By the Book

The first wave of Japanese bombers over Manila 17 years ago turned John Linehan from a civilian Navy employee into a fighter. Linehan rushed repairs on a destroyer, burrowed through bomb rubble for precious parts, on Christmas Day watched U.S. ships slip safely out to sea ahead of the invading Japanese. Then, with Manila in flames, Linehan himself slipped out of the doomed city and joined a guerrilla band.

In the steaming Philippine jungle, John Linehan spent three years dodging Japanese soldiers' bullets and harassing the enemy. The Japanese never hurt him, but the jungle did. Suffering beriberi, malaria and enteritis, he lost 80 Ibs. By the time a U.S. sub evacuated Linehan, he had to be carried aboard.

From Brisbane, Australia, Linehan caught the transport Monterey for the U.S., spent 3 1/2 days in San Francisco briefing U.S. intelligence, settled in California, and tried to forget his painful experiences. He has never had a chance to forget: 17 years later, onetime Guerrilla Linehan, now 61, is still being deviled by Government bureaucrats. Last week came an ultimatum from Washington: Linehan could either defend himself in court or fork over the $554.89 that he owed the U.S. for his fare from Australia on a U.S.-owned troopship.

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