Guide to the James M. Robb Papers
Stanford University Libraries
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
October 2010
Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of
Stanford University. All rights reserved.
Note
This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines,
Version 1.0.
Overview
Call Number: SC0652
Creator:
Robb, James M.
Title: James M. Robb papers
Dates: 1938-2008
Physical Description:
1.75 Linear feet
Summary: Includes typescripts of James M. Robb's
manuscript "Carry On" written while he was a patient at the Bilibid prison-hospital in
the Philippines during World War II; correspondence from his parents' efforts to locate
the manuscript, 1946-48; reports and documents pertaining to Japanese treatment of
Philippine prisoners of war, especially the "Hell Ships" that transported POWs to Japan;
resources collected by his sister Marion Robb about the history of POWs in the
Philippines with related correspondence, 1980-98; and additional family materials from
his daughters Jannis Robb Garred and Allison Robb Marks, including a letter
(photocopied) from James M. Robb to his wife, 1938.
Language(s): The materials are in English.
Repository:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University Libraries
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6064
Email: speccollref@stanford.edu
Phone: (650) 725-1022
URL: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Marion Robb, 2002; additional materials from Jannis R. Garred and Allison
R. Marks, 2008.
Information about Access
This collection is open for research.
Ownership & Copyright
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is
given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission
must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Cite As
James M. Robb Papers (SC0652). Dept. of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Biographical/Historical Sketch
James M. Robb earned his A.B. in political science at Stanford in 1931 and his law
degree in 1934. He worked for three years with the Oakland Title Company before
returning to Manila in 1937, where he joined the law firm of DeWitt, Perkins and Ponce
Enrile. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a first
lieutenant in the Quartermaster Department during the siege of Bataan. He survived the
Bataan death march and several POW camps in the Philippines, but died at sea in January
1945 while being transported with other POWs to Japan. Robb worked on a book detailing
wartime conditions in the Philippines and the POW camps while he was a patient at the
Bilibid prison-hospital; the manuscript was buried for safekeeping and retrieved when
American troops liberated the Philippines.
Description of the Collection
This collection includes typescripts of James M. Robb's manuscript "Carry On" written
while he was a patient at the Bilibid prison-hospital in the Philippines during World
War II; correspondence from his parents' efforts to locate the manuscript, 1946-48;
reports and documents pertaining to Japanese treatment of Philippine prisoners of war,
especially the "Hell Ships" that transported POWs to Japan; resources collected by his
sister Marion Robb about the history of POWs in the Philippines with related
correspondence, 1980-98; and additional family materials from his daughters Jannis Robb
Garred and Allison Robb Marks, including a letter (photocopied) from James M. Robb to
his wife, 1938.
Access Terms
Bilibid Prison (Manila, Philippines).
Garred, Jannis Robb
Marks, Allison Robb
Robb, James M.
Robb, Marion.
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Philippines.
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Philippines.
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
Collection Contents
Box 1, Folder 1
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – typescript, copy 1
Box 1, Folder 2
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – typescript, copy 2
Box 1, Folder 3
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – photocopy 1
Box 1, Folder 4
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – photocopy 2
Box 1, Folder 5
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – photocopy 3
Box 1, Folder 1
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – miscellaneous photocopies
Box 2, Folder 1
AP dispatches on Japanese atrocities in Manila, April 2,
1945
Box 2, Folder 2
Capas Prisoners of War Memorial – correspondence, proposal, article,
1980-83
Box 2, Folder 3
Clippings, miscellaneous, 1945-1989
Box 2, Folder 4
Ex-POW Bulletin, 1992-1994
Box 2, Folder 6
Ex-POW Bulletin, 1997-1998
Box 2, Folder 7
Hell Ships – reports, clippings, correspondence, 1945-1993
Box 2, Folder 8
Hell Ships – duplicate materials
Box 2, Folder 9
Hell Ships – duplicate materials
Box 2, Folder 10
Oryoku Maru Story, prepared by Charles M. Brown, Lt. Col. AUS ret.,
1982
Box 2, Folder 11
Reports on American Prisoners of War Interned by the Japanese in the
Philippines, prepared by the office of the Provost Marshal General, 19 November
1945
Box 2, Folder 12
Resource materials collected by Marion Robb
Box 3, Folder 1
Robb, James M. – Purple Heart documents
Box 3, Folder 2
Robb, Marion – correspondence, 1990-1998
Box 3, Folder 3
Robb, Marion – statement re claims of heirs to the manuscript, 1995;
and statements from Robb’s daughters, Jannis Robb Garred and Allison Robb
Marks, 2008
Box 3, Folder 4
Robb, Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. – correspondence re obtaining manuscript,
1947
Box 3, Folder 5
Shinyo Maru – list of casualties and survivors
Box 3, Folder 6
Steele, Ben – copy of undated letter with mention of Robb and copy of a
Steele's sketch of Robb while a POW in the Philippines
Box 3
Samuel B. Moody and Maury Allen, Reprieve from Hell (1961)
Box 3
Samuel B. Moody, Reprieve from Hell Part II
Physical Description: 1 videotape (VHS)
Box 3
Last message from Corregidor
Physical Description: 1 audiocassette
Box 4, Folder 1
Correspondence between Prof. David Kennedy and Jannis Robb Garred and
Allison Robb Marks, 2002, with photocopied resources on James M. Robb’s life,
1946-47
Box 4, Folder 2
Copy of “Carry On” by James M. Robb with introduction by Jannis Robb
Garred and Allison Robb Marks
