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Book Wendell Fertig and His Guerrilla Forces in the Philippines

Download or read book Wendell Fertig and His Guerrilla Forces in the Philippines written by Kent Holmes and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-04-02 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating a guerrilla movement to fight the Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945) presented Colonel Wendell Fertig with some formidable challenges. Unlike the other islands in the archipelago, Mindanao had a large Moslem (Moro) population. Using Moro and American leadership he brought the Moro people into the movement. Fertig lacked good communication with MacArthur's headquarters in Australia. With ingenuity and talented technical personnel he solved this problem, and increased the logistical support for the guerrillas by submarine from Australia. As the force expanded, Fertig was fortunate to recruit leadership from 187 Americans--military and civilian--who had not surrendered to the Japanese. The resulting force, with its intelligence from coastal watch stations, added six guerrilla divisions to U.S. military strength for the 1945 liberation of Mindanao, a contribution unique in the history of unconventional warfare.

Book They Fought Alone

    Book Details:
  • Author : John Keats
  • Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
  • Release : 2015-11-06
  • ISBN : 1786257726
  • Pages : 753 pages

Download or read book They Fought Alone written by John Keats and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The time: 1942. The place: The Japanese-occupied island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The Story: A stirring true account of a man who refused to be defeated. When the American forces in the Philippines surrendered in May, 1942, a mining engineer named Wendell Fertig chose to take his chances in the jungle. What happened to him during nearly three years far behind enemy lines is the amazing story that John Keats tells in They Fought Alone. For Fertig, with the aid of a handful of Americans who also refused to surrender, led thousands of Filipinos in a seemingly hopeless war against the Japanese. They made bullets from curtain rods; telegraph wire from iron fence. They fought off sickness, despair and rebellion within their own forces. Their homemade communications were MacArthur’s eyes and ears in the Philippines. When the Americans finally returned to Mindanao, they found Fertig virtually in control of one of the world’s largest islands, commanding an army of 35,000 men, and at the head of a civil government with its own post office, law courts, currency, factories, and hospitals. John Keats, who also served in the Philippines, has captured all the pain, brutality, and courage of this incredible drama, in which many memorable men and women play their parts. But They Fought Alone is essentially the story of one man—a testament to the ingenuity and sheer guts of an authentic American hero. “This remarkable story of guerrilla fighting in the Philippines during WWII...it is absorbing reading. . . . More remarkable still, though it contains death, torture, and desolation, it bubbles with humor.” —S. L. A. Marshall, The NY Times Book Review “A true and admirably researched account of an American hero who refused to accept defeat. His courage was incredible and his resourcefulness equally so. . . . I have read scores of books in this genre and Keats’ is one of the best.” —Chicago Tribune

Book Lapham s Raiders

    Book Details:
  • Author : Robert Lapham
  • Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
  • Release : 2014-04-23
  • ISBN : 0813145694
  • Pages : 312 pages

Download or read book Lapham s Raiders written by Robert Lapham and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-04-23 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 8, 1941, the day after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands, catching American forces unprepared and forcing their eventual surrender. Among the American soldiers who managed to avoid capture was twenty-five-year-old Lieutenant Robert Lapham, who was to play a major role in the resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation. After emerging from the jungles of Bataan and in the face of daunting odds, Lapham built from scratch and commanded a devastating guerrilla force behind enemy lines. His Luzon Guerrilla Armed Forces (LGAF) evolved into an army of thirteen thousand men that eventually controlled the entire northern half of Luzon's great Central Plain, an area of several thousand square miles. This personal account of the Luzon guerrilla operations is woven into the larger context of the war. Lapham and Norling shed light on the clandestine activities of the LGAF and other guerrilla operations, assess the damages of war to the Filipino people, and discuss the United States' postwar treatment of the newly independent Philippine nation. They also offer a fuller understanding of Japan's wartime failures in the Philippines, the Pacific, and elsewhere in Asia, and of America's postwar failure to fully realize opportunities there.

