Escape from Corregidor (Annotated)


Book Description

"A story of one man's effort for survival; an incredible, fascinating account."- Kirkus Reviews. "One of the most frank, and readable personal narratives of service in the Philippines, and escape from Japanese captivity."- Pacific Wrecks. Escape from Corregidor is the autobiography of World War 2 POW Edgar Whitcomb, a B-17 navigator who arrives in the Philippines just before its invasion by the Japanese and soon finds himself on the run from the enemy. Whitcomb evades the Japanese on Bataan by fleeing to Corregidor Island in a small boat. He is captured on 'The Rock' but later manages to flee at night in an hours-long swim to safety. Caught once again weeks later, Whitcomb is imprisoned, tortured and starved, before attempting yet another escape...




Escape from Corregidor


Book Description

Escape from Corregidor is the harrowing account of Edgar Whitcomb, a B-17 navigator who arrives in World War II Philippines just before its invasion by the Japanese. Whitcomb evades the enemy on Bataan by fleeing to Corregidor Island in a small boat. He is captured but later manages to escape at night in an hours-long swim to safety. Captured once again weeks later, Whitcomb is imprisoned, tortured and starved, before being transferred to China and eventual freedom.




Escape from Bataan


Book Description

U.S. Navy Supply Corps Ensign Ross Hofmann had no idea what was in store for him when he arrived at Cavite Naval Base in October 1941. Two months later, Japanese forces struck the Philippines, destroying the base and forcing U.S. personnel to retreat to Bataan. There, Hofmann joined a makeshift unit of Army Aircorps ground personnel, U.S. Marines, U.S. sailors, U.S. Naval ground battalions and Filipinos to fight a Japanese force that landed nearby. In March 1942, with the fall of Bataan imminent, he traveled to Cebu to run supplies through the blockade of Bataan and Corregidor. Soon after his arrival, the Japanese landed on Cebu, forcing the Americans to retreat again. Hiking through jungles and crossing dangerous waters in barely seaworthy vessels, Hofmann avoided capture and reached an American base in Mindanao. He received orders to establish a seaplane base on Lake Lanao. As Japanese troops landed nearby, two seaplanes returning from Corregidor stopped to refuel, one of them hitting a submerged rock on take-off. In a harrowing race against the enemy advance, Hofmann and others worked feverishly to fix the plane and escape before the Japanese converged on Lake Lanao. This memoir recounts Hofmann's experiences in vivid detail. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




The Philippines in World War II, 1941-1945


Book Description

Because of their strategic location, the Philippines exercised a profound influence in the thinking of both Japanese and American strategists before and during World War II. A number of controversies surrounding the preparations for war, the initial defense of the islands, the Japanese occupation, the conduct of guerrilla operations, and the 1944-1945 American campaign to retake the islands still draw the interest of students and scholars. This work provides a finding aid for individuals seeking to deal with these issues. A bibliographic overview of available periodical and book literature in English, this book is multidimensional, encompassing all aspects—military, political, economic, and social—of the Pacific War as it relates to developments in the archipelago. The book is an essential source for those looking for insights into the war's impact on Philippine society and also into military operations in and around the islands. With a chronological summary of wartime events in the islands as well as the bibliography, the work constitutes a major contribution to the furtherance of historical inquiry on World War II in the Philippines.







The War Against Japan, 1941-1945


Book Description

With over 5,200 entries, this volume remains one of the most extensive annotated bibliographies on the USA’s fight against Japan in the Second World War. Including books, articles, and de-classified documents up to the end of 1987, the book is organized into six categories: Part 1 presents reference works, including encyclopedias, pictorial accounts, military histories, East Asian histories, hisotoriographies. Part 2 covers diplomatic-political aspects of the war against Japan. Part 3 contains sources on the economic and legal aspects of the war against Japan. Part 4 presents sources on the military apsects of the war – embracing land, air and sea forces. Religious aspects of the war are covered in Part 5 and Part 6 deals with the social and cultural aspects, including substantial sections on the treatment of Japanese minorities in the USA, Hawaii, Canada and Peru.




Philippine-American Military History, 1902-1942


Book Description

Military obligations rested lightly upon the Filipino people for much of the period that America occupied the Philippines, but Filipinos could enlist in the United States Army and Navy, attend the service academies at West Point and Annapolis, or join military organizations restricted to duty in the islands such as the Philippine Scouts, Philippine Constabulary, Philippine National Guard, and the navy's insular force. In the 1930s, the Philippine government established its own armed forces. Throughout much of this time, the U.S. army also kept a substantial portion of its troop strength in the Philippines. This annotated bibliography of nearly 700 titles highlights the extent and variety of the Philippine-American military experience from the conquest of the islands by the United States in 1902 to the defeat of Philippine and American forces by the Japanese in 1942. The bibliography includes memoirs and biographies of Filipino and American officers and enlisted men (from MacArthur to Ferdinand Marcos), unit histories, army post and navy base histories, medals and insignia books, and the most extensive list of prisoner-of-war memoirs yet published. Annotations address controversies such as the widely disparate estimates of American deaths on the Bataan Death March and include previously unpublished information, such as casualty figures for American and Philippine forces in 1941-1942.










The Mythical West


Book Description

This cultural journey down memory lane showcases how major Western figures, events, and places have been portrayed in folk legends, art, literature, and popular culture. Ever since the days of the 49ers and George Armstrong Custer, the Old West has been America's most potent source of legend. But it is sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. Did you know, for example, that Annie Oakley was a talented marksman who shot an estimated 40,000 rounds per year while practicing and performing for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show in the late l800s? Or that many interpreters believe that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not just a fairy tale, but also a Populist allegory? These are just two of the folk legends dissected and examined in this veritable cultural geography. The volume covers everything from billionaire Howard Hughes and composer Aaron Copeland to Aztlan (the legendary first city of the Aztecs) and Area 51, the top-secret U.S. Air Force base at Groom Lake, Nevada, that has fascinated UFO and conspiracy buffs.