Submit your comments on this article |
Home Front: Culture Wars |
This Week in Books - April 10, 2016 |
2016-04-10 |
Ghost Soldiers The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Hampton Sides Anchor, 2002 This is another book I came across in the audio section. Sure, why not? (Note: I note every audio book I started with, but then I purchased the book, preferably hardback.) Often I have remarked, "If they made this story into a movie, nobody would believe it." In this case, it was: The Great Raid The movie, I enjoyed it, if that is the right word. However, I could not have appreciated the movie without first knowing Mr. Sides' work. Like Lord of the Rings, the movie is enthralling but without meaning if you have not been witness to the story. It is foremost an account of the survivors of Bataan, or more specifically, the survivors of the survivors of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. (Page 8) One hundred and fifty slaves stood on a tarmac 2,200 meters long and 210 meters wide, straining with shovels and pickaxes and rakes. Ever since the air raids started two months earlier, Lieutenant Sato, the one they called "the Buzzard," had ordered them out each morning to fill the bomb pits, to make the runway usable again. This morning had been no different. The men had risen at dawn and eaten a breakfast of weevily rice, then climbed aboard the trucks for the short ride to the airstrip. As usual, they worked all morning and took a break for lunch around noon. But now the Buzzard said no lunch would be served on the strip, that instead the food would be prepared back at the barracks. The men were puzzled, because they'd never eaten lunch at their barracks before, not on a workday. It didn't make sense to drive back now, for they still had considerable repair work to do. Sato offered no explanation. Foremost, it is an account of the survivors. As always, it is a personal account of an individual in extraordinary circumstances. (Page 49) Thomas was a loud, friendly giant of a man, a beaming six-foot-four strawberry blond from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he'd been a star end on the Godwin High School football team. He'd had a difficult upbringing, even in comparison to the hard-luck stories typically found in the Bataan army. His father left his mother when he was a baby, his young brother had lost an arm in a streetcar accident and then had died of scarlet fever, and during the depths of the Depression his family had sunk into a poverty so extreme that after a series of moves and a stream of bad men constantly coming through the house, Thomas struck out on his own. His mother loved him dearly, but couldn't provide for him. Thomas spent his last two years of high school camping out of a rattletrap car on Buck Creek, living off the meager proceeds of his paper route and his summer wages from tending lettuce in the region's famously rich muck gardens. He had wanted to go to college but he couldn't afford it, so he joined the Army, which in comparison to his life in Grand Rapids seemed a radiant existence, holding out the promise of good wages ($21 a month) and three hot meals a day. The actions taken by Mucci's Rangers are well accounted for, and an acknowledgment to the Philippine resistance is acknowledged. (Page 75) Joson (ho-SOHN) was a short, generous-spirited man in his mid-thirties, bright but of limited education. He was a natural politician with a knack of gentle persuasion and a broad smile full of good teeth. Major Lapham, the American guerrilla leader, had always considered Joson one of his most capable officers. Joson couldn't count the run-ins he'd had with the Japanese over the past three years - skirmishes and ambushes and moonlight raids. Joson thrilled to the idea of attacking Cabanatuan. His runners had brought him the news last night. He and his lieutenants had gone out into the countryside, canvassing the surrounding barrios to round up as many able-bodied men as possible. Now here they were mustered and ready to join the mission. Mr. Sides' work is detailed, but this passage really struck me, and if you have seen the movie, spot the difference. (Page 267) A few minutes later an airplane shot across the sky. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, as though a trapdoor had opened in the firmament. As the aircraft streaked low over the camp, Thomas caught a momentary glimpse of the twin tailed contraption. It was black, futuristic, sleeker than any plane Thomas had seen before. He observed that the guards up in the tower were apoplectic, hurling themselves upon the floorboards. My best guess is a P-61 Black Widow. Link is to Amazon's The Great Raid. |
Posted by:swksvolFF |
#2 My best guess is a P-61 Black Widow. It was, indeed. Mike |
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2016-04-10 12:35 |
#1 AOSHQ Sunday Book Thread notes that Larry Correia has a new ScI-Fi audible book coming out 5/24 - narrated by Adam Baldwin (the good Baldwin) that is free for pre-order. Go to the link and scroll down to the "Free Audio Book" for link to pre-order |
Posted by: Frank G 2016-04-10 12:09 |