Guide to the James M. Robb Collection SC0652
University Archives staff
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
October 2010, March 2024
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
Fax Number: (650) 723-8690
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Note
This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines,
Version 1.0.
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: James M. Robb collection
Identifier/Call Number: SC0652
Physical Description:
1.75 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1938-2008
Summary: 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.
Language of Material:
English .
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
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 Collection (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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Philippines.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Philippines.
Papers ARCH-2002-258
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, folder 1
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – typescript, copy 1
Box 1, folder 2
Buried Manuscript "Carry On" – typescript, photocopy
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, folder 3
Address
1943-03-02
Language of Material: English.
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
Oryoku Maru Story, prepared by Charles M. Brown, Lt. Col. AUS ret.,
1982
Language of Material: English.
Box 2, folder 9
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
Language of Material: English.
Box 2, folder 10
Resource materials collected by Marion Robb
Language of Material: English.
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, folder 7
von Neff, Erich correspondence re: James M. Robb
1983-1992
Language of Material: English.
Box 3, folder 8
Samuel B. Moody and Maury Allen, Reprieve from Hell (1961)
Box 3, folder 9
Samuel B. Moody, Reprieve from Hell Part II
Physical Description: 1
videotape(s) (vhs)
Box 3
Last message from Corregidor
Physical Description: 1
audiocassette(s)
Addenda, 2003-044 ARCH-2003-044
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
