with the Filipinos on the living barge and for the next four months this casco remained both home and prison for the American divers.
Because of the limited capacity of the diving air pump available, it was decided to use the Morse shallow-water hat. The next week was spent in overhauling the diving gear and rounding up several more Morse hats. Early on the morning of July 7, the diving cascos were taken in tow by fishing boats and headed for Corregidor twenty-six miles across the bay. On arrival the living barge was tied up at Corregidor's North Dock facing Bataan and the diving barge was remoored over the silver in Caballo Bay.
Early the next morning the Americans and the Filipino pumpmen were loaded aboard a fishing boat, and transported out to the diving barge. At the same time six Japanese soldiers and one Kempe, the Japanese counterpart of the U. S. Military Police, arrived in another fishing boat. The diving gear was broken out and Sauers made the first dive. In addition to inadequate diving equipment, the danger was compounded by a complete lack of decompression tables. The divers had to trust to memory as to the proper decompression time. The Filipino pumpmen exerted all efforts to keep the pumps turning as rapidly as possible. Despite this, the air pressure at 110-120 feet was only sufficient to keep the water level in the diving hat just under Sauers' chin. This condition, of course, existed throughout the entire period of this operation. After fifteen minutes spent in searching the bottom, Sauers was brought up, using make-shift decompression times of five minutes at twenty feet and ten minutes at ten feet. Satisfied that the equipment was opera ting as satisfactorily as could he expected, Solomon, Barton, McCullough, and Mann all made dives this first day. The Americans had told Yosobe and the Japanese that these initial dives were necessary to test out the diving gear and that he could not expect to recover any silver that day. Because of his limited training and inexperience, in addition to the very risky diving conditions which prevailed, it was decided by the other divers that Giglio should not dive. Yosobe, with the deaths of the inexperienced Filipino divers fresh in his mind, did not require much convincing. After the first two or three days, Giglio remained behind on the living barge and devoted his time to improving living conditions. He purchased or stole extra food as opportunity developed and performed all the other details he could to make life less austere for the group.
Back on the living barge, after this first day of diving, a few decisions were reached which affected the entire period during which the Americans dived for the silver. First and foremost was the obvious fact that this diving was very dangerous. It was necessary to use shallow water equipment, designed for a maximum depth of 36 feet, in water which was three times this depth. In case of pump failure, the limited air supply posed the spectre of sudden death from drowning, with little or no chance to reach the surface. The lack of a decompression chamber made careful decompression mandatory before surfacing, but this was complicated by a lack of decompression tables. Add a strong tidal current from the surface down to about twenty feet, which tended to stream the diver at an angle making it difficult to determine proper decompression depth, and it can be readily seen that these men were not a good insurance risk.
As a second conclusion, it was agreed that as far as the Japanese were concerned, one dive a day per man was all that could be safely tolerated. Also, only one box of silver would he brought up about every third dive, or about two or three boxes a day. This would be just enough to keep the Japanese interested and allay any suspicions. The intervening dives were to be used in breaking up the boxes and attempting to recover some of this silver for their own use.
During the next two weeks the Americans were taken out to the diving barge each morning. At first Yosobe insisted that one dive per man per day was not enough ; however, the Americans, pointing out what had happened to the Filipino divers, were just as insistent that one dive a day was the limit. Yosobc knew the Americans were well-trained and after some argument grudgingly agreed. Success in this first deliberate effort to slow down the operation encouraged the bolder ones to try other means of sabotage. It was obvious during the first day or two, that although Yosobe was the Salvage Master, the final authority on the diving barge was the Japanese Kempe. Everyone, including the Japanese soldiers, stood in fear and awe of him. During the initial dives one of the men managed to smuggle a marlin-spike down to the seabed where it was secured to the end of the circling line which in turn was fastened to the lower end of the descending line and was free to pivot. With this marlinspike, it was an easy matter to break open the boxes of silver which were merely nailed together and strapped with metal bands. From the first, the divers commenced hiding pesos in their sneakers, diving belts, and any other suitable place. These pesos normally ended up in the bottom of the buckets of soapy water which are essential in diving operations. This soapy water is used for the lubrication of the rubberized parts of the diving dress that come in contact with the skin, and also for cleaning mud off both divers and equipment. This technique for stealing the silver was not very satisfactory since it permitted the recovery of only a few pesos at a time. Also it presented too many chances for discovery. One day Barton arrived on the surface with a number of pesos stuck on the inside of his belt. Unfortunately, when the belt was unfastened, these pesos fell out and rolled around on the deck. The Kempe had seen the whole thing and a severe beating appeared to be the least that Barton could expect. To everyone's surprise, the Kempe scooped up about half the pesos, pocketed them, and walked away chuckling, leaving the remainder to be quickly confiscated by the Japanese soldiers.
