Thanks to liquor, my grandmother is here today

As a little girl, my grandmother lived in the Philippines during WWII with her brothers and sisters. There was news that Japanese soldiers would be coming to her village. However, the Americans were there first. There was a man (grandma said she only remembers "Major Wilson" as his name) who brought his troops in. They were carrying a lot of liquor. Since my great-grandmother was one of the richer people in the village, they asked if they could store their liquor in her basement. She agreed.

Eventually, the Japanese soldiers got hint of the liquor news. They sent a few men to my great-grandmother's house. One of the soldiers got her attention, and told her that they wanted it. She said they could have it, but under two conditions: they must not harm her children, and for each bottle of liquor, they must give her a carton of Carnation for her children.

They agreed.

Major Wilson found out, but he was not mad. He was a little worried at first. He told my great-grandmother that he was glad his men were able to help in some way (even if it was inadvertently) the people of the village they were in. It makes me wonder what would have happened to them if she didn't have the liquor stored in her basement.

My grandmother is still grateful for Major Wilson, her mother's courage, and the compliance of the Japanese soldiers to this day.