sentences:  As a prisoner, he battled starvation, receiving only a small meal of mush served in a tin cup—a utensil he kept for the rest of his life.With a weight below , Buckles developed beriberi, and led fellow captives in calisthenics to counter the effects of imprisonment.Their captors showed little mercy, but Buckles was allowed to grow a small garden, which he often used to help feed children who were imprisoned there.