Book Shadow Commander

Download or read book Shadow Commander written by Mike Guardia and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-11-24 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of the US Army legend who organized “Blackburn’s Headhunters” against Japan in WWII and went on to initiate Special Forces operations in Vietnam. The fires on Bataan burned on the evening of April 9, 1942—illuminating the white flags of surrender against the dark sky. Outnumbered and outgunned, remnants of the American-Philippine army surrendered to the forces of the Rising Sun. Yet US Army Captain Donald D. Blackburn refused to lay down his arms. With future Special Forces legend Russell Volckmann, Blackburn escaped to the jungles of North Luzon, where they raised a private army of 22,000 men against the Japanese. His organization of native tribes into guerrilla fighters would lead to the destruction of the enemy’s naval base at Aparri. But Blackburn’s amazing accomplishments would not end with the victory in the Pacific. He would go on to play a key role in initiating Army Special Forces operations in Southeast Asia, spearheading Operation White Star in Laos as commander of the 77th Special Forces Group and eventually taking command of the highly classified Studies and Observations Group (SOG), charged with performing secret missions now that main-force Communist incursions were on the rise. In the wake of the CIA’s disastrous Leaping Lena program, in 1964, Blackburn revitalized the Special Operations campaign in South Vietnam. Sending reconnaissance teams into Cambodia and North Vietnam, he discovered the clandestine networks and supply nodes of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Taking the information directly to General Westmoreland, Blackburn was authorized to conduct full-scale operations against the NVA and Viet Cong in Laos and Cambodia. In combats large and small, the Communists realized they had met a master of insurgent tactics—and he was on the US side. Following his return to the US, Blackburn was the architect of the infamous Son Tay Prison Raid, officially termed Operation Ivory Coast, the largest prisoner-of-war rescue mission—and, indeed, the largest Army Special Forces operation—of the Vietnam War. During a period when US troops in Southeast Asia faced guerrilla armies on every side, America had a superb covert commander of its own. This book follows Blackburn through both his youthful days of desperate combat and his time as a commander, imparting his lessons to the new ranks of Army Special Forces.

Book Stranded in the Philippines

Download or read book Stranded in the Philippines written by Scott A. Mills and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stranded in the Philippines is based on the memoirs of Professor Henry Roy Bell and his wife Edna. After graduation from Emporia College in Kansas, they had gone to the Philippines in 1921 to teach at Silliman, a missionary school founded by Presbyterians in 1901. The Bell family was stranded in the Philippines after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is their story from then until they were evacuated by a submarine on February 6, 1944. When the Japanese occupied their island of Negros, Prof. Bell first took his family into the hills to avoid Japanese soldiers on the coast. But in time, some of Bell’s recent students climbed to the Bell family’s retreat and persuaded Bell to support them in their harassment of Japanese soldiers—but only in food. Yet in time, the young men acquired enough arms on their own to clash with the nearby enemy garrison. They inflicted heavy losses and fatally wounded the garrison commander. By steps, he became fully involved with the resistance. He became a major in the island-wide guerrilla force which he helped organize an intelligence network for MacArthur’s headquarters. Despite the organizing success, the Bell’s were facing certain capture. With the help from the now well-organized guerrilla forces, the family crossed the island for evacuation by the huge cargo submarine Narwhal when it delivered arms and ammunition for the guerrillas the night of the rendezvous.

Book Behind Japanese Lines

Download or read book Behind Japanese Lines written by Ray C. Hunt and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-04-23 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII combat memoir offers a rare firsthand account of the Allied guerilla forces fighting the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. In the Spring of 1942, US and Philippine forces lost the Battle of Bataan, leaving control of the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor to the Japanese. After the devastating loss, the Allied forces stationed across the Philippine Archipelago were supposed to surrender. Yet many of them refused, escaping into the mountains and jungles to form guerilla units. In Behind Japanese Lines one of those brave soldiers, Ray Hunt, recounts his experiences as part of the Allied resistance against the Japanese occupation. After escaping the Bataan Death March, Ray organized a troop of guerillas who went on to make noteworthy contributions to the Filipino-American reconquest of the Philippines. Ray’s story sheds important light on US-Filipino relations during World War II, as well as the realities of fighting both the Imperial Japanese Army and the Hukbalahap communist guerillas. "Stands out for the vividness of its detail, its effort to sort fact from legend, and its tribute to the heroism of the resistance movement, which was almost entirely Filipino.” —Choice

