Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

Like many, World War II has long fascinated me. Without in-depth analysis as to why, I would say that it largely has to do with the good vs. evil narrative that emerged with this war with Adolf Hitler emerging as the biggest monster of the 20th century during this time period. Much of the "story" that has been provided over the years has to do with the theatre of war in Europe-the aforementioned Hitler, the concentration camps, D-Day, "Saving Private Ryan", "Band of Brothers", Stephen Ambrose books, etc. all focus upon the evil that was overcome when the Allies defeated Germany.

Of course, there were two fronts being fought, and America's involvement ostensibly was drawn out by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. History was certainly made over in Asia and the narrative of foreign policy was determined for the next forty-plus years by the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but this aspect of the war has received scant attention in comparison to what occurred in Europe. Perhaps it is because no villain as grotesque as Hitler was established or there weren't the horrors found of the concentration camps in Asia, but over the years my World War II self-education has largely ignored this part of the war.

Hampton Sides' wonderful book Ghost Soldiers addresses a piece of my lacking knowledge. It tells the story of the Bataan Death March and the rescue of these abandoned soldiers four years after their surrender. The Bataan Death March is infamous for its brutality and disregard for the captured Allied prisoners. This book provides a detailed, grim view of that march and the subsequent awful days spent by the prisoners in the makeshift prison camps in the Philippines. The Japanese had not anticipated so many prisoners and as a result, their plans soon became inadequate which lead to overcrowded prisons, mass starvation, and severe nutritional deficiencies among the Allied forces. Combined with the wanton, indifferent cruelty of the Japanese soldiers left to guard the prisoners, you come away amazed that the death toll was not higher than what was recorded.

As the Allied forces began to seize back the Pacific in 1945, they began their march through the Philippines and received word from guerrilla allies that a prison camp housing the survivors of the Bataan Death March existed nearby. Fearing the extermination of all the prisoners as they moved further north, a rescue plan involving a newly established force called the Army Rangers alongside brave Philippine guerrillas was drafted into action to stage a daring rescue mission of the emaciated prisoners.

The ending of the story may seem inevitable, but the journey that Sides takes the reader upon is breathtaking and finely detailed. Whether you're reading about the appalling conditions that the prisoners endured or the incredible bravery and stamina of the Rangers and their Philippine allies as they pull off the amazing rescue, the author provides a rich, accessible picture. I have been frustrated in the past by authors writing about military/war action when they delve so deeply into jargon that the uninitiated have a difficult time fording their way through the story, but Sides limits such writing to a minimum, instead providing sometimes haunting, sometimes humorous imagery for the reader.

As WWII books go, this is definitely one of the finer texts that I have read and highly recommended for anyone with interest in the war, particularly on the Pacific side of the battle.