# GHOST SOLDIERS (Book Review)



## Danjanou (8 Mar 2004)

On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward King formally surrendered the American and Filipino forces holding the Bataan Peninsula to the invading Japanese forces. It was the largest surrender of American military forces in history. 

King had been left with no alternative. His troops were out of ammunition, food, and medical supplies, surrounded and with no hope of relief. Over the next few days the 78,000 soldiers formally under his command. And the 20,000 civilians, who had taken refuge behind the lines on the peninsula, came out of the jungle and mountains in small and large groups and began their lengthy captivity. 

For most this meant a grueling 65-mile march to the railway lines that would move them inland to newly established prison camps. This was the infamous Bataan Death March, which would see an estimated 6,000 die through a combination of neglect, mismanagement and in more than one case deliberate acts of cruelty. 

Those that survived found themselves in Camp O‘Donnell in northern Luzon. Camp O‘Donnell was a name that would soon become synonymous with unbearable suffering and the survival of the human spirit. 

Two months after the surrender of Bataan, Major General Jonathon Wainwright surrendered the surviving 8,000 American and Filipino soldiers of the garrison of the island fortress of Corregidor. They were spared their own death march, and merely paraded through the streets of Manila by their captors before being shipped to another prison camp near the city of Cabantuan. 

For the next three years these survivors would be subjected to further cruelty, and neglect and watch their numbers decrease on a regular basis. Thousands would die, most from diseases that the simplest of medications or even an adequate diet would have staved off. 

By 1945 the fortunes of war had changed. Imperial Japanese forces were retreating everywhere in the Asian and Pacific theatres. A massive American force had landed in the Philippines and was in the process of liberating the country. 

In January General Walter Krueger who commanded the US 6th Army in Luzon was provided with two related pieces of information. The 6th Army had waded ashore at Lingayen Gulf and January 9, 1945. This ironically was the same beach the Japanese had used to invade the island three years earlier. Krueger‘s orders from Douglas MacArthur were to drive south and east and liberate Manila. Another American force was also driving north toward the capital city. 

The first piece of intelligence presented to Krueger on January 26 was about a deliberate massacre of American Prisoners of War by their Japanese guards. On December 14, 1944 some, 120 American prisoners working at an airfield on the Philippine island of Palawan had been herded into tunnels under the pretext of an imminent air raid. The guards then poured gasoline into the tunnels and set them alight. Any of the prisoners that attempted to escape were shot or bayoneted. 

A handful of the prisoners on Palawan had escaped and been sheltered by local Filipinos who had helped them reach the advancing US forces. Their story was now being relayred to US commanders in the field. 

The second piece of information that Krueger received that day was also in regards to POWs. Local Filipino guerillas and other intelligence sources reported that an estimated 500 US prisoners were being held in a camp near the city of Cabantuan, a little more than thirty miles from the US front lines. These were the remnants of the men who had surrendered at Bataan and Corregidor. 

Prior to the American invasion many of the US and other allied prisoners had been transported to Japan to ensure that they were not liberated. Here they were used as slave labour until the war‘s end. Those unfit or otherwise unable to travel though had been left behind. Most were now collected in this one camp. 

At the time there was no evidence to suggest that the massacre on Palawan was a deliberate act of policy or the unilateral action of a rogue commander. The chance however could not be taken. Krueger realized that he had to stage a rescue operation and quickly before the 500 prisoners were shipped to Japan or worse all killed. 

The job of organizing and executing a raid 30 miles behind enemy lines, rescuing the prisoners, and then getting them safely back, when it was thought, most would be in no condition to travel was given to a rather unique unit in the 6th Army, the 6th Ranger Battalion, under the command of Lt. Colonel Henry Mucci. 

The battalion like the Ranger units in the European theatre was highly trained. However, it had yet to see any action. Originally it had been formed as a mule battalion, to support pack artillery in the New Guinea campaigns. When the need for such a unit disappeared, the mules were disposed of and the men turned into a Ranger unit under Mucci after a lengthy and grueling training regime. 

Ghost Soldiers by journalist and author Hampton Sides, tells the story of the 6th Rangers daring raid on the Cabantuan prisoner camp and the rescue of all the prisoners there. 

Sides does more than tell the story of the raid. He also tells of the harrowing experiences of those who were rescued as well. He alternates chapters with one dealing with the preparations and conduct of the raid and the next dealing with the ordeal of the inmates starting with their capture at Bataan and then what they went through over the next three years. 

The Rangers had only a couple of days to prepare for and then literally walk 30 miles behind enemy lines to a village near the camp. Only 120 men of the battalion, drawn from C and F companies were chosen for the raid. They were joined by a force of 200 Filipino guerillas that would be of invaluable assistance in the upcoming operation. 

When they reached the camp, they discovered that it was being used as a transit camp for retreating Japanese troops. Thjis caused a 24 delay while they waited for a large force on enemy troops to move out of the area. Even on the night the raid was eventually conducted on when the transit camp was empty there were thousands of enemy soldiers in the immediate vicinity. 