Book Cushing  s Coup

    Book Details:
  • Author : Dirk Jan Barreveld
  • Publisher : Casemate
  • Release : 2015-07-19
  • ISBN : 1612003079
  • Pages : 305 pages

Download or read book Cushing s Coup written by Dirk Jan Barreveld and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2015-07-19 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work reveals one of the most important intelligence triumphs of World War II. It was no less than the capture of Japanês –Plan Z”ãthe Empireês fully detailed strategy for prosecuting the last stages of the Pacific War. Itês a story of happenstance, mayhem, and intrigue, and resulted directly in the spectacular U.S. victory in the Philippine Sea and MacArthurês early return to Manila, doubtless shortening WWII by months. One night in April 1944, Admiral Koga (successor to Yamamoto), commander-in-chief of Japanese forces in the Pacific, took off in a seaplane to establish new headquarters. For security reasons he had his chief-of-staff, Rear Admiral Fukudome, fly in a separate seaplane. But both aircraft ran into a tremendous typhoon and were knocked out of the skies. Kogaês plane crashed with the loss of all hands. Fukudomeês crashlanded into the sea off Cebu, the Philippines, and both the admiral and the precious Japanese war plans floated ashore. Lt. Col. James M. Cushing was an American mining engineer who happened to be in Cebu when war broke out in the Pacific. He soon took charge of the local guerrillas and became a legendary leader. But his most spectacular exploit came when he captured Admiral Fukudome and the –Plan Z” that was in his tow. The result was a ferocious cat-and-mouse game between Cushingês guerrillas and the Japanese occupation forces. While Cushing desperately sent out messages to MacArthur to say what he had found, the Japanese scoured the entire countryside, killing hundreds of civilians in a full-scale attempt to retrieve their loss. Cushing finally traded the admiral in return for a cessation of civilian deathsãbut he still secretly retained the Japanese war plans. Naturally both Tokyo and Washington tried to cover up what was happening at the timeãneither wanted the other to know what theyêd lost, or what theyêd found. However, in this book we finally learn of the huge intelligence coup by Lt. Col. Cushing that helped to shorten the entire war.

Book Total Resistance

    Book Details:
  • Author : Hans von Dach
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2024-08
  • ISBN : 9781925907575
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Total Resistance written by Hans von Dach and published by . This book was released on 2024-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Total Resistance: The Swiss Army Guide to Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations Originally published in 1965, the Panther Publications English translation of Swiss Army Major Hans von Dach's classic Der totale Widerstand brings one of the most influential guerrilla manuals back into print in its original format, right down to the distinctive red covers of the Panther Publications first printing. Universally known as being more complete than the later Paladin Press editions which have been widely reproduced, this edition is the best translation available. Total Resistance is a comprehensive guide to guerrilla warfare, designed to empower civilians to resist occupation by a foreign power through sabotage, assassination, and the organization of underground movements. This translation preserves the detailed tactics and strategies that made the original a vital resource during the Cold War. With chapters covering everything from creating sabotage cells and conducting ambushes to psychological warfare and intelligence gathering, Total Resistance remains a cornerstone in the study of unconventional warfare. Over the decades, von Dach's manual has been both revered and controversial, influencing resistance movements across the globe. Its use by various insurgent groups during the 1960s and 1970s, as well as its relevance in modern conflict zones, underscores the enduring importance of this text. This edition is perfect for historians, military enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the principles of asymmetric warfare. Whether you're studying the Cold War era, exploring military strategy, or looking for insights into modern resistance movements, Total Resistance offers a wealth of knowledge on the power of civilian-based defense. Rediscover this seminal work that continues to shape the doctrine of guerrilla warfare and underground operations around the world.

