"It was the 1930s in southern Alabama where cotton and cornfields were the backdrop of my childhood stage. I was growing up just like everyone else-wrapped in a simple and predictable way of life. Folks were the same, weather was the same, the calendar was the same. It was such an uncomplicated time that I could never have imagined that in just a few short years the entire world would be engulfed in war and that I would be caught in the middle of it. Where I lived in Lowndes County, events in Europe and Asia, as menacing as they were, seemed light-years away. I would soon discover that they were not so far away after all." So begins this powerful memoir about a teenage boy who, during the summer of 1941 after his high school graduation, realizes he's in love with a 16-year-old beautiful brunette he has known since first grade. In the heat of a grief-stricken and passion-filled moment, however, he makes an impulsive decision that will change his life in a dark and cruel way. Running away from home, he falsifies his age and hurriedly joins the Army, telling none of his family or friends. Within a month, he is halfway around the world, stationed in the Philippines, propelled into manhood, and all too soon engaged in horrific combat against the Japanese. After months of fierce fighting, Frazier's heart is broken and his mind is numb as he watches while Old Glory is lowered and replaced by the Japanese flag of the Rising Sun. Overnight everything changes and his freedom, along with the freedom of thousands of others, instantly disappears. During the next seven nights and six days, and for 90 miles, he is subjected to the unspeakable and inhumane horrors of the infamous Bataan Death March. But that is just the beginning. Frazier becomes a shell of a man as he suffers three and a half years of brutal and unmerciful treatment as a prisoner of war in the Philippines and later in Japan. In Hell's Guest, Colonel Frazier shares his dreadful experiences most poignantly, including the endless agony of torture, slave labor, solitary confinement, starvation, lack of adequate clothing against the elements of the weather, and all types of other abuse. At the same time, his hatred for the Japanese grows into an all-consuming force, and someday, if he survives, he is determined to get even. This captivating story doesn't end with the surrender of the Japanese army. Frazier will eventually return home yet still remain a prisoner of his own bitterness and anger-enemies that will continue to inflict wounds that no doctors can heal. This compelling story cannot be put down until the last chapter is read and true freedom and peace are regained. "Colonel Frazier's story of survival makes him a hero-his story of forgiveness makes him a legend!" (Timothy Frost, retired Staff Sergeant, United States Army)

In November 1991 the American flag was lowered for the last time at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. This act brought to an end American military presence in the Philippines that extended back over 90 years. It also represented the final act in a drama that began with the initial rumblings in April of that year of the Mount inatubo volcano, located about nine miles to the east of Clark. This book tells the remarkable story of the men and women of the Clark community and their ordeal in planning for and carrying out their evacuation from Clark in face of the impending volcanic activity. It documents the actions of those who remained on the base during the series of Mount Pinatubo' s eruptions, and the packing out of the base during the subsequent months. This is the story of the Ash Warriors, those Air Force men and women who carried out their mission in the face of an incredible series of natural disasters, including volcanic eruption, flood, typhoons, and earthquakes, all of which plagued Clark and the surrounding areas during June and July 1991.

Dedicated to the Sailors and Marines who lost their lives on the final voyage of USS Indianapolis and to those who survived the torment at sea following its sinking. plus the crews that risked their lives in rescue ships. The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a decorated World War II warship that is primarily remembered for her worst 15 minutes. . This ship earned ten (10) battle stars for her service in World War II and was credited for shooting down nine (9) enemy planes. However, this fame was overshadowed by the first 15 minutes July 30, 1945, when she was struck by two (2) torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58 and sent to the bottom of the Philippine Sea. The sinking of Indianapolis and the loss of 880 crew out of 1,196 --most deaths occurring in the 4-5 day wait for a rescue delayed --is a tragedy in U.S. naval history. This historical reference showcases primary source documents to tell the story of Indianapolis, the history of this tragedy from the U.S. Navy perspective. It recounts the sinking, rescue efforts, follow-up investigations, aftermath and continuing communications efforts. Included are deck logs to better understand the ship location when she sunk and testimony of survivors and participants. For additional historical publications produced by the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, please check out these resources here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/naval-history-heritage-command Year 2016 marked the 71st anniversary of the sinking and another spike in public attention on the loss -- including a big screen adaptation of the story, talk of future films, documentaries, and planned expeditions to locate the wreckage of the warship.

On April 4, 1943, ten American prisoners of war and two Filipino convicts executed a daring escape from one of Japan’s most notorious prison camps. The prisoners were survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March and the Fall of Corregidor, and the prison from which they escaped was surrounded by an impenetrable swamp and reputedly escape-proof. Theirs was the only successful group escape from a Japanese POW camp during the Pacific war. Escape from Davao is the story of one of the most remarkable incidents in the Second World War and of what happened when the Americans returned home to tell the world what they had witnessed. Davao Penal Colony, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, was a prison plantation where thousands of American POWs toiled alongside Filipino criminals and suffered from tropical diseases and malnutrition, as well as the cruelty of their captors. The American servicemen were rotting in a hellhole from which escape was considered impossible, but ten of them, realizing that inaction meant certain death, planned to escape. Their bold plan succeeded with the help of Filipino allies, both patriots and the guerrillas who fought the Japanese sent to recapture them. Their trek to freedom repeatedly put the Americans in jeopardy, yet they eventually succeeded in returning home to the United States to fulfill their self-appointed mission: to tell Americans about Japanese atrocities and to rally the country to the plight of their comrades still in captivity. But the government and the military had a different timetable for the liberation of the Philippines and ordered the men to remain silent. Their testimony, when it finally emerged, galvanized the nation behind the Pacific war effort and made the men celebrities. Over the decades this remarkable story, called the “greatest story of the war in the Pacific” by the War Department in 1944, has faded away. Because of wartime censorship, the full story has never been told until now. John D. Lukacs spent years researching this heroic event, interviewing survivors, reading their letters, searching archival documents, and traveling to the decaying prison camp and its surroundings. His dramatic, gripping account of the escape brings this remarkable tale back to life, where a new generation can admire the resourcefulness and patriotism of the men who fought the Pacific war.

A devastating portrait of the suffering of Japanese-held POWs in the Second World War.