Hell's Guest

by Glenn D. Frazier

In the summer of 1941 Glenn Frazier was a sixteen-year-old boy from the South Alabama farm country. Five months later, an underage U.S. Army volunteer, he found himself thrust into a war of an unimaginable brutality and became a hero of the defense of Bataan, a survivor of the brutal Death March and of three harrowing years in a Japanese prisoner or war camp. This is his story.

Genres: History, War, World War II, Military History, Nonfiction

276 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Pam Butts · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really (4.5 for story; 2.5 for writing/editing). I picked this book up several years ago after an overnighter with my Girl Scout troop on the USS Alabama in Mobile. The author was in the gift shop signing copies so I bought one for my dad, who loves WWII stories. This is the author’s memoir. He was a strapping country boy from South Alabama, immature and reckless, who enlisted at the age of 16, lying about his age, about 6 months before the US joined World War II. He was working for the army in the Philippines when it falls to the Japanese He survives the Bataan death march and 3 1/2 years in a string of POW camps as a slave laborer. After a good homecoming, he had trouble adjusting to life as a free American again, haunted by nightmares hatred, and PTSD, but eventually finds contentment through forgiveness and faith. His POW & post-war story is not unlike Zamperini’s in Unbroken, but this book is a first-hand account by a non-writer, which makes it at once both more poignant, and less dramatic. And it left me wondering if he ever contacted H Leachman’s son.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard about Colonel Frazier's ordeal and survival from the Ken Burn's documentary, and was amazed by how resilient he was. A true badass for lack of better words. It made me want to learn more about him and so I found this book.

It is really well written, which proves he was not only a strong survivor but a great writer. I honestly did not want to put it down and read the first 150 pages in one day. He told his story simply but honestly, and it flowed so well that I just kept wanting to learn more. Definitely 5/5 stars.

[AMY COLVIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were privileged to meet Mr. Frazier in Mobile about 18 years ago. We got to talk to him about his experiences in the Bataan Death March (which opened my teenage girls' eyes to the horrors of WWII). We purchased his book, and I finished it before we returned home. My husband isn't a reader, and he read the entire book. Highly recommend!

[Bobby Birmingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Mr. Frazier in 2010 when I first joined the Navy. I was visiting the USS Alabama and he was selling his book and chatting. This is a raw and harrowing story of his time as a POW. Great read, and a must read for anyone who has an interest in WWII history and the horrors a human can endure.

[Brayden Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best World war two books ever written.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of what I already knew: I am so glad to live in the United States, surrounded by family.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if it is possible to read this story and not shed a tear.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting book to read. I wish that teenagers nationwide would be required to read this memoir. It might bring things into a different perspective for them.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting because I would like to read every single account of people who went through this horrible war. But not well edited.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing story, just wish it was better written. 3-3.5

[Jerry G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story about a POW during WWII. An engaging, quick read.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad's cousin was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, so I read any related book with great personal interest. It was a very poignant moment to locate his name on 3 prisoner lists online: at the POW camp in the Philippines, on the "ghost ship" that transported prisoners to Japan (so named because so many prisoners died on the crowded ships), and at the POW camp in Japan.

Since he died in the 1960's when I was too young to understand, I now have to rely on other eyewitness accounts. This book by Glenn Frazier is astonishingly good, and highly recommended.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenn Frazier enlisted in the army at 16, lying about his age to get away from problems at home. When he was shipped to the Philippines in early 1941, it was considered a tropical paradise. But after it was attacked by the Japanese on the day after Pearl Harbor, it would become the hell of the book’s title and Frazier would endure three and a half years of suffering and deprivation as a prisoner of war. General MacArthur had ordered the military to defend the Philippines at all costs, but after many months of illness and near starvation, General King was forced to surrender to the Japanese in April of 1942. The soldiers, already weakened, were forced to march 60 miles to their prison camp. Any who fell (and any who tried to help the fallen) were brutally murdered. It is estimated that 10 to 20 thousand of the 70,000 soldiers died on the Bataan Death March.

Things did not improve at Camp O’Donnell where Frazier recounts that they buried up to 200 Allied soldiers per day. Not only did he face the cruelty of his guards, but he faced the challenge of fellow prisoners who betrayed each other in their desperation to survive.

After the war Frazier went through thirty years of a different kind of hell, one of broken marriages, drunkenness, bitterness and rage. He finally found peace when, with God’s help, he was able to forgive his Japanese captors.

Why does a tea-sipping, literature-lover like me read stuff like this?! Because in the face of mouth-gaping cruelty, comes the equally astonishing will to live and survive. Add to that the theme of redemption, and you’ve got a powerful story.