Book War and Resistance in the Philippines  1942 1944

Download or read book War and Resistance in the Philippines 1942 1944 written by James K Morningstar and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War and Resistance in the Philippines, 1942-1944 repairs the fragmentary and incomplete history of events in the Philippine Islands between the surrender of Allied forces in May 1942 and MacArthur's return in October 1944. No book has comprehensively examined the Filipino resistance during this crucial period. Here, James Kelly Morningstar provides for the first time a comprehensive history of the protracted fighting by 260,000 guerrillas in 277 units across the archipelago. Beginning with the Japanese occupation, the collapse of the United States Forces, Far East (USAFFE), and the simultaneous rise of the complex, diverse Philippine guerrilla movements, Morningstar exposes the inadequacy of MacArthur's conventional plans while revealing his inchoate preparation for guerrilla resistance. Morningstar then recounts in detail the impromptu resistance led by refugee American and Filipino soldiers, local politicians, and social revolutionaries left to battle the Japanese--and each other--with emphasis on how Japanese, American, and Filipino actions influenced and proscribed each other. From a distance, MacArthur contacted select guerrillas and organized agents to deliver supplies and radios to them by submarine. In this way he empowered some to gain power as part of a united framework under his leadership. This not only kept alive the resistance that denied the Japanese exploitation of the Philippines while setting the conditions for MacArthur's return, it also ensured that no one guerrilla leader could challenge America's supremacy. MacArthur's selective support to guerrilla groups that encouraged continued Filipino dependence on the United States would prove fatal for the incipient Maoist social revolution on Luzon. Even so, the Filipinos' shared sacrifice in their act of resistance fueled a national consciousness that created a sense of deserved nationhood. War and Resistance in the Philippines, 1942-1944 concludes with a brief discussion of legacies of the guerrilla resistance. MacArthur's return reestablished the power of American and Filipino political elites. Guerrillas and other citizens who had experienced exceptional hardship now had to fight for recognition. However, the war had resulted in a more united Philippine national identity along with new political institutions to repair the divisions between the formerly exiled government, the collaborationists, and the members of resistance. These momentous years of struggle in the Philippines changed the tide of history and challenge our understanding of war and resistance.

Book Mindoro and Lingayen Liberated

Download or read book Mindoro and Lingayen Liberated written by Bob East and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In just over a month—that is from mid-December 1944 to mid-January 1945—two crucial Allied “invasions” in Luzon (the northern geographical region of the Philippines) turned the tide in America’s favour in its attempt to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation. One invasion was on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, while the other was on the Lingayen Gulf and its environs—on the west coast of Luzon, north of Manila. While the battle of Lingayen Gulf may still have been successful without the assistance of the newly completed air facilities on Mindoro Island, this made the battle a little easier for the Allies. This publication covers the preparation for the invasion of Mindoro Island and its successful operation. In addition, it discusses the huge invasion of the Lingayen Gulf. Particular emphasis is given to the damage caused by the Kamikaze on the hundreds of Allied ships that took part in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf Because the Japanese occupation of the Philippines was such a brutal episode in the War in the Pacific, a section of this book is also devoted to Japanese war crimes. Not all the war criminals involved in atrocities in the Philippines are examined here, but, rather, only those high-ranking officers deemed responsible in some way.

