The American Legacy c) Widespread use of “water cure” to extract information from POWs and civilians “Water cure” was used extensively during the PhilippineAmerican War on both civilians and captured soldiers of the Philippine Republic. Many of these were documented in photos that appeared in Life Magazine and US newspapers. Lt. Grover Flint, a US officer who served in the PhilippineAmerican War described the effects of water cure especially on senior citizens.15; 16 A man is thrown down on his back and three or four men sit or stand on his arms and legs and hold him down; and either a gun barrel or a rifle barrel or a carbine barrel or a stick as big as a belaying pin, -- that is, with an inch circumference, -- is simply thrust into his jaws and his jaws are thrust back, and, if possible, a wooden log or stone is put under his head or neck, so he can be held more firmly. In the case of very old men I have seen their teeth fall out, -- I mean when it was done a little roughly. He is simply held down and then water is poured onto his face down his throat and nose from a jar; and that is kept up until the man gives some sign or becomes unconscious. The cure that brought death: Soldiers of the 35th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment administering the water cure on a suspected Filipino fighter. As one American magazine reported, the water cure’s after effects “are said to be beneficial to the Filipino, creating a desire for a higher education and a further knowledge of American Institutions.” (c) Public domain And, when he becomes unconscious, he is simply rolled aside and he is allowed to come to. In almost every case the men have been a little roughly handled. They were rolled aside rudely, so that water was expelled. A man suffers tremendously, there is no doubt about it. His sufferings must be that of a man who is drowning, but cannot drown. Another soldier, Sergeant Charles S. Riley of the Twenty-sixth Infantry, described a torture session using the water cure to ex63