This incident thoroughly alarmed the Americans since it was felt that a repetition would surely result in severe punishment. After some discussion a more ingenious method of stealing pesos was devised. Diving was conducted from the starboard bow of the diving casco. On the opposite side of the casco a small line about the size of a sash cord was tied off on the deck edge and run underneath to a ring snapped on the descending line at the 30-foot decompression mark. The divers took discarded canvas gas mask bags down with them and whenever possible they filled them with silver. One such bag could hold over 1,000 pesos. If all was clear topside, the diver would be notified by ten pulls on the sash cord line. This was the signal to tie off the bag on this line and let it swing free. It was brought up later at an opportune moment and hidden in the soapy water buckets or elsewhere. If the diver failed to get the tenpull signal, the bag of pesos was immediately dumped before continuing to the surface. For the duration of the operation, this method was used by the Americans without ever being caught. Just how many pesos the American divers brought up this way is not known, but it numbered many thousands. During one particularly good day an estimated 5,000 were brought up without detection. The pesos were used to pay Filipinos for smuggling Japanese invasion pesos, clothing, paint, eggs, meat, and other items to the divers. Since the divers were free to move about on Corregidor, as long as they secured permission, many bags of these pesos ended up in the hands of the 300 or more prisoners who now formed the Corregidor working parties. With these pesos, food and even medicines were acquired and used to help the seriously sick and weak.
After about two weeks of diving and after suggestions by the Americans, Yosobe arranged for half the divers to go to Manila in a fishing boat for a weekend of recreation. During this weekend the Americans were watched closely, but no pesos were found. While in Manila they became acquainted with the widow of one of the dead Filipino divers. She was now working for Takiuti and contrived to do her washing near the Americans' living quarters where she could pass on information. A brief beer party, under guard, completed the weekend and the divers were once again herded aboard the fishing boat for transportation back to Corregidor.
The Americans had been complaining to Takiuti about the presence of the Filipinos on the living casco, pointing out that they made no effort to keep it clean. Takiuti, who was pleased with the results to date, agreed to transfer them to another barge. Removal of the Filipinos simplified the hiding of the pesos-which was the main reason for trying to get them off the barge- and also permitted free discussion of possible escape plans. Sauers and Mann had found two 45-caliber revolvers and some clips of ammunition among the broken and damaged submarine parts, ammunition, etc., which had been thrown over the cliff near Queens Tunnel on Corregidor just prior to the surrender. These, they hid in the rafters of a shack on the pier next to the living barge until an opportunity presented itself to clean them up. One day Sauers, who had fitted a clip in his gun, had the misfortune to accidentally discharge it. A quick look showed a Japanese sentry running to investigate. Working with feverish speed, they replaced the revolvers in the eaves and when the guard looked in, Sauers and Mann were busily pounding away on two ancient and noisy typewriters. This ruse probably saved them both from being shot.
The second diving period commenced in late July. About a week later on August 3, the three other Navy divers - R. C. Sheats, C. Anderson, and G. Chopchick - joined the operation. Up until this time twenty-eight boxes of silver had been raised by the Americans. However, their actual value was less than $55,000, instead of about $80,000. The wire lifting slings had been deliberately fastened off-center and the low end of each box was loosened so that pesos would fall out while the box was in transit to the surface. In an effort to improve the recovery, the Japanese provided a light angle framework to fit around the boxes for lifting. The Americans, however, contrived to make this appear unsatisfactory also.
During the night of August 4, the weather started making up. For protection from the storm, the diving barge was brought around to the North Dock near the living casco. By morning a regular typhoon was blowing. Biding their time until the wind and rain concealed their movements, the Americans partially severed the mooring lines on the diving barge. The pounding seas soon broke these weakened lines. In the low visibility the diving casco was quickly swept out of sight. On the morning of the 6th, after the storm abated, the casco was found on the coast of Corregidor with the bottom stove in. Fortunately the Japanese had so much trouble in preventing other small craft from breaking away during this typhoon that no blame devolved on the Americans for this loss. Although the diving casco was a hopeless wreck, the equipment was salvaged. This was taken, along with the Americans and their living barge, back to the salvage base at Manila on the Pasig River.