Book MacArthur s Undercover War

Download or read book MacArthur s Undercover War written by William B. Breuer and published by . This book was released on 1995-05 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guadalcanal . . . Midway . . . the battle for the Philippines. In each of these critical conflicts, intelligence played a crucial role in bringing about an Allied victory. General MacArthur's brilliant Pacific campaign was designed around espionage and guerrilla warfare. This is the story of his undercover war. Praise for William B. Breuer's Previous Works... "An exciting narrative presented by a first-rate story teller." —Publishers Weekly on The Great Raid on Cabanatuan "A first-class historian." —The Wall Street Journal "Another smasher by Breuer, who specializes in thrilling reports of WWII spycraft and warfare." —Kirkus Reviews on Race to the Moon "Fast-paced, detailed, and satisfyingly dramatic." —World War II magazine on Devil Boats "Vivid . . . skillfully written." —Los Angeles Times on Retaking the Philippines "Brings to life how airborne soldiers survived, how the human will prevails . . . against overwhelming enemies, tactical failures, and even death." —The New York Times on Geronimo: American Paratroopers in World War II MACARTHUR'S UNDERCOVER WAR The covert war General Douglas MacArthur waged against Japanese forces in the Pacific arena was the largest undercover operation ever undertaken. Here, for the first time, is the complete story of the legendary exploits and heroism of the thousands of courageous individuals who fought as spies, guerrillas, propagandists, and saboteurs behind enemy lines. When the Japanese war juggernaut overran the Philippines, it took a near miraculous PT-boat escape for MacArthur to make his way to safety in Australia. He left behind a force of seventy thousand American and Philippine troops marooned on the Bataan Peninsula. To these brave men the general vowed, "I shall return." Against overwhelming odds, MacArthur succeeded. Crucial to his success was his massive covert war effort. MacArthur created his own undercover warfare agency, the super-secret Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB), to organize the many far-flung resistance groups. They were the coast watchers—jungle-wise miners, traders and planters, missionaries, and telegraph operators who occupied remote Pacific islands, living in the most primitive conditions while keeping a constant vigil for Japanese movement. They were American soldiers who escaped the Bataan Peninsula and were commanding guerrilla armies in the interior mountain and jungle locations of the Philippines. And they were double agents operating right under the noses of the Japanese in Manila, occupying positions close to the Imperial Army and in the collaborationist Philippine government. The phenomenal success of MacArthur's island-hopping "hit-'em-where-they-ain't" campaign was built on the accuracy of the intelligence gathered by the AIB. Early in the conflict, the Americans cracked the secret Japanese naval code and established a chain of intelligence radio-monitoring posts circling the Japanese empire from Alaska to Australia. The information garnered from their interceptions of Japanese transmissions and from operatives on the ground allowed MacArthur to pick soft targets—islands the Japanese had left relatively unguarded—for invasion. It was the steel nerves and unbounded resourcefulness of those who fought the secret war that paved the way for MacArthur's "Great Return" to the Philippines and saved the lives of countless American soldiers. In an action-packed narrative, MacArthur's Undercover War tells of thrilling feats of valor and derring-do—impossible missions to blow up harbors, kidnap heads of state, undermine currency, and arrange prison escapes, all deep within enemy territory. Firsthand interviews with veterans and information from previously unpublished documents reveal a riveting tale of World War II that has never been fully told.

Book The Indomitable Patriot

    Book Details:
  • Author : Carl Mclelland
  • Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Release : 2015-05-18
  • ISBN : 9781512025620
  • Pages : 346 pages

Download or read book The Indomitable Patriot written by Carl Mclelland and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-05-18 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: May, 1942. General Wainwright has just surrendered the Philippines. Wendell Fertig, a Corps of Engineers Lieutenant Colonel, refuses to comply and flees into the mountains of Mindanao. Fertig is soon joined by dozens of former Philippino Army scouts who encourage him to form a guerrilla Army. Over the next few months Fertig is joined by several other displaced American soldiers, one of whom builds a small, makeshift transmitter and establishes contact with the Navy. General MacArthur denounces Fertig, going on record claiming it's impossible for a guerrilla movement in the Philippines to succeed. The O.S.S. decides to take a chance and covertly supplies Fertig by submarine. Once he receives the tools to wage war, his achievements become legendary. By the time MacArthur returns to the Philippines in 1944 he is met on the beach at Leyte by a force of over twenty thousand of Fertig's guerrilla Army. This fictional accounting is based upon the actual military records and reports of one man's impossible achievements against overwhelming odds; against an enemy who outnumbered him a hundred to one. Wendell Fertig, a civil engineer and untrained amateur in the ways of war, defied the predictions of the experts and brought the Japanese Army to its knees. Enjoy this first installment in the new 'Behind The Lines' series of combat thrillers based upon historical records.

Book Lost in Action

    Book Details:
  • Author : Dick Bilyeu
  • Publisher : McFarland
  • Release : 2012-11-21
  • ISBN : 0786487720
  • Pages : 636 pages

Download or read book Lost in Action written by Dick Bilyeu and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2012-11-21 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Lost in action," a term used to account for soldiers last seen in combat but not identified as killed or captured, was applied to the author for years following his capture by Japanese in the Philippines after the fall of Bataan. The three and a half years after capture were a time of torture and slave labor. At war's end the author weighed 95 pounds, down from his normal 160. A year was spent in military hospitals before he was fit to return to normal activities.

