Death March: The Survivors of Bataan

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Summary: GRIPPING ... COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN!!!!
Review: As a descendant of soldiers who were in the Philippine Scouts (they survived the March by escaping into the jungle), I found the first hand accounts of Americans who were there fascinating. It gave me a feeling of being there.
It's a story about survival and the indomitable spirit of man.
It's amazing what men will do to survive in stressful conditions and adversity. It separates the men from the boys, the strong from the weak.
I'm not accustomed to reading books in the first hand account style, but I found it more interesting to read the text as opposed to the typical factual style that a history book would have.
This a great read for you military history buffs out there! It's almost as good as sitting down with a vet and hearing him telling it to you.

Rating:
Summary: A First-Hand Account of the Atrocities of War
Review: Author Donald Knox has taken personal narratives from over sixty survivors of the Bataan death march and combined them into this gripping story of the struggle to survive. On April 9, 1942, the penninsula of Bataan fell into Japanese hands. The surrendering Americans were then subjected to a ninety mile march without adequate food or water. Men were shot and bayonetted for sport by the Japanese. Once the Americans reached their prison camp, they were herded into a tiny area with only two water spigots. Hundreds of men died each day from dysentery, malaria, and starvation. Many healthy men were soon reduced to skeletons. Others simply refused to go on any further. Still others found that the only way they could survive was to find a friend to help them get through.

After two to three years of living in this nightmare, the American forces returned to liberate the Philippines. Fearing that the prisoners would be liberated by the returning Americans, the Japanese loaded the surviving POWs into "Hell Ships"; massively overcrowded freighters to be transferred to the Japanese home islands. Some of the men went mad, while others drowned when their ships were sunk by American submarines. Once in Japan, the men were forced to work long hours in Japanese factories and mines while still receiving little in the way of food or medical care. The conditions in the Japanese labor camps were as unimaginable as they were in the Philippines; little food and water and constant beatings by the Japanese guards.

I've read several oral history books about World War II, and this book is one of the best. Knox lets the survivors' stories create this book. I was in awe of the horrible conditions that these men were forced to survive under. It is a true testament to the human spirit that these men were able to overcome the merciless beatings and the extermely meager food and water rations they received to survive and return home. Anyone who questions why the Americans used the atomic bomb should read about the Bataan prisoners and what they were forced to endure. I highly recommend this fine piece of oral history. Read it and understand what some of the true heroes of World War II did for their country.

Rating:
Summary: A First-Hand Account of the Atrocities of War
Review: Author Donald Knox has taken personal narratives from over sixty survivors of the Bataan death march and combined them into this gripping story of the struggle to survive. On April 9, 1942, the penninsula of Bataan fell into Japanese hands. The surrendering Americans were then subjected to a ninety mile march without adequate food or water. Men were shot and bayonetted for sport by the Japanese. Once the Americans reached their prison camp, they were herded into a tiny area with only two water spigots. Hundreds of men died each day from dysentery, malaria, and starvation. Many healthy men were soon reduced to skeletons. Others simply refused to go on any further. Still others found that the only way they could survive was to find a friend to help them get through.

After two to three years of living in this nightmare, the American forces returned to liberate the Philippines. Fearing that the prisoners would be liberated by the returning Americans, the Japanese loaded the surviving POWs into "Hell Ships"; massively overcrowded freighters to be transferred to the Japanese home islands. Some of the men went mad, while others drowned when their ships were sunk by American submarines. Once in Japan, the men were forced to work long hours in Japanese factories and mines while still receiving little in the way of food or medical care. The conditions in the Japanese labor camps were as unimaginable as they were in the Philippines; little food and water and constant beatings by the Japanese guards.

I've read several oral history books about World War II, and this book is one of the best. Knox lets the survivors' stories create this book. I was in awe of the horrible conditions that these men were forced to survive under. It is a true testament to the human spirit that these men were able to overcome the merciless beatings and the extermely meager food and water rations they received to survive and return home. Anyone who questions why the Americans used the atomic bomb should read about the Bataan prisoners and what they were forced to endure. I highly recommend this fine piece of oral history. Read it and understand what some of the true heroes of World War II did for their country.

Rating:
Summary: Hoped it would be better.
Review: Before I read this book I didn't know that our troops had fought all that hard agienst the inital invasion force. This book is very cool it actually puts a face on all the guys we alway hear about on Veterans Day. As for the stories some make you laugh, others back you cry and others leave you wondering if you would have the willpower to do what these guys did. Anyone who likes first-hand war stories will like this book.

