Description
Book SynopsisShortly after the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor in late 1941, over 70,000 American and Filipino servicemen were captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. What ensued for these young men is considered by many military historians to be one of the most barbaric sequences of war crimes in history, yet it remains an incredibly inspiring story of unmatched heroism and survival. According to the Japanese code of _Bushido_ a soldier captured alive had dishonoured himself and his country, so their new prisoners were often regarded with utter contempt. Then Second Lieutenant Patrick Rafferty and his fellow Battling Bastards of Bataan had just forfeited the right to be treated humanely, at least in the eyes of their captors. Forced to march shoeless over sixty-five miles northward in unbearable heat with no water or food, men were routinely executed if they showed any signs of slowing the forward progress towards their internment camp. Some estimates suggest that nearly 18,000 men perishe