Book Last Stand on Bataan

    Book Details:
  • Author : Christopher L. Kolakowski
  • Publisher : McFarland
  • Release : 2016-03-11
  • ISBN : 0786474890
  • Pages : 219 pages

Download or read book Last Stand on Bataan written by Christopher L. Kolakowski and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-11 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the opening days of World War II, a joint U.S.-Filipino army fought desperately to defend Manila Bay and the Philippines against a Japanese invasion. Much of the five-month campaign was waged on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island. Despite dwindling supplies and dim prospects for support, the garrison held out as long as possible and significantly delayed the Japanese timetable for conquest in the Pacific. In the end, the Japanese forced the largest capitulation in U.S. military history. The defenders were hailed as heroes and the legacy of their determined resistance marks the Philippines today. Drawing on accounts from American and Filipino participants and archival sources, this book chronicles these critical months of the Pacific War, from the first air strikes to the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.

Book Wendell Fertig and His Guerrilla Forces in the Philippines

Download or read book Wendell Fertig and His Guerrilla Forces in the Philippines written by Kent Holmes and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-04-20 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating a guerrilla movement to fight the Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945) presented Colonel Wendell Fertig with some formidable challenges. Unlike the other islands in the archipelago, Mindanao had a large Moslem (Moro) population. Using Moro and American leadership he brought the Moro people into the movement. Fertig lacked good communication with MacArthur's headquarters in Australia. With ingenuity and talented technical personnel he solved this problem, and increased the logistical support for the guerrillas by submarine from Australia. As the force expanded, Fertig was fortunate to recruit leadership from 187 Americans--military and civilian--who had not surrendered to the Japanese. The resulting force, with its intelligence from coastal watch stations, added six guerrilla divisions to U.S. military strength for the 1945 liberation of Mindanao, a contribution unique in the history of unconventional warfare.

Book The American Occupation of the Philippines  1898 1912

Download or read book The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898 1912 written by James Henderson Blount and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Escape From Davao

    Book Details:
  • Author : John D. Lukacs
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2010-05-11
  • ISBN : 1439180431
  • Pages : 450 pages

Download or read book Escape From Davao written by John D. Lukacs and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On April 4, 1943, ten American prisoners of war and two Filipino convicts executed a daring escape from one of Japan’s most notorious prison camps. The prisoners were survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March and the Fall of Corregidor, and the prison from which they escaped was surrounded by an impenetrable swamp and reputedly escape-proof. Theirs was the only successful group escape from a Japanese POW camp during the Pacific war. Escape from Davao is the story of one of the most remarkable incidents in the Second World War and of what happened when the Americans returned home to tell the world what they had witnessed. Davao Penal Colony, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, was a prison plantation where thousands of American POWs toiled alongside Filipino criminals and suffered from tropical diseases and malnutrition, as well as the cruelty of their captors. The American servicemen were rotting in a hellhole from which escape was considered impossible, but ten of them, realizing that inaction meant certain death, planned to escape. Their bold plan succeeded with the help of Filipino allies, both patriots and the guerrillas who fought the Japanese sent to recapture them. Their trek to freedom repeatedly put the Americans in jeopardy, yet they eventually succeeded in returning home to the United States to fulfill their self-appointed mission: to tell Americans about Japanese atrocities and to rally the country to the plight of their comrades still in captivity. But the government and the military had a different timetable for the liberation of the Philippines and ordered the men to remain silent. Their testimony, when it finally emerged, galvanized the nation behind the Pacific war effort and made the men celebrities. Over the decades this remarkable story, called the “greatest story of the war in the Pacific” by the War Department in 1944, has faded away. Because of wartime censorship, the full story has never been told until now. John D. Lukacs spent years researching this heroic event, interviewing survivors, reading their letters, searching archival documents, and traveling to the decaying prison camp and its surroundings. His dramatic, gripping account of the escape brings this remarkable tale back to life, where a new generation can admire the resourcefulness and patriotism of the men who fought the Pacific war.