Document created: 9 July 02
Published Air & Space Power Journal

Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission, by Hampton Sides; Random House, http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=038549565X, New York:, 342 pages, $14.95.

In January 1945, an Army private named Eugene Nielsen arrived on the island of Morotai, an Allied staging base in the Dutch Spice Islands. Nielsen, a recent escapee from a Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) camp, relayed a horrific story to U.S. intelligence officers. With American troops advancing in the Philippines, the Japanese had begun slaughtering Allied POWs, many of them survivors of the Bataan Death March. A Filipino guerilla group, operating behind Japanese lines, confirmed Nielsen’s claim. The leader of that group, Major Robert Lapham, believed the Japanese would soon massacre another 500 Allied POWs, languishing at the infamous Cabanatuan POW camp on the island of Luzon.

Information provided by Nielsen and Lapham set in motion a remarkable series of events, culminating in one of the most dramatic and daring missions of World War II. On 30 January 1945, barely three weeks after Eugene Nielsen’s initial debriefing, a battalion of 200 U.S. Army Rangers and Filipino Scouts stormed the Cabanatuan POW Camp, rescuing hundreds of American and British prisoners from almost certain death. Then, in a feat of equal daring, the Ranger force ushered the former POWs—many of them gravely ill—across miles of Japanese-held territory, back to American lines and freedom.

Long-forgotten in the annals of the Second World War, the story of the Cabanatuan mission has been dramatically retold in Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides’ riveting account of the Ranger raid and the men it rescued. Sides, a contributing editor for Outdoor magazine, spent more than two years poring over historical records and interviewing Cabanatuan participants. What emerges is an engrossing tale of heroism, courage and survival, often against staggering odds.

Drawing upon his extensive research, Sides paints a harrowing (if familiar) account of life in a Japanese POW camp. More than one in four Allied prisoners died at the hands of their Japanese captors, and the author recounts their cruelty and inhumanity in gruesome detail. But Sides also succeeds in depicting the tenacity and ingenuity that allowed some POWs to survive their ordeal. From the captured sailors who insisted on sounding the watch chimes every half-hour, to the American doctors who manufactured fake VD treatment pills for the guards, Sides captures the resiliency of the American fighting man, even under the most hellish conditions.

While such accounts are part and parcel of POW memoirs, Sides also details some of the more unique elements—and forgotten heroes--of the Cabanatuan story. He profiles Claire Phillips, the American woman who chose to remain behind in occupied Manila (60 miles from the POW camp). Posing as an Italian cabaret owner, Ms. Phillips was actually the head of a large and effective espionage ring, gathering valuable intelligence and even smuggling food and medicine to the POWs at Cabanatuan. Her “contact” inside the prison was an American chaplain (Robert Taylor) who risked his life to aid fellow prisoners. The exploits of Claire Phillips and Chaplain Taylor are but two of the many inspiring stories revealed in Ghost Soldiers.

Sides also provides vivid portraits of the men who carried out the dangerous rescue mission.Lt. Col Henri Mucci, Commander of the 6^th Ranger Battalion, emerges as a bold, decisive leader whose theatrical flourishes earned him the nickname “Little MacArthur.”Mucci’s assault leader, Captain Robert Prince, provided a sharp contrast to his commander: low-key, unflappable and exceptionally cool under fire. Together, they formed a formidable team in planning and executing a dangerous mission.

Expertly mixing POW camp vignettes with details of the rescue mission, Mr. Sides has produced a stirring, memorable narrative that captures the spirit of the Ghost Soldiers and the brave men who liberated them. Competently researched and superbly written, Ghost Soldiers compares favorably to such “classic” POW books as The Bridge on the River Kwai and The Great Escape.

Historians and serious World War II students will note that Ghost Soldiers is not a scholarly work. There are no footnotes, no index and no bibliography, although Sides refers to a number of other works, including autobiographies of Cabanatuan survivors. Without these standard research aids, it’s sometimes difficult to tell whether Mr. Sides’ is using original material, or drawing upon previous historical works. In light of the recent plagiarism scandals involving Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin, it seems odd that Sides would use such an approach in writing Ghost Soldiers.

However, the lack of footnotes and other reference aids should not deter anyone from the reading (and enjoyment) of Ghost Soldiers. Hampton Sides is a superb writer, firmly in command of his material. By illuminating a long-forgotten chapter in U.S. military history, he gives the heroes of Cabanatuan the glory they so richly deserve.

Major Gary Pounder, USAF (Ret)
Oxford, Mississippi

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.