In September of 2002, Simon and Schuster published Martin Cruz-Smith’s novel, “December Sixth”. It is a fictional tale of the preparations made by the Imperial Japanese state to attack Pearl Harbor. We all know, from our annual memorial, what happened on December seventh, 1941. What few of us know, or remember, is the horror that began on December 8th of that year, for the people of the Philippines and the thousands of U.S. troops stationed there.

After the air assault on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese military invaded the Philippine Islands with the full force of their mighty war machine. The air assault, naval bombardment, and full-scale invasion of the island of Luzon was just the beginning of years of grinding torture and oppression inflicted on all the inhabitants of the Philippines. The ensuing surrender of the vastly outnumbered and outgunned U.S. and Philippine forces was the start of “The Long March Home”, a novel written by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.

At the time of the surprise attack, there were just over 16,000 U.S. troops on the Islands of the Philippines. They were ill-equipped to hold off the 120,000 war-hardened Imperial Japanese troops who soon surrounded them and drove them to the sea on the southern tip of the Bataan peninsula. In spite of the overwhelming odds, of hunger, disease, and dwindling supplies, the Allied forces held out until April of 1942, when the Allied defense of the Philippines collapsed. From there, following the surrender, the torturous test for three young friends from Alabama would begin.

The Long March Home is a sweeping tale of unrequited love for the main character and narrator, Jimmy Propfield, for his first and life-long love, Clair Crockett, as well as for their mutual, life-long friend, Hank Wright. It is also the story of a test of strength, of loyalty, of endurance, and determination, for each of them, including Billy Crockett, Clair’s younger brother who has long been like a brother to both Jimmy and Hank.

Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee have written a compelling tale of the lives of four, small-town kids from Mobile Alabama. In it they have woven together a story of innocence being thrust into the crucible of war. They do an excellent job of blending the horrors of a sweeping epoch of combat and the cruelties of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps while diving deep into an examination of the complexities of the relationships between four kids who grew up together as brothers and sister.

Jimmy, the preacher’s son, who can’t seem to break the chains of his father’s expectations. He has known Clair, his next-door neighbor, since they bathed together, naked, as toddlers. He has loved her since they were preteens. And there is Billy, Clair’s baby brother, a brother to Jimmy as well. In high school, they met Hank Wright, a year older, bigger, stronger, and from the wrong side of the tracks. The four of them became inseparable friends for all the years leading up to war, but the friendship was not without its stress points. Hank also comes to love Clair, but he is hesitant and highly respectful of what he sees as Jimmy’s claim on her. Clair loves Jimmy, but her love for him is somewhat cooled by Jimmy’s indecisiveness, and by the brother-sister aspect that permeates their relationship. In that regard, Clair is attracted to Hank. She loves him too but in a different, more visceral way than her love for Jimmy. And they all three love Billy in the protective way of older brothers and sister.

Following graduation from high school, on an impulse, Jimmy and Hank sign up for military service, anticipating the adventure of war. Though he hasn’t yet graduated, not wanting to be left behind, Billy signs up too, lying about his age, and all three of them leave Mobile, and Clair behind. For Jimmy, it is a way to escape his father’s tyranny and the pressure he feels to commit himself to Clair, who has, by this time, given up on him. What will happen to these three friends? Will they survive the war? What will become of Clair? Will she find true love? Will Jimmy? The answers to these questions make a riveting tale of life, love, the complexities of relationships, and the horrors of war. I truly enjoyed this read. The human story is compelling and the history of the war in the Philippines was both interesting and exciting. The Long March Home is a rollercoaster of action, adventure, and human emotion that I can highly recommend.