Crisis in the Pacific: The Battles for the Philippine Islands by the Men Who Fought Them

The fighting that waged across the Philippines during World War II ranks among the most vicious in the annals of war. Nearly 80,000 Americans and Filipinos were taken prisoner on Bataan, the name of which is forever linked with the notorious "death march." During the three years that Japan occupied the archipelago, 130,000 American and Filipinos were killed. Prisoners in Japanese prison camps were 10 times as likely to die in captivity as soldiers held by the Germans. When they returned to retake the islands, American troops preferred not to take any prisoners at all. Gerald Astor gives voice to the soldiers who participated in this gruesome period of world military history.