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Summary: The American Holocaust of World War II
Review: Donald Knox wrote an excellent oral history of the experiences of the survivors of the surrender of Bataan and Corregidor. He did this while many of these men (now in the 70s and 80s) were still able to remember vividly their experiences. They detail in their own moving words the starvation, ill-treatment, executions and torture suffered in 3-1/2 years of imprisonment (Indeed, the famous beach scene from "Saving Private Ryan" could have been replicated on the Bataan Death March, only it was Japanese soldiers doing the dirty work to helpless prisoners). One statistic is telling: less than 2% of Americans captured by the Germans perished in captivity. Over HALF of Americans captured by the Japanese failed to return. Knox details how normal American soldiers sometime descended into almost-animal behavior in order to survive. It has been my great privilege to meet and write with many of these quiet, grandfatherly heroes. Their only wish is to have their sacrifices remembered. Knox did an outstanding job of accomplishing this. How about a "younger" version for students? This is history that needs to be remembered, just like Hiroshima.

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Summary: Man's inhumanity to man!
Review: Enjoyable reading this is not. Gripping, it most certainly is. Eye-witness accounts from actual survivors of some of the most cruel treatments men have ever had to endure; but endure they did! The actual battle conditions were strength sapping enough; arduous fighting whilst suffering from the effects of frequent food shortages. Then capture by an enemy that, by it's own strict code of honour, made them contemptuous of any soldiers that became their prisoners. The lucky ones died quickly. Those not so fortunate suffered the "death march" through the Bataan Peninsular to their respective camps in other parts of the islands, followed by years of brutal treatment & torture, both physical & mental, together with the debilitating affects of starvation, slavery, disease with minimum medical attention. Some poor devils followed this with a hellish sea journey in overloaded, cramped, steaming hot, holds of cargo ships, to similar treatment in the prison camps of Japan & Manchuria. Final release brought freedom & repatriation to a United States that recognised & rewarded only the war heroes. Most POW's had huge problems convincing US doctors that their divers post-captivity symptoms were in fact, prison camp related. Not necessarily the doctors' fault since the headaches, nightmares, stress related sufferings, were poorly researched at that time. Most ex-prisoners received little, or no, real effective attention & the phsycological traumas resulted in a high incidence of drinking problems & suicides amongst those unfortunates. A sad & poignent ending to the book. The accounts are not all strife & gloom. There are some humourous & up-lifting moments recounted, particularly where "buddies" were supporting each other in adversity. Knox does a truly great job in presenting the accounts in such a clear & chronological order that the end result reads like a novel. Read it, & weep!

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Summary: Such a great book.
Review: I am a college student and I originally picked this book up to due research for a project of the Japanese atrocities of WWII. While I specifically picked up for the accounts on the Death March, I ended up reading it cover to cover. The more I read more it became useful for information on the Hell Ships and the conditions of the labor camps. It's a shame that while the stories of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany are told and retold the horrors in the Pacific Theater are barely talked about. The stories that the soldiers tell of struggle and hardship show the true heroism. I often find myself with them hoping them on. I completely recommend this book for anyway with any interest.

Rating:
Summary: A Definite Must Read
Review: I wanted to learn more about the Death March and I found this book among my husbands books. I started reading and I couldn't put it down. From the very start of the events on the Bataan Peninsula to the liberation of the POW's...everything is described in this book.... how the POW's were treated, everything they had to endure. These first hand accounts from those who were there tell the real story of the Death March. It's a definite must read for anyone..and a necessary addition to your library.

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Summary: Great resource of first hand acccounts.
Review: This amazing collection of first-hand accounts of the survivors of the Bataan Death March is brutal but compelling reading. Donald Knox has interviewed an extensive collection of survivors and persuaded them to tell the excruciating details of their capture, their time in the camps and on work details and their release. Their stories are alternately shocking and inspiring. The book is an invaluable historical resource, and any student of the war in the Pacific will find it fascinating reading. Since it is presented as a collection of interviews from different sources, some familiarity with the story of Bataan and American POWs in Japan will help the reader place each story in the right context. These testimonials can be gruesome, but it's important that the POWs' stories be told.

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Summary: Reflections
Review: This is a most remarkable narrative. The stories that Mr. Knox was able to record and then write is a most incredible journey. The reflections of the POW's and their sincerity, their ability to retell heart throbbing history. It is a truly incredible walk through history. The fact that there is almost zero public knowledge about this vital historical era is incredulous. As a member of a family that has been part of this significant section of history it has opened my eyes to what transpired. The book is filled with names of men who survived as well as those who perished at the hands of the Japanese cruelty. Through this book I have found information about a family member,and have been able to contact members of this group of American heroes. They may be fogotten by the American Public due to the economic policies of our own government, but will never be forgotten by the families of the survivors. Mr. Knox has perfromed a great deed for our society. His book should be on the shelves of all historians. Hopefully a second narrative will be done in the future with the notes that he received from these great Americans. On this eve of the fourth of July 2000, our prayers for the future, and to the health and safety of the survivors and their families.