The two tales that of the prisoners enduing the unbearable, disease, mistreatment and feelings of utter abandonment, and the Rangers and guerillas silently slipping through the rice fields, converged at sunset on January 30, 1945. 

The actual attack is literally a textbook operation. This is surprising as it is carried out by untried troops with minimal preparation and no chance to rehearse the complex operation. The Rangers quickly over ran the camp, killing the guards and assembling the POW‘s. 

On their flanks the two companies of Filipino guerillas deploy to block the main highway and delay any reinforcements. One company tasked to hold the road to Cabuatuan City meets no opposition and after they receive the signal, they melt into the darkness to join up with the Rangers and POWs heading for safety. On the other flank though a small unit of some 100 Filipino guerillas under the command of Captain Pojota becomes involved in the fight of their lives. Only a few miles from the camp are a thousand battle hardened, Japanese troops equipped with armoured vehicles. 

The minute the raid starts; this unit attempts to move toward the camp. Pojota and his men though know the importance of this and they have chosen their ground well. They repel several Japanese attacks and kill hundreds, before being given the signal to withdraw. 

Even after the camp has been assaulted and all the raiders and rescued POWs have been accounted for the mission is still far from over. They are still 30 miles behind enemy lines, and now the enemy knows that they‘re there. They have to march out and almost all of the 500 prisoners are in no condition to do so. 

Aside from the raid itself Sides covers many other related aspects. There is the hair-raising tale of the massacre on Palawan that opens the book. He also covers the early training of the Rangers in New Guinea that helped prepare them for this mission. There are the stories of the POW‘s who had the misfortune to be shipped to Japan before they could be liberated. There is also the story of the various resistance and guerilla operations on Luzon many of which helped the POW‘s by smuggling in needed food and medical supplies. 

Chief among them is a nightclub owner in Manila who appears to be collaborating with the Japanese. She claims to be an Italian/Filipino. In actuality she is an American and the wife of one of the prisoners. She plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the occupying army, gathering information, and using the club‘s profits to buy black market supplies for the camps. 

Sides writing style is such that this book reads more like an action adventure thriller than a work of military history. There‘s a certain page turning tension that doesn‘t end until the last chapter. The historical and technical details are all correct, but unlike other authors he does not overload the work with them and bog down his narrative. This one is fast paced from start to finish. In fact a movie based on the book has recently completed filming and should be released shortly. 

He is also blessed with characters that no author could create. There are the fiery and flamboyant Colonel Mucci the Ranger commander and the well-liked Captain Prince who hides a debilitating injury to lead his men on the raid. Captain Pojota the battle hardened guerilla leader who after three long years finally gets to meet his hated enemy in a set piece battle. The compassionate Dr. Jimmy Fisher the Ranger‘s medical officer who insists on being where he‘s needed most in the thick of the battle with tragic consequences. 

Others include Claire Phillips, the Manila Mata Hari who continues to play her dangerous game until her luck runs out. Then there are of course the prisoners. Dr. Ralph Hibbs who worked miracles in the camps. Sgt. Abie Abraham the career soldier who never lost faith, and even found it in the depths of human suffering. Chaplain Taylor who would endure further **** on Earth while being shipped to Japan. 

Finally among so many others there is Edwin Rose, the merchant sailor from Toronto would have the misfortune of being the only prisoner left behind by the Rangers. Rose was deaf and in the toilet during the raid and had no idea it was underway, until it was all over. Filipino guerillas rescued him the next day from the abandoned camp. 

The book, or at least the copy I read is illustrated with several black and white photos of the major characters and some pictures taken during the raid itself. Surprisingly Krueger and Mucci ordered a Army photographer and fil crew to accompany the Rangers to record the raid. Unfortunately for them the c\raid took place in darkness and they were only able to record the march there and back. 

There are also a selection of maps showing the route of the Rangers and a diagram of their attack on the camp. Other maps show the route of the Bataan Death March. 

Sides traveled to both the Philippines and Japan to research this book, as well as all over the United States. He interviewed as many of the participants, Rangers, prisoners, guerillas, and even guards as he could to ensure a complete and accurate telling of the raid. 

In addition he made much use of transcripts of interviews of those who had already passed away and several autobiographies and accounts of the POW‘s published after the war and now long out of print. He also makes extensive work of an earlier work on the Cabantuan Raid, Hour of Redemption (1978) by Forrest Johnson. He has nothing but praise for the author of this work, who he credits with assisting him in the writing of Ghost Soldiers. 

I had heard of the Cabantuan Raid long ago. It‘s one of those operations that was so perfectly executed that it referred to as a "textbook operation." Sides‘ book shows that it was far from that, although like many other soldiers I studied it as an example on how to pull off such an audacious operation. 

Ironically I was in the Philippines when the book was recommended to me. I‘d already visited some of the places where the events took place and those of a similar raid conducted by elements of the 11th Airborne Division and local guerillas to free several thousand civilians internees at the Los Banos camp south east of Manila. Even more ironic was the fact I bought the book at the airport to read en route to my next destination, Japan. My mode of transport and reception were far more comfortable than those who made the same trip in 1945 though.


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## pegged (9 Mar 2004)

I read this, great book.


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