"Survival" and what it means
Before we begin, a story. Like all the stories you’ll get from us, this one is true. I walked off a battlefield onto a college campus, Rutgers University in Newark, a commuter school in the heart of a gritty city, in the turbulent year 1969. I was a working-stiff, a veteran holding down several part-time jobs to supplement the miserly support of the G.I. Bill. During the school year I worked in fast food joints and tutored underclassmen in English composition. Summers I was full-time at the county parks department, running a playground in a large park in the western section of the city near a large public housing complex.
I knew Newark and thought I knew the problems my staff would face. Heroin, gangs, toughs up to no good. And indeed there was some of that -- pushers who would move on only when I dialed the local precinct for a patrol car; muscled thugs hanging around the basketball court looking for trouble instead of a good game of two-on-two. But my biggest problem turned out to be the kids, the little ones, who showed up every day by the dozens in the morning, left by men and women who ran for buses or hurried off on foot to jobs as cleaning ladies or battery mechanics, bus drivers and boiler makers.
It was de facto day care. The county hired me to organize leagues and work with teenagers (I was a former college athlete and former Marine), but I spent most of my time playing Candy Land, jumping rope and sitting under the great oaks, telling a circle of children a story and watching the wonder in their wide eyes.
I’d grown up with two sisters and four brothers so I didn’t mind. In fact I quickly came to look forward to my job, working with the kids. (Overseas, we ignored the children we encountered in villages and along the dusty roads, looking past their hunger and wretchedness, or treating them like pests, shooing them away with a rifle butt. Now, I thought, here was a chance to get my balance back. Treat children like children, like the innocents they were, and had a right to be.)
One morning, one bright August day around 7:30 a.m., I arrived in my red Volkswagan Beetle, parked in my usual spot on Mt. Vernon Place, fetched some gear from the car’s front boot, then walked slowly along the iron fence toward the opening that led to the pavilion where we set up shop every day. The park looked empty -- it always was that time of morning -- and then…then I spotted something in the large concrete sand box in front of the pavilion.
An animal, I thought, a tawny short-haired dog that had nestled itself in the sand. But as I got closer, then closer still, I realized that the lump in the middle of the sand box was no stray mutt. It was a child. I could not see his face at first, just his short dark hair; he was lying with his knees up under him, face down, his cheek on the sand. He was small – he looked so little in the middle of that big box -- maybe four, five years old, I guessed. And he wasn’t moving.
I put my hand gently on his back. He was warm. Then I could feel him breathing. I rubbed his back. He didn’t move. I rubbed a bit harder.
“Hi,” I said, “can you get up, big boy?”
He started to whimper, a child starved for sleep who didn’t want to wake. I scooped him up in my arms, gently brushed off the sand that was sticking to his cheek, and sat down on the side of the sandbox with the boy in my lap.
He was groggy, cranky. His faded yellow pajamas were in need of washing, and so was he. He started to rub his eyes with the back of his hand, but there still sand on his face, and he began to cry again.
“Okay, big boy, let me help.”
By now the rest of the staff was rolling in, and one of the women went to fetch the child some breakfast. We got him cleaned up and then started to question him. He told us his name – Danny or David, I think – and said his mother had dropped him off at the park. He didn’t know where he lived, where or whether his mother worked. All he knew was, she’d set him down in the sand box, he was tired and he went to sleep.
We knew what to do: procedure demanded we call the cops and child services. And after one of them came and took him away, we later got word that Danny or David was familiar to them, and so was his prostitute mother.
For weeks I thought about coming upon that kid. I was sure he’d been there for several hours before I arrived, a small boy in the middle of a Newark park in the dark sleeping in a sandbox. I knew where the authorities would take him -- a county children’s shelter in a large hospital-like building set ominously on a hill near a county golf course. Yes I knew that forlorn place. (Once a week I’d go there at night to tell stories to the children. They’d grab at me, pull at my clothes, cling to me when I’d walk out.) They’d hold him there for a while, maybe return him to his mother, or maybe put him in foster care, in those years a scandal in the making.
Before the cops showed up to fetch the boy, my staff and I had argued about all of this, but I cut the arguments short. “One of you going to take the child home?” I asked. Still, I understood the arguing. Some of them felt we were simply sending Danny David to another sandbox, dumping him as his mother had dumped him on us. “How will he survive?” one the women staff members asked.