A new wooden, Navy-type barge, about 80'x18', was made available by the Japanese as a replacement diving barge. All the diving equipment was remounted on this barge and the gear overhauled. During this two-week period the Americans were able to procure eggs, meat, and other delicacies from the Spanish cook who acted as chef of the Japanese headquarters personnel. Unfortunately, the day before leaving again for Corregidor, the cook was caught, beaten, and fired. The living casco was immediately ransacked and searched. All the pesos had been safely stowed in empty ammunition cans and were quickly lowered to the bottom of the Pasig River without detection, thanks to the timely warning of the widow of the Filipino diver. These were quietly retrieved after dark that evening. During this period the Japanese considered sending the Americans to Davao to conduct diving operations in about 150 feet of water. They were to go on the salvage ship Ranger which had formerly belonged to the Luzon Stevedoring Company. After looking over the Ranger's air supply, it was obvious, if such deep diving was to be undertaken, that an accumulator would be necessary. Solomon, Sheats, and Chopchick made a trip to Cavite under guard to pick out a suitable accumulator for installation on the Ranger. This proposed trip aroused considerable excitement, since it looked like a reasonable chance to escape, especially when the Filipino crew men indicated they were willing to help seize the ship and attempt a getaway. Fortunately for the prisoners, this trip never materialized because their chances of sailing through hundreds of miles of Japanese controlled waters in a 12-knot salvage tug without being intercepted were very slim indeed. If an attempt were made to escape and hide ashore, there was the standing Japanese reward of fifty pesos for information leading to the capture of an American. This would have been a sore temptation to some of the Filipinos who were pro-Japanese, or who had no allegiance and were in dire economic and physical straits.
The new diving barge was initiated on August 25. A week or so later the Americans were reinforced by a group of six Moro pearl divers, and an equal number of pumpmen from Mindanao. The leader of this group, however, was not a Moro; he was a renegade Filipino in the employment of the Japanese. He had rounded up the Moros with Takiuti's offer of high wages and a six month contract. It appears doubtful that any of these men, other than the Filipino, knew until arrival at Corregidor, that they were expected to work directly for the Japanese. Once committed, they had little choice, as they were far from home.
When the Moros appeared on the scene, Solomon and Sheats went over to their diving barge to sound out their feelings about the war and also to learn what their attitude was toward the Americans and Japanese. Cautiously, the Moros expressed a hope that the Americans would win. Encouraged by their friendly attitude, the two Americans explained that they were diving for the Japanese against their will. They also told of how they had deliberately refrained from bringing up more than about two or three boxes of pesos a day. The leader of the Moros, the Filipino named Sammy, expressed a desire to co-operate, "If you bring up one box, then we will only bring up one also." Luckily the Americans did not mention breaking up the boxes on the bottom, or stealing gas mask bags full of pesos.
The Moros had a living casco similar to that of the Americans which also remained moored at the North Pier, Corregidor. Initially, they dived off the opposite end of the diving barge from the Americans, but after a few days they moved aboard a small 25-foot double-ended barge. They used British Siebe-Gorman diving suits and a 3-cylinder single-acting hand pump. Although not familiar with preventative decompression, such as the Americans were using, they did know it was necessary to bring a diver up slowly from deep water to prevent the bends and that lowering him back down twenty or thirty feet in the water would normally bring relief if the bends did occur.
The Moros commenced diving on September 7 and alternated with the Americans. This eliminated any chance of two divers' life lines or air lines becoming entangled. At first, they were as good as their word about limiting the number of boxes they brought up.
One day during the next diving period, the Americans wanted to cease operations after the third dive because of the rough sea conditions. It was a ruse the Americans had used several times to slow down the operation. The Kempe decided the Americans were stalling, and after a discussion with Yosobe, said he would make a dive himself. This was a disturbing development, for if he reached the bottom, he would quickly discover that a lot more silver could be brought up per day. He would also see that the Americans had been breaking and scattering boxes on the bottom. It had been decided, however, that if such a situation ever arose, the luckless diver would immediately become the victim of one of several possible fatal accidents. Fortunately for this particular Kempe, he was afflicted with claustrophobia and even before his helmet went under the water, he was screaming to be pulled up. To save face, he immediately proceeded to beat up the luckless Japanese soldiers on the barge.
About this time the Americans became suspicious of Sammy's status. Subsequent information confirmed their fears that he had informed the Japanese that the Americans were stealing pesos. Later events left no doubt as to his position as a Japanese stooge.
