Page 49 - moondani kyema
P. 49
ndani kyema, My Story - Ray Moore 49
By the end of the War, our caloric intake was very low, and so it was with great
excitement that over the next few days tonnes of supplies were dropped by
parachute just outside the camp. Because the loads were too heavy for the
parachutes, many of the drums broke open and the canned peaches and chewing
gum were scattered over the ground. At least those were the two items that I noticed
and gorged myself on, with some dire results. There were other items such as army
field rations issued to each of us and when we opened them we found that they
contained not only chocolate and biscuits, but also cigarettes.
I had only ever seen cigarettes in the mouths of strangers as none of the
missionaries smoked. So I couldn’t resist this forbidden fruit and escaped to one of
the guard towers, now unmanned, and climbed up the stairs and sat in a corner and
tried my first cigarette. I knew nothing about drawback and wondered what was so
attractive about them.
We children and some of the older people followed the Americans around wherever
they went, and on one of these “hero sessions”, while trailing along after one of the
Americans, I was jumping over a bench and caught my arm between the back rails of
the bench. “Ouch!” However, such was my excitement and awe at being in the orbit
of this newly discovered star, that I ignored it for the rest of the day. In bed that night
I began to feel the pain, and late that evening I was taken to the hospital, where they
ascertained that I had a greenstick fracture of the radius and my arm was placed in a
plaster cast.
A few days later, six
of us children whose
parents lived in the
west of China, were
flown out in a bomber
which was stacked
full of parachutes
which had been used
in the supply drop.
As there were no
seats of any kind on
board, we spent the
trip lolling about on
parachutes in
comfort, I with my
arm in plaster – a
wounded warrior.
We were free at last.
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By the end of the War, our caloric intake was very low, and so it was with great
excitement that over the next few days tonnes of supplies were dropped by
parachute just outside the camp. Because the loads were too heavy for the
parachutes, many of the drums broke open and the canned peaches and chewing
gum were scattered over the ground. At least those were the two items that I noticed
and gorged myself on, with some dire results. There were other items such as army
field rations issued to each of us and when we opened them we found that they
contained not only chocolate and biscuits, but also cigarettes.
I had only ever seen cigarettes in the mouths of strangers as none of the
missionaries smoked. So I couldn’t resist this forbidden fruit and escaped to one of
the guard towers, now unmanned, and climbed up the stairs and sat in a corner and
tried my first cigarette. I knew nothing about drawback and wondered what was so
attractive about them.
We children and some of the older people followed the Americans around wherever
they went, and on one of these “hero sessions”, while trailing along after one of the
Americans, I was jumping over a bench and caught my arm between the back rails of
the bench. “Ouch!” However, such was my excitement and awe at being in the orbit
of this newly discovered star, that I ignored it for the rest of the day. In bed that night
I began to feel the pain, and late that evening I was taken to the hospital, where they
ascertained that I had a greenstick fracture of the radius and my arm was placed in a
plaster cast.
A few days later, six
of us children whose
parents lived in the
west of China, were
flown out in a bomber
which was stacked
full of parachutes
which had been used
in the supply drop.
As there were no
seats of any kind on
board, we spent the
trip lolling about on
parachutes in
comfort, I with my
arm in plaster – a
wounded warrior.
We were free at last.
Return to Table of Contents