It was a good question. I’d always thought of survival as heroic, behavior in extremis or under duress. Was surviving a night in a sandbox the same as surviving an enemy ambush in which half your company was killed or wounded? It never occurred to me that survival was an everyday act, that it could take as much courage, heart and hope to get through a night as it did through a battle.
Danny David must have been very brave that morning when his mother set him down on the edge of the box in the shadows and half-light. In my mind’s eye I can imagine him sitting there at first watching her walk away, then perhaps playing for a few minutes in the sand before fear convinced him to curl up and seek safety in sleep. We do not choose survival, said the behaviorist B. F. Skinner, it chooses us. Most scholars say that Skinner was talking about our response, as biological beings, to a hostile world. But Beth and I are going to take a different lesson from the story of Danny David.
Survival chooses us not because it is in our genes to keep going or because our environment conditions us to keep holding on. We survive because, as Terrence des Pres once suggested, we are “glad to be alive.” Maybe we are born with the knowledge that the bottom can drop out at any moment, or maybe we come into the world with an innate sense of finality and understand intuitively what the Japanese call our “one precious life.”
Whatever it is, we devote a good part of our culture to thinking and writing and portraying the subject of survival, offering one another our example, or the example of others, as a way to get through the day, recover from an illness, rebound from a loss, live with want, struggle against the daily undertow.
Here, in this space, we will collect stories of survival and, along with you, consider their meaning. Sometimes I will write the blog, sometimes Beth, two sensibilities applying themselves to the same subject. We look forward to your comments, your examples from everyday life or from the blogs and journals of others. Sometimes our offering might be comments on some famous text, a Camus essay perhaps, but most of the time we hope to draw on the experience of the world at large – the diary of a Los Angeles teacher, maybe a letter from a soldier (or civilian) in Iraq, a note from a small business owner on the Mississippi gulf coast or an office worker in Omaha.
Survival is both an individual and collective act, as much a part of life in good times and it is in bad. We want to know how people survive and what makes them survivors -- those moments that both test and reveal us to ourselves. We begin with a single idea, an idea free of any politics or dogma: The one thing that unites us all, the single quality we share, is our right to live. Along the way from the cradle to the grave we assume a number of other rights, other beliefs and ideas, but the right to live our lives is fundamental, universal, and inarguable. It’s what makes the individual collective. It’s why we spend so much time trying so hard to hold on.
Michael Norman
(Special thanks to Adam Penenberg for our theme)
Comments
Pretty good post. I
Pretty good post. I bookmarked your post for later reference.
augmentation mamaire
Mr. Frank Donai
Greetings,
I have not read "Tears in the Darkness" yet, though I do hope to soon, but I am writing as my father-in-law, Mr. Frank Donai, from Ava, NY is a survivor of the Bataan march, the hell ships, the road details. He is one of the most extraordinary people I have been blessed to know-his inner strength, his will to survive, is beyond that of many of us-I don't know that I could continue to hold on in the face of the ordeals he found himself in during the course of his life. Frank Donai was a Corporal in the Army Air Corps-I am not sure what Batallion or Regiment he was with, I will try to locate this information-I do know that he came home from the war with permanent nerve damage to his neck & spine from a blow to the back of the neck with a pick-axe handle, which left him with a continious & uncontrollable tremor, very similar to Parkinsons, which prevented him from holding his head still. Frank never talked much about his experiences in the War, he came home, married a wonderful woman, Doris Pritchard, and carried on with the business of Life. They bought a home in Lee Center, NY, had 6 children & raised them to respect themselves & others. I married my husband David Donai in 1999, Frank was 81 at the time-he will celebrate his 92nd birthday this November. He was awarded the Purple Heart-FINALLY-in 2003, I say FINALLY, because that recognition ought have been bestowed upon him many, many years prior. We are all glad that he was presented with the Purple Heart-he certaintly deserved it & it meant alot to Frank, his wife, children & grand-children, to all of his family.
Frank is now declining, his mind & strength are not what they once were, yet he still ives in his home & he still goes about the business of Living each day he is blessed with-he is an tremendous example of what a truly good & decent human being is. He used to be very active in the Leigon, but there are not many left from his years & I think maybe he is tired-we have offered to take him to reunions & such, but he doesn't seem to be interested any more & I know there aren't many WW11 vets with us these days, which is why I am writing. I want to thank Mr. Steel for telling his story & yourselves for writing it. I look forward to reading "Tears in the Darkness" soon-my mother is sending us a copy-and I plan to do more research on this era & tell Franks story & the story of the heroic men & women that served in WW11 to my grand-children. I believe it is important for them to learn & to tell their children & grand-children. I hope that the legacy that Frank & Ben & all of the heroic men & women that served never dies. I hope that we, as human-kind someday learn Peace, I pray for a world with out wars & I like to believe that there will come a day in which that world will exist.
