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Lapham's Raiders: Guerrillas in the Philippines, 1942-1945
On December 8, 1941, the day after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands, catching American forces unprepared and forcing their eventual surrender. Among the American soldiers who managed to avoid capture was twenty-five-year-old Lieutenant Robert Lapham, who was to play a major role in the resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation. Lapham's Raiders is the memoir of one man's guerrilla experiences. A collaboration between Lapham and historian Bernard Norling, the book also offers a detailed assessment of the most extensive land campaign in the Pacific war and a vivid portrayal of Allied guerrilla activity. Through letters, records and the recollections of Lapham and others, the drama of the "mean, dirty, brutal struggle to the death" of guerrilla warfare in the Pacific theater is reconstructed and waged again within these pages. After emerging from the jungles of Bataan and in the face of daunting odds, Lapham built from scratch and commanded a devastating guerrilla force behind enemy lines. His Luzon Guerrilla Armed Forces (LGAF) evolved into an army of thirteen thousand men that eventually controlled the entire northern half of Luzon's great Central Plain, an area of several thousand square miles. Lapham and Norling shed light on the clandestine activities of the LGAF and other guerrilla operations, assess the damages of war to the Filipino people, and discuss the United States' postwar treatment of the newly independent Philippine nation. They also offer a fuller understanding of Japan's wartime failures in the Philippines, the Pacific, and elsewhere in Asia, and of America's postwar failure to fully realize opportunities there.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 18, 2014
Read in research. Good source for first hand knowledge of guerrilla in Luzon during WW II. If you are a buff on history, read it.
August 20, 2018
An informative and well-referenced memoir of the challenges faced by the Luzon Guerrilla Armed Forces (LGAF) from the humble and equitable perspective of their leader, with (I assume) contextual details added by his historian co-author. I especially appreciated that Lapham takes care not to romanticize or aggrandize his experiences and while attention is drawn to conflicting accounts that he was aware of, remained respectful and diplomatic about contrary retrospective views about the war.
February 10, 2019
Important History
The struggle of American and Filipino guerrillas against the Empire of Japan has been generally neglected in Hollywood’ s treatment of WWII. This is tremendous injustice as the campaign in the Philippines was some of the most intense of the war. This memoir is important in helping to set the record straight.
The struggle of American and Filipino guerrillas against the Empire of Japan has been generally neglected in Hollywood’ s treatment of WWII. This is tremendous injustice as the campaign in the Philippines was some of the most intense of the war. This memoir is important in helping to set the record straight.
February 2, 2023
Stream of consciousness
The author warns you about the structure and quality of the book in the preface. Listen to him and don't go any further. It is 250 pages of complaints about rivals in US Army or guerrilla groups with him being the only person who was above the fray. Basically an account from someone fifty years removed from the events.
The author warns you about the structure and quality of the book in the preface. Listen to him and don't go any further. It is 250 pages of complaints about rivals in US Army or guerrilla groups with him being the only person who was above the fray. Basically an account from someone fifty years removed from the events.
January 29, 2020
A great first source for history buffs. Lapham is Brutally honest about the failures of the Japanese and Americans.
February 19, 2012
Robert Lapham and co-writer Bernard Norling have presented a detailed and engrossing account of life for American and Filipino guerrillas after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor. After avoiding capture by the Japanese in the jungles of Bataan, Lapham was able to build and command the Luzon Guerrilla Armed Forces (LGAF). By end of the liberation of the Philippines, the LGAF numbered 13,000 armed and trained American and Filipino guerrillas. Lapham's Raiders is written in the first person and provides detailed insight into the thoughts and actions of the author.
Unlike many war histories, this book does not provide battle action in great detail. The vast majority of the book details the day-to-day existence of LGAF. As told by the author, the primary mission of the guerrilla's was not ambushes of the Japanese military and sabotage; but rather, at the direction of General MacArthur, the guerrillas engaged in the gathering of intelligence on the disposition of the Japanese occupiers and the their state of readiness. It was only at the end of the occupation just prior to the invasion were the LGAF and other guerrilla forces turned loose to attack the Japanese forces and conduct sabotage.
