I just finished this book last night at 3 AM:
This is the true story of the Bataan Death March and the few survivors who made it out of a POW camp. These few were saved from massacre by a special mission of marines, who braved impossible odds to rescue men who could barely walk after three years of brutal torture and starvation. It was very touching to me and well told. Like many good war stories, it arouses many feelings:
I feel an almost reverent appreciation for the soldiers who put their lives at risk and suffered so greatly for our country.
I also feel astonished at the human race – what men are capable of is sometimes beyond me. Many of us think we are above torture, barbaric acts, brutal murder, genocide, and rape. But these stories always remind me that the people who commit these acts were NORMAL men, not a special breed of evil people or something. Americans, Japanese, Germans – we all did these things in the war. War brings things out of men that are horrible and wonderful.
Finally, I feel inspired by heroes such as Lt. Colonel Mucci, Chaplain Taylor, Dr. Fisher, and many, many others. These men put their lives at risk for each other, suffered greatly for it, and experienced things I can’t even imagine.
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