In Peace & Light & Love,
Mrs. Lynnea Donai
Thank you. We think you'll
Thank you. We think you'll find that your father-in-law and Ben Steele have a lot in common. Hope you find their story compelling.
Commend
I have read hundreds of books on the WWII with a particular focus on the Pacific war -- because my grandfather, Lt Cdr Minter Dial, after whom I was named, was killed in the Philippines after having been a POW for 2 1/2 years (captured on Corregidor).
Of all the books I have read on the subject, "Tears in Darkness" is a tremendous and original work. It is a very thorough book which brilliantly winds through the events of Bataan and the aftermath via the personal story of Ben Steele.
The book brings to light the horrors of war and the absolutely unimaginable treatment of allied POWs. There is also a captivating narrative surrounding the setting up of the war crimes tribunal leading to judgment and execution of the Japanese General Masaharu Homma.
Ben Steele's story is extraordinary for his ability to survive conditions which, each time he was moved along, got worse, if such were possible considering the abysmal start on the Bataan Death March. I particularly enjoyed that Ben Steele turned to art, not just to survive, but also as a livelihood.
Warm regards, Minter Dial
Lt Cdr N Minter Dial (Facebook page).
Thanks Minter. Your kind
Thanks Minter. Your kind words means a great deal... would be great to see you soon.
Beth
Tears in the Darkness is a great read. Thank you!
I recently purchased a copy of Ben Steele's account and really enjoyed the detail. I have shared it with my father a Sgt in 17th Bomb Squad of the 27th Bomb Group Lt. which MacArthur changed to the 27th Provisional Infantry Regiment who was positioned on the MLR after arrival on the Bataan peninsula on Christmas eve 41. My father is still mentally sharp and too a survivor of the Death March beginning in Mariveles, O'Donnell (burial details), Tayabas Road Detail (he was on the last truck out and witnessed the morphine injections Note: same day his mother received his MIA letter), Billibid Prison Hospital (about a year), Sternberg Hospital (one of 20 including Calvit also friend of Dads), Cabanatuan (about a month or so before being shipped to Japan), Clyde Maru and finally Camp 17 Fukuoka, Japan (they called the first 500 in that camp "The Old 500") his number was 43. He suffered terrible bouts of Malaria, Beri Beri, Dysenteri, Dengue Fever and was completely delirious for a week on the Tayabas detail. He too has been mentioned in a number of books and publications and enjoyed being president of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor local chapter association many years ago. He misses his comrades and the reunions as there are not many of them left. He is still in contact with those that survive and every year sends out a Christmas card to either the survivor or their family. Sometimes the card is returned and he sadly records that another one has expired.
Here is a brief entry from his journal regarding one of his accounts of the "Death March"
"After about five days, Joe Wampler told Tom and I that he was not going to walk on any farther. Knowing that this would mean certain death for him, Tom and I would not let him stop. We made him walk between us, and held him up for the rest of the March knowing it meant certain death for us if we were caught...we did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. However, his will to live did not hold up, and later (or more recently) I read that Joe died at Cabanatuan. I originally thought all these years that he had died at O’Donnell, but never saw his death recorded anywhere in the records from O’Donnell.
My father has always been a man of integrity and honor and never claimed to be a hero. He has been honored in many ways over the years and always said the "real" hero were those that served their country and did not come home.
Again thank you for turning Ben's and the Japanese soldier stories into color for the imagination. It is truly worth documenting this account for others to read and understand how truly miserable this part of history actually was.
I'll have to get your book
I stumbled upon your web-site while trying to google my grandfather's name in regards to the Bataan Death March. His name was Thomas Collier. He passed away many years ago when I was in grade school. I'm 48 now. All I know is that he was a Japanese POW and survived the Bataan death march. He retired from the military and I believe he was from the Mid-West, maybe OK. His wife's name was Gertrude. I think he retired as a Kernal (sp?) from the army. I don't know if Mr. Steele remembers my grandfather? If he has any memories of him I would sure appreciate knowing it. There's really nobody left from his side of the family. My father and uncles have all passed away and I don't know of any cousins. I couldn't find anything on the internet on my grandfather. Thank you for any help in memories of my grandfather. Thomas Collier, retired US Army Kernal.
