Bataan & Beyond: Memories of an American POW (Volume 6)

by John S. Coleman Jr., Thomas Dooley (Foreword by)

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December, 1941, and the subsequent fall of Manila, defending American and Filipino troops withdrew to the Bataan peninsula. For four months these troops, badly outnumbered and crippled by starvation and disease, fought a gallant holding action against the Japanese. When they surrendered in April, 1942, they were subjected to the infamous “death march” to prison camp. Thousands died, and those who survived faced the ordeal of further harsh treatment by the Japanese.

John S. Coleman, and air force officer assigned to the Philippines to train air corps regiments for infantry combat, was among those who fought on Bataan and lived to tell about it. Based on a shorthand diary which he kept at great risk throughout his imprisonment, this straightforward account details the ground combat on Bataan, the horrors of the march, and the desperate conditions that were his lot as a POW during the next three and one-half years. The courage and ingenuity of men surviving when survival seemed impossible comes through vividly in this unembellished narrative. It is a compelling eyewitness record of a grim chapter in American history.

Genres: War

232 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1991

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was reading this book I kept thinking this is a good 4-star book. However, when I finished, it turned into a 5-star.
The author gives us a detailed horror story and I mean DETAILS like no other.
The author was in the Bataan march and was bounced around to different POW camps and finally his last stop in Japan. For 3 and a half years he was a POW and lived through some of the most incredible conditions.
What makes this an unfortunate and incredible story are the details.
Want to know how a POW lived under Japanese authority? Read this book by John S. Coleman, Jr.