Soldier Slaves: Abandoned by the White House, Courts and Congress

by James W. Parkinson, Lee Benson

"The stories told in this book – stories from the war, stories from the courtrooms of America, and stories from the State Department and the halls of Congress--are stories that need to be heard. They are entertaining, informative, historically important, at times hopeful, at times disappointing, and always inspirational." -- From the foreword by Senators Orrin Hatch and Joseph Biden
The Battling Bastards of Bataan, and all others who paid a dear price for freedom as Pacific Theater prisoners-of-war, deserve--and need--to be remembered. Not just for them, but for us.
Decades-old war abuses are given up-to-the-minute relevance in this book about World War II American soldiers seeking restitution from Japanese companies that used them as slave laborers during the war. Their tale is told by the lawyer representing them, James Parkinson. With the help of a well-known journalist, Parkinson ties the present to the past by interspersing horrific war narrative with modern-day dramas played out in courtrooms and congressional hearing rooms as lawyers, judges, senators, and congressmen debate the merits of a case now known as the JPOW case. In the process, wartime brutality confronts peacetime prosperity, and economics, not military might, determines the outcome.
Using the personal history of one of the veterans he represents--a munitions mechanic from the Army Air Corps named Harold Poole--to illustrate what happened, Parkinson traces a path that began with the infamous Bataan Death March of April 1942 and three and a half years of forced labor, followed by years of silence forced on the veterans by their own government and lingering medical and emotional problems. Readers will be drawn into the case as the extent of the abuse meted out by the Japanese is revealed and the POWs' effort to be compensated unfolds. While Parkinson agrees that there might be legitimate debate over whether the soldiers are entitled to back wages from the Japanese corporations who benefited from their labor, he is adamant that their story be more widely known. With the support of influential senators like Orrin Hatch and Joseph Biden and the publication of this book, he is reaching thousands of Americans.

Genres: History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the history portion of this book BUT the lawyer (who wrote it) is pretty insufferable. I didn't think knowing what make of car he drove, what hotels he stayed in, or what incredible cases he'd won really pertained to the book. I think he tried to imply to the readers that he was a changed man because of his association with the WWII vets. I'm not convinced. The history is important and it's a story that needs to be told but I would suggest other books - Ghost Soldiers, Belly of the Beast, or anything that he quotes as sources.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sped read this one for my Law and Literature class.

Author James Parkinson is a personal injury lawyer in the California High Desert. After the big tobacco cases, he became involved in the case of American POWs who were used as slave labor in private Japanese companies during the war. Parkinson's main client, Harold Poole, was an armament private in the Phillipines when on Monday December 8, 1941 (only a few hours after Pearl Harbor because of the international date line) the Japanese attacked his base. After a retreat to Bataan and a siege, Poole was captured by the Japanese and was forced on the Bataan Death March--89 grueling miles where a POW died about ever 32 feet.

In Soldier Slaves Parkinson intertwines his story as a the legal representative helping these POWs in their suit against these private Japanese companies (Mitsubishi, Nippon Steel, Matsui Coal, etc.) with Poole's story as a prisoner of war.

Parkinson does a good job melding the legal story with the war story (even if the facts relevant to the case are only in the final chapters). Even for me, a law student, the war story was much more compelling than the legal story. I agree with the other reviewers that Parkinson likely included too many details about his somewhat opulent life as a personal injury attorney (Lexus, Sheraton, etc.) but I feel that Parkinson as a character progressed over the course of his legal story. Those luxuries became less apparent. During class I asked the author about this. He told me that the reason wrote the first chapter to paint him as an "ass" was to show the juxtaposition against Harold Poole and how Poole's influence changed him throughout the course of the lawsuit. He said he was fine being painted as a jerk because at that point in his career he was a bit of a jerk.
But he left us with the saying "don't take a sh*t and fall back in it." He wanted to show where he started as one of "those" trial lawyers and how he changed.

That said, the ride in Soldier Slaves takes a while to come up to speed and then comes to a sudden stop. Both stories end in a relative whimper without a fully satisfying conclusion.

Overall though, I certainly felt edified by reading and our class discussion with Parkinson (who is a member of the charter graduating class of my law school). I never knew about the role in the Phillipines in the start of the war (other than “Mr. Prima Donna, Brass Hat, Five Star MacArthur” and his declaration about returning) which was an exciting read. And I also learned some about treaty law in a fairly interesting way.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good and interesting

[Erin]

This book is quite intriguing--I can't put it down! It chronicles the court case led by P.I. attorney Jim Parkinson and his interactions with the WWII vets who were Prisoners of War in Japan. I was privileged to meet one of the vets, Harold Poole, whom my husband interviewed for the newspaper. Quite an amazing story and an even more amazing person!

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know about you, but I feel like we never really learned about the Pacific Theatre of World War II. This book gives a great deal of history and personal accounts of the survivors of the Bataan Death March and those people that served in the Philippines.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history portion of this book immensely. I was completely unaware that we had American POWs in Japan during WW2. I guess I was just never taught much about that aspect of the War. I felt so sad that not much was ever done to recognize the sacrifices of these men. We owe them so much.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am disppointed their bill didn't pass. They get no compensation for what they went through--no work pay--no apology--nothing. How sad that this country and Japan would not recognize these valiant men who went through "hell".

[Andee DeVore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enthralling account of the men who courageously endured the Bataan Death March and the subsequent cruelty of their Japanese captors, juxtaposed against the legal battle they endured many years later in an effort to receive compensation and acknowledgement of their sacrifices. This was a well-written account of historical non-fiction, and I loved how it jumped back and forth between the alternating storylines. It would have received five stars from me, but I was somewhat put off by the few moments where the attorney-author took up precious space tooting his own horn. Perhaps that was seen as an important part of the story, but I would disagree. Regardless, I'm grateful attorneys like James Parkinson recognized an important case when they saw one and had the courage to at least try to take it on.