Cristine Collier
cristine.collier@merceradvisors.com
Collier notebooks
Have you read your grandfathers four notebooks? We found them at the United States Military History Institute in Carlisle Pennsylvania in the Morton Collection, and used them in our book. This collection is open to anyone who wants access. They are amazing. Hopefully you'll get to read them soon.
Michael and Beth
Blown Away
To the Normans and Ben Steele,
I have never been one interested in WWII history. I am a curious person and love to learn, but for some reason never got into the history of war, particularly WWII. Let me tell you, however; I could not put this book down! The account was captivating, the writing so interesting and the stories moving. I sincerely appreciate the account of
Mr. Steele and his openness to sharing his story and your talent for being able to tell that story.
I especially appreciate you taking the time to record both sides of the story. There are always more perspectives than just one. At the beginning of the book I was outraged by the actions of the Japanese soldiers, but as the story went on and both perspectives, U.S. and Japanese, were elucidated my frustration eased. I abhor what happened to the U.S. soldiers, but thank you for taking the time to explain how many of the Japanese soldier felt. I am referring particularly to the river gorge massacre and how frightened many of the Japanese were during that event.
Thank you again for bringing the past to life. Truly there is much to be gained by hearing the struggles of prior generations.
God bless.
Thank you
Thank you
Thanks for the great book!
Hi - just finished reading your fantastic book! Cannot possibly express all of the thoughts I have at this time. Am very proud to be associated with all of the heroes' whose stories you told. It is hard not to be very appreciative with what we have after seeing what these heroes had to endure to ensure our freedoms.
Will be reading "Ghost Soldiers" next; also plan to read Falk's book on Bataan; if you recommended it as a seminal work on Bataan, it has to be required reading.
This is a great website - it is nice to be able to follow-up after reading a book with such great additional information.
Was very impressed you made the 66 mile trek. Is there any account and/or pictures of this trip? It must have been truly amazing.
Thanks again to both of you for this truly remarkable book - it should be required reading for any history class - high school and up.
Ed
an important connection
I want to thank you both for this important book and for providing me and my family with a little insight into the last moments of my grandfather's life. My grandfather, Colonel John O. Hoskins, was reported as missing in action until the end of the war. Now I know that perhaps it was because the japanese soldier chose to bury him at the roadside out of respect, and his grave remianed unknown. Now I even know something about the soldier that shot him. I also know a little more about my grandfather's character - "how bravely he'd fought, how well he had died." I only wish I could have shared this story with my father and grandmother. Thank you again.
Andrea Hoskins
Bainbridge Island , WA
Colonel Hoskins
Ms. Hoskins,
Please send us an email.
The Normans
Thank you for shedding light to a history almost forgotten....
Thank you so much for shedding light on the Bataan Death march. I have studied Philippine History in High School and the thought of those soldiers being starved to death was just horrifying for a teenager to think about. I tried to read books and watch as many documentaries about that part of history that I was most interested about. I really think that there are not enough books that see the many sides of its history.
If young Filipinos can read this book they can feel a different kind of pride in the contributions our ancestors did to save as many soldiers as they can in that march. I feel like we Filipinos defended our democracy when they gave food to those soldiers. I hope you do know that the Bataan Death March is one of the things that we are most proud of in our history because we stood by the Americans as our allies and equals. I really appreciate that you put ten years into this. Please tell Mr. Steele that I appreciate him to telling his story. I hope the Death March will never be forgotten along with the many wars that were fought during World War II.
Sincerly,
Jade
Thank you
Thank you
just now heard about the book
am looking forward to reading this book. my father wrote his book, "We Remember Bataan and Corregidor" as a compilation of personal interviews he made of the survivors in the 1980s. as a Death March survivor himself and Filipino, he was one of the dozens of Asian POWs taken to Japan to be Japanized. his smuggled diary helped convict Iva Toguri as one of several of the "Tokyo Rose" announcers (which turned out to be another unfortunate story of that terrible war). after his passing, I found photos of him taken in Japan at various schools. he never bought Japanese products nor ate the food, but he was a gentleman: he graciously went to a reunion of his Japanese school with other former students, many of whom were by then leading businessmen all over the Philippines.
Thank you. We read your
Thank you. We read your father's book as part of our research. We deeply appreciate the service Mr. Villarin gave to our countries in the war.
Book
Thank you for writing this book - it is time the story was told. I hope the movie in development is finished
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/11/05/hayden-christensen-defends-the-bea...
and it makes more people aware of this chapter in history.
