Book Review: Hampton Sides' GHOST SOLDIERS

    A friend gave me a copy of a popular history of an event from the annals of WW II.  This event is part of the numerous memoir accounts of the infamous "Bataan Death March" of January, 1942 when Japanese army troops marched captured Allied POW's from Manila Bay to a Camp O'Donnell 75 miles to the north on the island of Luzon where they had been ordered to surrender by commanding officers.
      Over 1,000 prisoners were abused and murdered during this hell march.   Many survivors would live only to be murdered later at the hands of Japanese guards at other camps near Mount Pinatubo volcano.   Many were later forcibly transferred to japan where they were used as forced laborers in coal mines and arms factories.
      The story concerns an American led rescue/prison break at the site of a notorious camp.  Gen. Douglas MacArthur had landed on the beach of Luzon at the Lingayen Gulf with the goal of capturing Manila, which had been taken by the Japanese army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941.   With American air power dominating the defenders, the now seasoned American army was rolling up the vaunted Japanese occupiers.  A group of allied POW's were being held in a camp in eastern Luzon, in an area thought to be a last refuge of the defenders.  Intel had references to a complete liquidation/ mass murder of those same POW's.   A mission was assigned to a new unit of the Army: the 6th Ranger Battalion led by Col. Mucci.  Time was of the essence.
     This company plus of American Rangers would be joined by another company of Filipino guerilla fighters who knew the terrain intimately; terrain that they had fought Japanese invaders for almost 4 years.   They would guide the Rangers past Japanese camps, and maintain the element of surprise that was crucial to the success of the mission.   The Rangers traveled light, foregoing helmets and heavy gear, they were armed for close combat and rapid attack.
     The Japanese were withdrawing, and unbeknownst to the attackers, the guards left the camp 2 days prior to the Rangers attack.  The prisoners were now in charge of the camp.  Until, retreating Japanese Army troops arrived and took over some of the camp.
    And then the rangers arrived and put their plan into action.   It was a complete surprise, at night, and even the POW's were shocked at the rescue action.  In short order, the Japanese were routed, the POW's gathered up, and the group fled into the jungle to guide the weak and sickly prisoners back to the American lines.  With the help of local farmers and their carts and wagons, even those who could not walk were brought back alive.
     It was a signal event in a long war, a daring rescue carried out to perfection with minimal losses on the side of the Americans.   Tragically, one of the casualties was a doctor who voluteered to accompany the rangers to provide medical treatment to the POWs.
Mayor awards 5*****: a great read.