Diving recommenced after another recreation weekend and it was soon apparent that some of the Moros were not going to abide by the agreement to limit the number of boxes being brought up. Three of the Moros remained friendly with the Americans. The other three, including Sammy, commenced bringing more and more boxes to the surface. whether this stemmed from fear of the Kempes or from human avarice, or a combination of both, is not clear. After about a week, it was becoming obvious to the Japanese, that the performance of the Moros was far superior to that of the Americans. When they proceeded to bring up seventeen boxes in one day, as compared to a maximum day's take of five for the Americans, the Japanese decided to dispense with the services of the prisoners, and concentrate all efforts with the Moros. This was on September 27. Since July 8, when the original six prisoners commenced diving, a total of only 97 boxes had been raised. The total amount of silver was only about $220,000 because of the large number of pesos lost in transit to the surface. The number of boxes broken open and contents spilled during this same period amounted to several times that amount.
The appearance of an appreciable number of silver pesos in the illegal money market ashore was of increasing concern to the Japanese. This silver, of course, had a serious effect on the artificially valued paper occupation pesos. A Japanese investigation committee failed to reveal how these pesos got into circulation, although some were traced back to the prisoners on Corregidor. These men had agreed among themselves to tell the Japanese that they had been paid in pesos during the last few months of the siege, and being unable to spend them, they had buried them in the ground which accounted for their black color. It is to the credit of these prisoners that not one informed the Japanese as to the true source of the pesos. Although unable to trace the pesos to the American divers, the Japanese, nevertheless, suspected them, since they were in daily contact with the silver. This suspicion contributed to the decision to stop the diving by the American prisoners.
After September 27, the Americans remained for only a short time with the diving operations. Yosobe wanted them to man the pumps and help out in general, but their efforts were deliberately unsatisfactory. Yosobe had never forced the Americans very hard on any issue, so when they complained, he dropped the matter and for the next few days they did little or nothing.
Several days later the Moro diving barge was taken in tow by one of the two fishing boats assigned to this salvage operation. It was manned by a Japanese whom the prisoners had nicknamed "the Drunkard." He was a middle-aged man with an intense liking for vodka and rum. Although nearly always half inebriated, he was Yosobe's right hand man. On this occasion the prisoners were being transferred back to the Pasig in his boat.
Unlike previous trips into Manila, which started in the early morning, this trip started at dusk. The sea was rough and one leg of the towing bridle was longer than the other which caused the Moro diving barge to skid to one side and ship water with each wave. The prisoners soon noticed the dangerous condition of the tow, but said nothing and "the Drunkard" was too far gone to notice. The Kempes and soldiers in the other fishing boat, led the way and were not aware of the danger to the Moro barge.
After a short while, the repeated skidding and rough seas had combined to swamp the barge. The Americans pulled on the short leg of the towing bridle just as a wave struck rolling the barge upside down and dumping all the Mora diving equipment in deep water, except for the pump which was fastened down to the bottom of the barge. The Americans, unobserved, threw off the tow line. About thirty minutes later the Moro barge had disappeared. The skipper of the lead boat, noticing that something was amiss, started to turn back. The prisoners roused "the Drunkard" enough to point out the loss. When he realized what had happened, the shock quickly sobered him, and when he saw the other boat with the Kempes approaching, he was terrified and tried to jump overboard. This would have been suicide in the rough seas. The Americans were quick to realize that an accident to "the Drunkard" would appear to the Kempe like intentional murder. Fortunately, Solomon was close enough to grab his leg as he went over the side, and hauled him back aboard. Had "the Drunkard" been lost, the Americans would probably have been executed since their services were no longer required. The two boats headed back to Corregidor and while in transit the overturned diving barge was sighted in the moonlight. The other boat managed to snag it with a line, and tow it back to the North Pier, where they arrived about 2 A.M. The Americans feared that the undamaged towing bridle, which had been merely thrown off, would be found hanging below the capsized barge. Biding their time until about 3 A.M., when all was clear, Sheats swam over to the barge while Solomon kept a lookout. After considerable difficulty, Sheats managed to untie both ends of the bridle and let it fall to the bottom.
The second day after this, the living casco and the American divers were taken in tow for the Pasig River. At about this time, Captain Takiuti, who had been quite decent in his treatment of the prisoners, was transferred and replaced by a Captain Sato. He immediately stripped them of the few items they had acquired to make life more liveable, and instituted more frequent and thorough searches. During the next two or three weeks, the prisoners contrived to smuggle the revolvers ashore and hid them in the lighthouse at the mouth of the Pasig. Preventing discovery of the remaining pesos became a major problem, and under Sato's dose watch, it became harder to smuggle them ashore to use in buying food. Thanks to cleverly contrived and timely warnings from the Filipino widow, and to the prisoners' own ingenuity, the stolen silver never was discovered by the Japanese Kempes or soldiers. After two or three weeks the prisoners were sent out to make inspection dives on the sunken SS Mindanao. After reporting her unsalvageable, they were transferred to the sunken SS Antonia where they assisted as pumpmen for a number of weeks.