The book is great, Mr. Steele is incredible. Thank you for your time spent researching the topic.
Well Done!
K
As the grandson of a survivor
As the grandson of a survivor of the Death March, O'Donnell and the hell ships which you so eloquently describe, I have read much that has been written about this horrific experience. Yours, though, brought it home better than any I've read so far. My grandfather, who was a WWI veteran and in his 50s at the time, never discussed his experience, especially with the grandchildren. I was fortunate to inherit the diary he secretly kept. Only there did he describe surviving on water from a caribou wallow. He was nearly at the end of his rope when he received what he described as butter brickle, but you more accurately describe in your book as some sort of brown sugar candy that was slipped to him by a Filipino civilian. The conditions on the train to Camp O'Donnell were beyond belief, and of course this was after having been on greatly reduced rations for some time while fighting the Japanese. Yet, I never heard him say anything bad about the Japanese. He was active in his community, church and was a Scout Master. I don't know if he would've driven a Honda, but he set a wonderful example for me and many others. Thank you for such an accurate depiction.
Thank you
Thank you
Tears in the darkness
Your book was well written and reflected an enormous amount of research. I would have liked a few more maps of the Philippines scattered throughout the book.
Did anyone in the camps try to organize classes to learn Japanese language or culture (or Philippine language or culture)? Do you know if the Japanese guards tried to teach anything but obedience to the prisoners?
Did anyone else think that the self-portrait of Ben Steele at 90 looked a lot like the picture of General Homma visiting wounded Japanese in 1942?
Much of what you wrote will stay in my memory. Two of my uncles fought on Corregidor. One died in a POW camp in Japan. My grandfather and grandmother and an Aunt were interned at Santo Thomas and my grandfather died there.
I was in the US Navy and was able to attend the 25th anniversary and memorial to the men that fought on Bataan in April of 1967.
Thank you for your book.
Tears in the Darkness
This book is an amazing account of the Philappine invasion during World War II that is not highly publicized. Most history books highlight Hitler and the dropping of the bomb in Japan. However, without the strength, dedication and sacrifice of these men, the war could have had a very different outcome. We owe our freedom and quality of life to individuals like Ben Steele who suffered and sacrificed so much. He is what a true hero is. I truly feel that this book should be required reading in every school. It is an amazing testament to sacrifices made to preserve this great country. After reading this book, I have seen life from a whole different perspective. It is an incredible account of survival and a true testament to the human spirit.
To Ben and his comrades, thank you for all we have today. Without people like you, we would not have our freedoms and rights. Your story is incredible and sacrifices are extreme. May all your days be wonderful.
This is a very interesting
This is a very interesting story, it seems to me that I need to read your book, if it is as interesting as this story.
Overwhelmed
I am at the poing of reading about the Pantingan River killings and became overwhelmed at the brutality of war. What brings us a human beings to such a place? Your ability to present both sides of the situation is cause for repose...my heart and mind cannot fathom the horror of it all. Thank you for being a voice for our veterans.
Father John Duffy
I was raised in a little town in Ohio. Its hero was Father John Duffy,who became a parrish Priest there. He also rose to be the National Chaplain of the American Legion in 1957. Mr. Steele should know him well. He and all the men of Bataan are my heroes. Randy Rarden
Just started reading the book....
...on my lunch hour, and I can't wait to get back to it later today. "Ghosts" is so beautifully written, and has drawn me in already.
As the buyer for History in our public library, I purchased Tears In the Darkness because I am trying to develop the best collection on World War II possible. I only wish I could encourage all of our patrons to look closely at our history to realize the impact this war and other wars continue to have today.
My main purpose in writing is to let other readers here know about the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, an ongoing project of the American Folklife Center. Individuals are encouraged to submit interviews with relatives and other veterans recounting their personal experiences. A Field Kit that explains how to prepare for and conduct interviews may be downloaded from the LOC's website. My father is nearly 86, and went to the Philippines as a 21 year old farm boy from Wisconsin in 1944. It's long past time to record his story, which is something I plan to work on while I still have the chance.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed "Ghosts." We've placed Ben Steele's videotapes at the Library of Congress in the Veterans History Project. Hopefully other people will read your suggestion and record the WWII experiences of their relatives and friends.