As reported in the book, much of the action that the LGAF was involved in concerned raids by and on other guerrilla forces, groups of bandits and the Huks, a communist guerrilla force. Lapham describes in detail organization and growing pains of the LGAF, the chronic friction with other forces and the Huks and the typical daily life of the LGAF. Also discussed were the difficulties in communication with Australia, the command center for Gen. MacArthur, and in the acquisition of food and arms supplies. The final portion of the book discusses the Japanes war effort and the successes and failures of both the Japanese and Allied military.
I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of World War II. The book provides a considerable amount of detail on a portion of the war that has not been reported to any great extent. Lapham's Raiders also present a glimpse into the mindset of military personnel who, while at the nadir of the war, were able to persevere and struggle on to an ultimate victory. A great number of books have been written about great battles and the successes and failures of generals and admirals. This is one of the few books that shows the contributions of ordinary men who would not accept defeat.
During the discussion of the invasion and last few months of the war effort on the Philippines, Lapham relates the rescue, by a group of Army Rangers, of the prisoners at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. The prisoners at Cabanatuan were the remaining men who had survived the Bataan Death March. The rescue, while aided by guerrillas from the LGAF, was incidental to the activities of the LGAF and is not detailed. For more detail on the rescue mission, two other books are recommended: The Great Raid on Cabanatuan: Rescuing the Doomed Ghosts of Bataan and Corregidor by William B. Breuer and Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission by Hampton Sides. Of the two, it is my opinion the Ghost Soldiers is the superior book.
For additional reading on life in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation and the activities of the resistance forces I suggest The Rescue: A True Story of Courage and Survival in World War II.
Unlike many war histories, this book does not provide battle action in great detail. The vast majority of the book details the day-to-day existence of LGAF. As told by the author, the primary mission of the guerrilla's was not ambushes of the Japanese military and sabotage; but rather, at the direction of General MacArthur, the guerrillas engaged in the gathering of intelligence on the disposition of the Japanese occupiers and the their state of readiness. It was only at the end of the occupation just prior to the invasion were the LGAF and other guerrilla forces turned loose to attack the Japanese forces and conduct sabotage.
As reported in the book, much of the action that the LGAF was involved in concerned raids by and on other guerrilla forces, groups of bandits and the Huks, a communist guerrilla force. Lapham describes in detail organization and growing pains of the LGAF, the chronic friction with other forces and the Huks and the typical daily life of the LGAF. Also discussed were the difficulties in communication with Australia, the command center for Gen. MacArthur, and in the acquisition of food and arms supplies. The final portion of the book discusses the Japanes war effort and the successes and failures of both the Japanese and Allied military.
I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of World War II. The book provides a considerable amount of detail on a portion of the war that has not been reported to any great extent. Lapham's Raiders also present a glimpse into the mindset of military personnel who, while at the nadir of the war, were able to persevere and struggle on to an ultimate victory. A great number of books have been written about great battles and the successes and failures of generals and admirals. This is one of the few books that shows the contributions of ordinary men who would not accept defeat.
During the discussion of the invasion and last few months of the war effort on the Philippines, Lapham relates the rescue, by a group of Army Rangers, of the prisoners at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. The prisoners at Cabanatuan were the remaining men who had survived the Bataan Death March. The rescue, while aided by guerrillas from the LGAF, was incidental to the activities of the LGAF and is not detailed. For more detail on the rescue mission, two other books are recommended: The Great Raid on Cabanatuan: Rescuing the Doomed Ghosts of Bataan and Corregidor by William B. Breuer and Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission by Hampton Sides. Of the two, it is my opinion the Ghost Soldiers is the superior book.
For additional reading on life in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation and the activities of the resistance forces I suggest The Rescue: A True Story of Courage and Survival in World War II.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews