Thomas Crosby was born in September 1933 in Cagayan de Misamis, Mindanao, Philippines. His mother, grandmother and aunt were on a cruise ship that stopped in the Philippines. They immediately fell in love with the place and decided to stay. Crosby's mother met his father while he was visiting the island as well. Crosby's mother worked for the Chamber of Commerce and his father worked for GE. He remembered his parents liked to go to parties and lounge at the Manila Hotel in Manila, Philippines. He remembered, prior to World War 2, his life was good. He and his brother went to an American school, played with the Philippine kids in the neighborhood, went swimming at the Manila Hotel, went to sporting events at the Rizal Stadium [Annotator's Notes: Rizal Memorial Stadium] in Manila, Philippines. He had no idea that the Empire of Japan would one day change his life.

Thomas Crosby remembered soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, they attacked the Philippines. Using air raids, the Japanese hit all the military installations. The air raids continued for weeks. Crosby recalled that his family kept jars of water in the house in case they needed it to drink or put out fires. He also recalled blackouts. Everyone would cover their windows and turn off the lights so they would not be targeted. As a child, Crosby remembered feeling excited, but also confused of the situation. After Christmas, General Douglas MacArthur declared Manila, Philippines, an open city, meaning that the city would no longer be protected by the United States Military. Crosby remembered when the Japanese entered the city to occupy it, many of them rode in on bicycles. Japanese personnel came to Crosby's house and told his mother that they would need to pack for three days' worth of food, clothing, bedding and mosquito netting. The next day, the Japanese escorted them to the Rizal Stadium [Annotator's Notes: Rizal Memorial Stadium] in Manila, Philippines. They separated the military and the civilians. The military went to Prisoner of War camps in the Philippines or Japan, and the civilians went to the University of Santo Tomas, Metro Manila, Philippines, which the Japanese turned into an internment camp.

On 7 January 1942, Thomas Crosby and his family were sent to Santo Tomas University, Metro Manila, Philippines, which the Japanese military had turned into an internment camp for foreign civilians of the Philippines. In the beginning of their stay, the Japanese had ordered them to find a place in the buildings and sleep there. Crosby and his brother flipped over tables and slept on the them. They used the legs of the table to hang their mosquito netting over them. They lived like this for about six months before the Japanese assigned them quarters. Crosby's mother arranged for him and his brother to live at a convent called Holy Ghost for a short period of time while the Japanese reorganized the camp. When they returned, Crosby and his brother were assigned to the thirrd floor of the education building while his mom, grandmother and aunt were assigned to the main building. Crosby's father had left the Philippines prior to the attack. Eventually, as time wore on and more people were interned, the Japanese allowed people to build shanties to live in. Crosby would see his mom during the day between morning and evening roll calls. Besides the food they brought with them at the start of the internment, the internees would go to the front gates of the camp every day to wait for the Philippine people bring food to them. Crosby recalled that their Philippine neighbors would pass food through the gate for his family, mostly canned food and vegetables. The Japanese also encouraged the internees to grow vegetable gardens, and this would become their main food source as time went on. Crosby recalled how monitors were assigned to areas of the camp. Monitors were fellow internees that would make sure the rest were following the rules of the camp.

Thomas Crosby described the internee committee for the internment camp [Annotator's Notes: the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in manila, Luzon, Philippines] in the Philippines. He explained that at the beginning of the internment camp, the Japanese allowed the internees to create a committee that would develop order amongst the internees. Mostly businessmen were selected for the committee. They developed rules, with approval from the Japanese, to abide by. The committee even had a jail for those with serious infractions. The Japanese, for the most part, left the internees alone, and mostly managed the camp from a distance. However, they had very strict rules for the internees, and if an internee broke a rule, serious consequences would ensue. Crosby recalled that no one was allowed listen to the radio, and no one was allowed to communicate with anyone outside the camp. He was also forced to watch propaganda films. Crosby remembered an incident of three men trying to escape the camp within the first month. The Japanese caught them, tortured them, and shot them dead in front of many of the internees. Soon after the incident, the Japanese added barbed wire to the fences, and installed gun posts around the borders.

Thomas Crosby had bad asthma as a child, so while he was living in the internment camp, he slept in a bed by the window. Thomas remembered that his floor had a restroom that the internees could use, however they would have to hand carry water from outside to the third floor in the education building. The women in the main building had to make their own shower outside. The kids in the camp would go to school, but it was secondary to the camp chores. It was necessary to keep the camp sanitary. [Annotator's Note: There is a long pause due to a ringing phone in the background.] The internees loved the lizards and spiders because they would eat the mosquitoes. Crosby remembered, as a form of entertainment, they would tie strings around beetles and cockroaches, and then make them fly and fight each other. He and his friends were "troublemakers." He recalled the Japanese culture of bowing. Every time they walked past a Japanese person, they would have to bow, and they would return the bow. Crosby would bow six or more times, making the soldier return the bow. Eventually, the Japanese would avoid him. Crosby remembers that the food was basically rice and whatever else they could find. The Red Cross sent packages couple of times, but the Japanese would steal what they wanted out of it first, leaving limited amount of goods for the internees. By the third year, practically everyone on the island was starving. Crosby remembered digging through the Japanese trash to find food before he was caught. There was entertainment at night, mostly music, and propaganda movies. Crosby recalled only hearing rumors of the war's progress, but he was really too young to know what was really going on.

As time went by, Thomas Crosby and his family had to assimilate to the changes going on in the internment camp [Annotator's Notes: the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, Luzon, Philippines]. He recalled when 800 men were transferred out of the camp to the Los Baños camp in Los Baños, Laguna. The Santo Tomas camp became overcrowded with people. Crosby's aunt was a nurse, and when the hospital needed more help, she stayed at her home, with the approval of the Japanese, while she worked at the hospital. Crosby recalled the various weather calamities, like a typhoon wiped out the internment camp, monsoons came through with weeks of nonstop raining and an earthquake. In 1944, the Japanese army took direct control of the camp and relieved the internee committee from their duties. Some of the committee members disappeared and their graves were found after the war.

On the evening of 3 February 1945, Thomas Crosby had gone to get hot water for his room monitor to drink a cup of hot tea. Crosby heard gun shots in a distance, and the Japanese soldiers ordering a woman to get back inside her quarters. Crosby returned to his living quarters and as the night wore on, he recalled that all the lights were off, and he could hear some commotion going on at the gate of the internment camp. The Japanese had moved to the third floor from the first floor of his building, and took the internees bedding to barricade the stairwells. Crosby knew the Allies had arrived when shooting commenced outside the building and saw tracers coming through the windows. The internees in the building began to yell that they were in there too. The Japanese had taken over 200 internees' hostage, including Crosby. The American forces ceased fire and told the Japanese that they would negotiate in the morning. Crosby recalled that the Americans fed everyone the next day, but people became ill because it had been so long since they had consumed adequate food. The Americans negotiated with the Japanese commandant and agreed to allow the Japanese to walk out of the camp unharmed, as long as they did not hurt the 200 hostages. Days later, Crosby remembered the heavy shelling directed towards the camp. The shelling lasted for days and came in waves. During the shelling, adults were telling the kids to take cover. Some of the of the internees were killed. After the shelling ceased and the internee were safe with the Americans, they received physicals and a census was conducted.

After they were liberated, Thomas Crosby's mother wanted to return to the United States. They were able to sail on a liberty ship called the SS Frank H. Evers. Crosby remembered how everyone was nice to them. They were given lots of delicious food, clothing and shoes. On 8 May 1945, the day of the first surrender, VE-Day [Annotator's Notes: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], Crosby and his family cruised under the Golden Gate Bridge. He was so enthralled with the day and what was happening. They stayed at the Picknick Hotel in San Francisco, California until the government processed their paperwork. Crosby's mother found a job and moved to Vallejo, California. His father, who was in the United States during World War 2, had remarried and started a new family. His father presumed they were dead. Crosby's mother would eventually remarry. Crosby remembered that adjusting to life after being in the interment camp was difficult. His mother sent him and his brother to a boarding school, which was on a ranch in Hayward, California. He attended the school for two years to receive an education and get his health back. He then attended a vocational high school in San Diego, California. Crosby remembered staying busy. He had a paper route, got a job as a custodian at a swimming pool and did diving as a sport.

In 1953 Thomas Crosby enlisted in the Navy. He was competing as a diver for the University of Hawaii and attending classes at a Baptist college when he received pre-induction papers from the Army. He had broken his toe during a diving accident, but he still reported for his physical and the Army accepted him. However, he joined the Navy instead and went to boot camp. Crosby was on a submarine tender the whole time while he was deployed during the Korean War. His job was in disbursing, also known as payroll. He remembered that he paid all the sailors in cash. Crosby joined the Navy because he felt he needed to show his appreciation for the United States for what they did for him and his family. When he left the Navy, he finished his education through the G.I. Bill. In 1964, he coached a national Mexican diving team. Crosby and a friend on the team went to Las Vegas, and that is where he met his future wife.

Thomas Crosby gives his wife all the credit for his breakthrough with is post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. He admits that he had a hatred for the Japanese people for a long time due to PTSD. He joined a local PSTD chapter and has done a lot of work to combat the struggles of the disorder. He also remarked that if it wasn't for his Christian faith, he would not have recovered from the disorder or may have died in the camp. He befriended two soldiers that were part of the 1st Calvary Division that liberated his camp. Crosby joined a POW [Annotator's Notes: prisoner of war] chapter in his local community and did a lot of projects for the organization.

Thomas Crosby's most memorable experience of World War 2 was the end. His experience in the war gave him a great appreciation for all of the blessings in his life, and taught him to never take anything for granted. He absolutely believes that it is necessary to have a national World War 2 museum [Annotator's Notes: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Louisiana].