“Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission”

By Hampton Sides

The temperature is climbing and the poolside environment is beckoning patrons to gather for food, fun and sun.

I believe all hard-working col lege students should take time from summer jobs and homework for a little rest.

As I relax after grueling sem esters and find time on my hands, I pick up a book and ease into a lawn chair.

The most recent endeavor was a quick, satisfying read, “Ghost Soldiers,” a World War II novel by Hampton Sides.

The artistic language and the action-filled chapters blended to create an alternate atmosphere as I read it.

There was no need to wait through endless chapters to find the meat of the novel because the first few pages whet my appetite for suspense and drama.

Through a careful mixture of archival research and POW accounts, Sides weaves the horrific tales of American soldiers trapped in a Japanese prison camp and the Rangers sent to rescue them.

American troops stationed in Bataan, Philippines, starved and became sick under the deteriorating conditions of their compound.

In a desperate effort to save his men, Gen. Edward King surrendered to Colonel Motoo Nakayama of the Japanese Imperial Army. King did not know that he was sending his men on a grueling “Death March” to Camp O’Donnell and then to Cabantuan. The men marched until their tired frames abandoned them; collapse meant imminent death.

Japanese guards prowled the decrepit ranks of American soldiers and struck down the weak with their mighty sabers.

The remaining survivors were sentenced to three hellish years of captivity. They were blinded to the fact that when they reached their absolute breaking point, Gen. Mac Arthur would send a band of men to conduct the largest jail break in American history.

Sides’ novel is far from a mundane history lesson or a detailed battle strategy. It is a heroic text that left my heart pounding and eyes misty.

I was blown away by horrors of war and the undying will to survive portrayed in this book.

– Kathleen Donaghey