Hour of Redemption: The Heroic WWII Saga of America's Most Daring POW Rescue
Credited as a major source for last year's Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides, Hour of Redemption: The Heroic WWII Saga of America's Most Daring POW Rescue covers the elite U.S. Sixth Army Ranger force's liberation of 516 Allied prisoners from the Cabanatuan camp in the Philippines, most of whom were American survivors of the Bataan Death March. Former U.S. Army Captain Forrest Bryant Johnson first published this account in 1978, having interviewed more than 500 participants over a six-year period. Included are the important contributions of the Filipino guerrillas, who kept nearby Japanese forces at bay and decimated an entire enemy battalion without a single fatality. American causalities were two killed and only a few wounded; all POWs in the camp were rescued and taken back more than 25 miles to American lines. Japanese casualties totaled over 1,100. Photos and maps not seen by PW.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.