Read the whole wonderful series
I’m a woman whose father-in-law was captured at Corregidor after scuttling their ship following the fall of Bataan and it’s death March. As a 19 year-old Navy Corpsman (medical, didn’t carry a gun) I’ve heard his stories of the Bilobed Prison, the Hell Ships, and his time in Manchuria—3 & 1/2 years a POW of the Japanese. He never mention the hell of Corregidor. Start there, book 1 of this series. You’ll be hooked. Gobell’s mastery is in taking each section of the Pacific War and weaving the truth of the battles, deaths, and emotional turmoil (when PTSD was unheard of and men had to be John Wayne like the movies they all saw.) And he Carrie’s the same characters through the Ingram series so you have to follow their emotional ride. It is well worth your time, and the author’s knowledge is immense.
Robert Thompson made it home, married, and had 3 children. He was a “Mustang” who worked his way up from a seaman to a full Commander, going to night school all the way to a Masters in Hospital Administration. When he retired from the service he was VP of Southside Community Hospital.
I married his oldest son, Edward, when he was a Lieutenant. That was 50 years ago. He and I built a 75’ schooner and sailed, chartered, and loved life. Robert lived to age 92. He was one of the most loving men I have ever known, topped only by his son. .
His daughter, Janice Thompson, is the president of The Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor, and makes documentaries of these mens’ lives and stories, available on the internet.