I bought the book today. I
I bought the book today. I would love to meet Mr. Steele. My dad, Fred M. Plymale, who died in 1982 was also on the march and was a P.O.W. for 3 1/2 years. Understandably, he never shared anything about his experiences, and I feel I missed out on what would have been a great history lesson. My brother, my sister, and I feel that Daddy had many problems during his life that could have been results of those experiences. Anyway, I started the book and it is going to be good for us to read it. I know Mr. Steele is one of the last of the Bataan heros, seems like such a nice man, and if I had heard about him sooner, I may have figured out a way to meet him. I am in Valdosta, Georgia.
Steve Plymale
Bataan
Steve,
I have another book for you that is amazing. I met this man also Tony Bilek. He survived the Bataan March and wrote a book called, NO UNCLE Sam. He came and spoke to our History classes with tears in his eyes told our high school students about the hell he lived. What a story. It took him 28 years to write his book and is wonderful tribute to all that were there. You should be so proud of your dad for just surviving.
~Gayle
Thanks so mcuh
Thanks so mcuh
Steve, We've heard from
Steve,
We've heard from several children of men who were on Bataan and whose experiences with their fathers mirror yours--very pleased the book is giving you information. Yes, Ben Steele is a wonderful man.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Michael
Thanks for the reply
Thanks for the reply
This book and it's story.
The article on CNN caught my eye as I have an interest in history but I get most of it from watching documentaries on the tube. I went that night and found a copy of the book, I can honestly say I only read maybe 1 book every five years, so this was really out of character for me. Once I started the book I was hooked and by chapter two I was also hunting down information on the web about this story of a man by the name of Ben Steele. Via the web and with the help of one of Billings locals I found out about the book signing at the Barnes and Noble book store in Billings. Ben's story and with your skill of telling it led me to get on a plane that saturday and fly from Phoenix to Billings to get my book signed. Meeting Ben was such a thrill after hearing the story of how he and so many other young men of that generation had sacrificed for our freedom. I wish to tell you how nice it was to meet the Normans and what an honor to get to shake Ben's hand. Thank you for all your hard work - I truely enjoyed this book, and have been recomending it to anyone that will listen. Randy Klinckhardt
Randy, Thank you. It was a
Randy,
Thank you. It was a pleasure for the three of us to meet you. And we have a great story about a man who flew from Arizona to Montana for the signing! We appreciate your kind words and support
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Michael
Selfless heroism vrs selfish arrogance
I have not read your book on Bataan, but plan to very soon. I will also read Ann Seymour's "I'll Always Love You".
On August 8th I will be attending a Purple Heart Award Ceremony, long overdue, honoring POW's who died in captivity during WWII and the Korean War. One posthumous Purple Heart will be presented to the next-of-kin of my uncle Albert Lemelin, my mother's "big" brother who she just adored, who died while on the Bataan Death March giving away his food to those in greater need and defending those being beaten - a true hero in my book - while (bleep)ing McArthur ran like skunk and left his men behind, more concerned about the camera and the media and his own arrogant self-aggrandizement, while the simple duty-bound soldiers suffered and died.
If my uncle was hero, one can only imagine that he was only one of many other hundreds or thousands of real heros. My heart goes out to all the deceased and all the survivors of WWII in the Philippines, and all POW's in all our crazy wars.
Anyway, Uncle Albert is why my deceased brother was named Albert.
It is with great pride and intense pain that I will accept the Purple Heart as next-o-kin on Saturday, August 8th. I only wish my mother would be able be here.
I look forward to reading your book - Lest we forget.
A. Duclos
Thank you for the information
Thank you for the information about the Purple Heart Ceremony. We'll be thinking about a lot of men that day.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Michael
One of my cousins, Vern
One of my cousins, Vern Stepper, of Fort Peck, Montana, was on the Bataan Death March and a prisoner for some time. I have not heard him speak but know he did a lot of this in Oregon and other areas. He no longer does this but I know from others a bit about his experiences . He also has no emnity toward the Japanese people or the soldiers who were following orders. I can only admire the hearts that are so sincere that they have the ability to look beyond the treatment they recieved. Pray God that we find some way to prevent such things happening.
We appreciate you sharing the
We appreciate you sharing the history of your cousin with others. Thank you.
Elizabeth and Michael
MacArthur, Who Effectively Murdered My Father
MacArthur forced my 35-year-old father into a hero's death near Manila in 1945. I've written a book about it, out in November, "I've Always Loved You." (Firefall Media). Would like to twell you what MacArthur did. In "From Down Under to Dai Nippon," General Walter Krueger wrote that MacArthur wanted to march into Manila in time for his birthday. With his birthday celebration in mind, MacArthur planned a rush to Manila, believing the Japanese had 120,000 troops on Luzon when actually they had 262,000. Aboard the Nashville, he waved his corncob pipe at General Krueger and hollered, “Go around the Nips, bounce off the Nips, but go to Manila!”