In early 1943, they were sent to the Manila port area to work as stevedores. A year or so later, after about a month at Bilibid and Cabanatuan, they were all sent by ship to Japan where they were released at the end of the War. All survived except Chopchick, who died en route to Japan in a Japanese transport which was torpedoed by a U. S. submarine.
Meanwhile the Moros mounted new equipment, on what had been the American diving barge, and continued to bring up silver. Although not on the same scale, they were also stealing pesos. The continued appearance of this stolen silver had an increasingly injurious effect on the Occupation currency. It is believed that this factor was mainly responsible for the ending of all diving operations during the first week of November, 1942. The Moros had recovered a total of 257 boxes containing over 1,400,000 pesos and worth over $700,000. This, with the silver recovered by the Filipino and American divers, totalled over 2,000,000 pesos ($1,000,000). Why the Japanese never resumed diving later on, using Japanese divers who could be trusted or why the Imperial Navy never participated in this venture, has never been satisfactorily explained.
In early March, 1945, the Ship Salvage, Fire Fighting, and Rescue Group of the Seventh Fleet arrived in Manila to commence clearing the wreck, and debris from the berths and piers in Manila Harbor. Although the location of the silver pesos was known, the urgent necessity of clearing the harbor to permit the flow of supplies to the Allied Ground Forces precluded any attempts at silver recovery. However, in late May, several Filipinos were arrested for secretly attempting to dive for the treasure and the story broke in the local papers. Accordingly, recovery operations were ordered at once.
The Teak (AN-35) was selected as the diving tender and on June 16 dragging commenced in the center of Caballo Bay. The first silver was located on June 20 and recovered the next day. During the first week 16,000 pesos were recovered. The next week this jumped to 26,000, but many pesos were being lost by the unexplained crumbling of some of the boxes. Much of this was undoubtedly due to the damage inflicted by the American divers while diving for the Japanese, as well as deterioration after three years underwater. Various ideas were tried in an effort to prevent loss of pesos. The best and possibly the simplest was the use of a regular G.I. can perforated with small holes for drainage. A damaged box of silver could be scooped into the G.I. can before lifting and the can caught any pesos which fell out while hoisting to the surface.
The Teak worked steadily until November 12, 1945. During this time nearly 3,000,000 pesos were recovered. The Teak was relieved by the Elder (AN-20) on November 17, 1945. This ship was the base of operation for the remainder of the U. S. Navy's participation in this silver recovery which terminated approximately April 1, 1946. An additional 2,000,000 pesos had been recovered by the divers while aboard the Elder. This made a grand total recovered by the Navy of nearly 5,000,000 pesos ($2,500,000).
At the time the U. S. Navy ceased the silver operations, pesos were being recovered at the rate of 100,000 to 200,000 a week with no sign of let-up. The immediate cause of the Navy's termination of this silver salvage was official orders to send the Elder back to the United States, as well as the lack of a suitable replacement vessel. Other reasons were the decimation of the ship salvage group by the rush of personnel to leave the Service after the war and the granting of independence to the Philippines. This silver now became the property of the Philippine Government which was naturally interested in recovering the pesos to bolster the Philippine Treasury.
Between the Japanese efforts in 1942 and the efforts of the U. S. Navy in 1945-46, it will be noted that approximately 7,000,000 pesos had been recovered at the time the Philippines gained their independence. This is only one-half or less than half of the total originally dumped. Since that time only a small portion of the remainder has been recovered. The most successful of these various operations, performed under contract with the Philippine Government, occurred in 1947 when two American divers pooled their resources, outfitted a barge, and employed several of the Moros who had dived with the American prisoners in 1942. After firing the Moros for stealing what few pesos were being found, they dramatically located a pile of peso boxes just as their funds were nearly exhausted. How many pesos were recovered has not been disclosed, but speculation has ranged up to 500,000.
A fortune in silver still remains in the rotten wooden boxes on the floor of Caballo Bay. Although a few pesos are recovered from time to time by individuals operating on a shoestring, only a well equipped and expertly staffed diving group similar to the U. S. Navy's equipment and personnel in 1945-46 could hope to recover any large amount of the remaining pesos. To date the Philippine Government has been unable to interest any of the large, well-equipped salvage firms in this venture. As time rolls on, the pesos will become more and more difficult to find and it appears likely that much of the remaining millions in pesos will remain buried in their watery grave.