[Salmon Amann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell’s Guest was a very heartfelt book that I couldn’t seem to put down. I was very interested to learn how the Japanese treated the POWs. Even before Col. Glenn D. Frazier was a POW, he kept the story interesting instead of boring me with listed facts. Frazier was just sixteen when he left to join the army. He was sent to the Philippines without training and was having fun for the first few months. Then the Japanese bombed the base near him and destroyed all their planes. He was wondering why no one had shot down the Japanese planes while they were flying because they got the air raid alarm hours before the Japanese arrived.

This is a book about a struggle through a POW camp in Japan. The Japanese make Frazier’s five year struggle tortuous. He struggled on and survived the beatings, the cuts, the scrapes; he survived. He went through the Bataan death March and survived about five POW camps.

[Quentin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I too met Col. Frazier for few moments while touring the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay on a summer trip with my boys. His demeanor and kind words led me to purchase the book. I found his first hand account of how he was thrown into the hell of war enthralling. Particularly grave for me was the clash of innocence and youthfulness (reflected in the books simple narration in a familiar style) with the brutality of his enemies' atrocities.

I'd recommend this book to anyone trying to understand war, and the pacific theatre of WWII in particular. It would also be a good read for young men searching for meaning in our modern world. It certainly cast a stark light on what I think of as "problems" and promoted genuine admiration for his generation and what some of them endured. I'm glad he was able to tell his story.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting book! I read it in less than a week(which is really good for me!)!
Col.Frazier tells about his experience fighting on Bataan against the Japanese in WWII, his capture, the Bataan Death March, his miserable life as a prisoner-of-war(POW)for 3-and-a-half years, and his life afterward.
What an amazing and horrific story!
Col.Frazier writes in a way that kept my attention, but sadly the book also had MANY mistakes/typos in it which became very frustrating.
I believe Col.Glenn Frazier may have become a Christian. :D
I suggest this book for age 17+

[Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like others who have read and reviewed this book before, I too was honored to meet Col. Frazier and have him autograph my book. This story is simply amazing. A true indictment of the “Greatest Generation”. From enlisting at 16 (lied of course to do so) to acts of heroism during the battle of the Philippines, capture, Bataan Death March, and 3 years of various Japanese POW Slave Camps. Definitely shows re-enforcement of the power of faith and resolve during adversity. I would make it a choice of required reading for those covering American History during the World War II era(both high school and/or college level).

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book about how a teenager found himself on the Bataan Death March and survived nearly 4 years as a prisoner of the Japanese. I had never heard of this book until I met it's author in the gift shop of the USS Alabama. Col. Frazier's friendly personality convinced me I should buy his book. When I had finished it, I was happy I'd been distracted on my way out of the museum. If you ever find yourself in Mobile, AL, stop by the battleship and talk to Col. Frazier; he'll sign a copy of the book for you.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Glenn Frazier recalls his horrific experience in such detail, you feel you experienced it with him. Some details very graphic, but it portrays the atrocities of the Bataan Death March experience. A must read for history buffs as well as anyone interested in one soldier's journey from being a prisoner of war to being held prisoner by his hatred of his enemy--and how he finally reconciled those feelings in order to put the past behind him.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

very good book to get a first hand look at the POW camps during WWII. the author gave an excellent description of what happened to him and the men he encountered. the book was not a masterpiece by any means, but was very informative and emotionally captivating. my friend met the author at a book signing and said he was a pretty awesome guy.

[Dianne]

From my brother-inlaw

"Today I have finally read my first book, from start to finish. Hell's Guest, by Col. (Ret.) Glenn D. Frazier. Very good book, accounts of being a POW in WW ll."

My brother in law can't stop talking about it and said it helped him with a few things he went through in the Vietnam war.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to rate the book because, while I did find there were a few issues I had with it I have a difficult time rating a memoir of someone's experience in a very extreme situation. I'm definitely glad I read it since I know little about the Batan Death March and the experiences of those soldiers in POW camps in Japan.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed all the detail involved if I hadn't met him and done the Bataan Memorial March in New Mexico. This isn't a book I would have even picked up normally but am glad that I did.

[Barbara Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Saw the author/POW survivor in Mobile Alabama and got a signed copy of his book. Hard to imagine what journey he went through but his writing took you thourgh it all. I highly recommend this read!

[Jon-austen Linch · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book i never knew the true storie of a POW.

[Jeanette]

Met Col. Frazier in Mobile, AL on the USS Alabama. He is a very heroic man. It is a book about his survival of the Bataan Death march and 3 years as a POW with the Japanese.

[Alex Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

i actually met colonel Glenn D. Frazier, great man. I loved meeting and i am loving reading his book. remember our troops always!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.. Just wow.. Talk about a good read! The author is a POW of WW II who write this book omitting no detail. It's a very eye opening very moving book. You will cry while you read it.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing true story of man who was on the Bataan death march and kept as POW in Japan during ww2.

[David Goheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compelling!