Krueger told him a mad dash to Manila was exactly what Yamashita wanted; it was premature and could unnecessarily cost lives. He explained the logistical problems: the need for support troops, improvement of communication facilities, railroad and bridge construction, supplies, and reinforcements.
“Nonsense,” MacArthur replied. He demanded Krueger divide his artillery battalions between Clark Field and Manila with no further argument.
Krueger insisted the insufficient Clark Field troops would outrun their supplies, since the enemy had destroyed all the relevant bridges. Outnumbered and surrounded, they would die from pulverizing enemy artillery fire. He had managed to penetrate a small corner of the field, but could not occupy the main portion without sufficient forces.
The two generals could not reach an agreement, as MacArthur became his usual combative self in the face of opposition. When Krueger kept insisting that an undermanned assault on Clark Field presented too many risks, MacArthur stared in silence, and his expression froze.
Later, Krueger wrote that MacArthur "did not seem very impressed by my arguments . . . He did not take seriously the danger of our troops’ overextension."
Historian Richard Connaughton wrote, “After two weeks at loggerheads, the tension between the Supreme Commander and the Commander of the Sixth Army was palpable.”
Trying to shake off his feelings of dread, Krueger gave up on dissuading his commander. Per MacArthur’s instructions, he sent a large group in two “flying columns” on the road to Manila, and, on January 24, he ordered a few battalions, including Daddy’s 143rd, to change the axis of their attack ninety degrees and advance toward Clark Field.
Here the wide, patterned farmland fell away; mountains, inflexible in their demands, continued for miles. Their rocky crags remained constant and yet never the same, and their jagged peaks surrounded Clark Field. The dangers Krueger feared proved all too real. Imperial General Tsukada, a devious tactician with an onion-shaped head, had arranged the Kenbu defense along the ridges, some a thousand feet high. His machine guns, mortars, and heavy artillery lurked in caves on the high ground. The pillboxes, some three stories high, contained within their concrete walls 150-millimeter mortars, 20-millimeter, 40-millimeter, and 90-millimeter cannon. The Japanese could look down at the Americans struggling along and open fire.
Stranded, outnumbered, Daddy and his friends fought against overwhelming odds. From above, the Kenbu group pinned down their battalion. Heavy artillery fire from the far side of the Zambales Mountains slaughtered them. Roaring masses hit the men, and they felt agonizing bolts of pain run through them, saw blood, their blood _ it was everywhere _ their bodies ripped like pieces of cloth, and they writhed, begging God to stop the pain. Some kept feeling it as they cried out, kept feeling their pain and their heartbeat and their breath, and the metal and the fire, and then nothing.
Our men on the front lines took blasts from interlocking fields of fire anchored in pillboxes and connected by trenches to well-placed machine gun nests. The barrage raged twenty-four hours a day. Heavy Kenbu artillery blazed over the terrain, shredding men with shrapnel. Tracers blazed arcs of flame that illuminated the mud and blood of the mountains, and their fire bound itself to soldiers, consuming them. A corona of glitters from flamethrowers burst against the blue sky of day or the black of night, gold suns streaking and blossoming into more yellows and vermilions.
Ronald Spector wrote, "The troops had to pass through forbidding mountain country. The Japanese had made good use of the terrain to construct strong defenses based on mutually supported caves and tunnels . . . Heavy fighting soon developed . . . The 40th Division stayed behind to occupy Clark Field, despite Krueger’s pleas to MacArthur about the danger, given how outnumbered the men would be."
Fearing mass slaughter, Daddy and a friend volunteered to fly behing enemy lines to spot artillary. They succeeded, but the Japanese shot down their plane.
Six gruesome months later, the U. S. finally did secure Manila, a city reduced to rubble, its streets littered with the dead, in what was one of World War II’s most atrocity-plagued battles.
Needless to say, I adored every word you wrote about MacArthur. You two are my new favorite authors. Thanks foer the read! XX00, - Ann Seymour, author of "I'll Always Love You."
The story of your father,
The story of your father, like so many other men who did not return home from the battlefield, is heartbreaking. Please know how much we appreciated his service and sacrifice, and that of your family.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Michael
Thank you very much for your
Thank you very much for your comment. Nobody came home from Mukden, or any other prison camp and healthy in the traditional sense.
