A volume on the liberation of the Philippines that concentrates on events from July 1944 through March 1945.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of No Easy Day comes a thrilling World War II story of the American airborne soldiers who captured a Japanese-held island fortress “Rock Force is a beautifully told story of war: the friendships, the courage and despair, and the terror... One of the most exciting books ever written about the Pacific War.”—Mitch Weiss, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Countdown 1945 In late December 1941, General Douglas MacArthur, caught off guard by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, is forced to retreat to Corregidor, a jagged, rocky island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay. Months later, under orders from the president, the general is whisked away in the dark of night, leaving his troops to their fate. It is a bitter pill for a fiercely proud warrior who has always protected his men. He famously declares "I shall return," but the humiliation of Corregidor haunts him, even earning him the derisive nickname "Dugout Doug." In early 1945, MacArthur returns to the Philippines, his eyes firmly fixed on Corregidor. To take back the island, he calls on the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, a highly trained veteran airborne unit. Their mission is to jump onto the island—hemmed in by sheer cliffs, pockmarked by bomb craters, bristling with deadly spiky broken tree trunks—and wrest it from some 6,700 Japanese defenders who await, fully armed and ready to fight to the death. Drawn from firsthand accounts and personal interviews with the battle's surviving veterans, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Kevin Maurer delves into this extraordinary tale, uncovering astonishing accounts of bravery and heroism during an epic, yet largely forgotten, clash of the Pacific War. Here is an intimate story of uncommon soldiers showing uncommon courage and winning, through blood and sacrifice, the redemption of General MacArthur.

An account of the first successful island airborne attack during World War II describes how outnumbered American parachute and amphibious troops retook the strategic island stronghold of the Philippines in 1945.

Escape from Corregidor is the harrowing account of Edgar Whitcomb, a B-17 navigator who arrives in World War II Philippines just before its invasion by the Japanese. Whitcomb evades the enemy on Bataan by fleeing to Corregidor Island in a small boat. He is captured but later manages to escape at night in an hours-long swim to safety. Captured once again weeks later, Whitcomb is imprisoned, tortured and starved, before being transferred to China and eventual freedom.

"The two-week battle for Corregidor was complicated by the American's gross underestimation of enemy strength: expecting a few hundred demoralized defenders, they encountered more than 6,000 Japanese soldiers and marines deployed in tunnels and caves, every man dedicated to the Bushido code that dictated a fight to the death. As the dust was settling, MacArthur himself came ashore and was greeted by the commander of the victorious U.S. Army troops. 'Sir, ' said Col. George Jones, 'I present to you the Fortress Corregidor' -- a stirring conclusion to a dramatic and well-told story". -- Publishers Weekly

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. The defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment during World War II, leading to the surrender of American forces. In 1945 the forts were manned by Japanese soldiers determined to hold out to the bitter end. This title details the fortifications of this key strategic location, and considers both their effectiveness and historical importance.

Wright's account of the three and a half years he was a prisoner of the Japanese.