in that hold, less than 100 of us were living after that bombing. >> granston and 900 other p.o.w.s were eventually arrived in january 1945. >> a lot were simply propped over the sides. >> of the 1618 of us that started from manila, about 350 of us arrived in japan. >> they arrived in wintertime. and you step out into a snowstorm, they'd keep you there upwards of 12 hours. it's a miracle any of us survived. >> as the americans started wiping out the japanese from their empire, the japanese started thinking how to dispose of the prisoners. >> in 1944, a directive was sent out to all prison camps from the japanese war ministry with clear instructions that in case of invasion, they would take all the prisoners, kill them all but leave no evidence. >> in december of '44, fierce fighting followed the allied landings in the philippines. on palowan, aerial bombings targeted the air strip the prisoners in built. it was there that the war ministry's kill-all-prisoners order was about to be carried out. the 150 p.o.w.s including again mcdole had no idea what was happening. >> they came hollering,

but before the surrender, granston made it to the last holdout in manila bay. was there hope that somehow it was going to hold out? >> not really. after they surrendered, i think it was pretty much gassed. >> this is the manila city jail. during world war ii, it was a notorious prison. thousands were held by the japanese in horrific conditions. that's next on "war stories." >>> every day, it was raids after raids. we knew that it was just going to be a matter of time because we were getting low on rations and everything. >> 21-year-old marine glen from urbandale, iowa, was one of the 15,000 men who along with 55 army nurses were forced to surrender on 6 may, 1942. >> it was a heartbreaking day. we'd see old glory flying in the breeze. and see it come down. it just made you feel like a man without a home. >> as the japanese soldiers came in with their guns, their rifles and their bayonets, and there was a deathly silence. >> for bruce gordon elliott, the end seemed truly at hand. >> they had to strip all our clothes off, everything, and put us right out on the c