Author of "I've Always Loved You," a true story of ww2 in the Pa
THANK YOU for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. XX00, Ann
Ben Steele
I was dining with my wife and two young sons at Applebee's in Billings a few years back and overheard a conversation of the Bataan Death March. As a novice historian fascinated by the many sides of World War II, I couldn't help but evesdrop. Without knowing yet one of the men seated was a survivor of the March, I made a comment of the will to live and the courage of those men that endured. I was then introduced to Mr. Steele, and told he was a vetran of Bataan. Having read "Ghost Soldiers" a year or two prior, the details were still vivid in my mind. Mr. Steele shook my hand, said "nice to meet you" with an honest Montana smile and made a little small talk with me, though I was in awe of this American Hero (I know he, like most vets, don't like that term). As my family and I left, Mr. Steele looked up at us and said, "Well, looks you have a great, happy young family." I was greatly humbled and was on cloud nine the rest of the day after meeting him. Truly a class-act.
Yes, Ben Steele is truly an
Yes, Ben Steele is truly an amazing man. We're are so pleased that you had an opportunity to meet him. We've just returned from Billings and four days of events around the book. Ben seemed to enjoy every minute. Here is a link to a local story:
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_b34e3c7a-7358-11de-ae45-00...
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Michael
Capturing History
I have had the honor of meeting and speaking with two survivors of the "march" and hopefully learning from their wisdom. Each of them did not hate the Japanese captors for what they did, nor did they respect or admire them. They recognized that hating the cog in the wheel does little to affect the engine or the fuel.
I have not read the book yet. I've read many others, and I look forward to receiving it in the mail, but I am somewhat perplexed by the reaction that the story of Bataan is an argument against war.
There is no argument for war, there is only circumstances imposed by a group of people with weapons, opportunity, and prejudice that cause war, and the very real need for more open minded people to respond.
What could we have done differently after Pearl Harbor?
What would we have done differently in 1776?
War is terrible, war is hell, failure to confront those that start wars is suicide.
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Joe,
You are correct. One of the lessons we learned in writing Tears it is that the people responsible for starting wars need to think deeply about what they are about to do, especially in terms of the suffering they are about to cause so many people.
We hope you find the book thought-provoking.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
My father was a survivor
Thank you for your book. My father was a Bataan Death March Survivor. He also survived POW camp in Mukden, China. When he was liberated, he weighed 86 lbs. the optic nerve in his right eye was shriveled. For the rest of his life, he had ringing in his ears, problems with his shoulders and knees from where he was beaten and made to kneel and a fungus on his feet that no one could ever cure. He never hated the Japanese. He always told us that it was war and that is what they believed. Incredible, amazing man was my father. A few years before his death he did an interview with a local newspaper, I will always regret that I never interviewed him myself. An experience lost.
He now lies at rest in Arlington National Cemetary at his request. I live in Virginia so I get to visit him from time to time.
I have two brothers that live in Bozeman, Montana and will suggest to them to try and find some of Mr. Steele's art.
Thank you again for a story that needs never to be forgotten.
Michele Kurland
Fredericksburg, VA
thank you
Michele,
Thank you so much for your comment. No one came home from Mukden, or any other POW camp, healthy in the traditional sense. I've always been amazed that men like your father, Ben Steele and others like Joe Vater who was liberated from Mukden too, were able to overcome their hate or never hated their captors. Clearly, there is a lesson for all of us in their reactions.
Michael and I are going to be in Billings Montana from July 17th until July 20th doing appearances with Ben Steele. If you want the itinerary, send me an email and I'll pass it along.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
The destructiveness of war
Your comment about there being no winners in a war is something I think we need to shout from the mountain tops! I get very upset when I hear men who have never been participants in a war (I have never been there either) talk about 'winning' in Iraq or Afghanistan or Vietnam. How do they quantify that or tally up the points for a win? I think my father who was in France in 1943-44 witnessed things that he never spoke about but that changed him forever. I think about who he would have been had he not been part of that.
We need to hear what you have spoken! Thank you
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Peggy,
Truer words were never written. I never realized the extent and depth of lifelong suffering in people who've experienced war until we got to the Philippines and were interviewing civilians who lived on Bataan during the fighting and the Death March... same thing happened in Japan interviewing veterans....every American POW we talked to spoke about multiple losses. The tears and the anguish such different people exhibited so many years later spoke volumes.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
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