Thomas F. (hardtack) -
As I have an entire shelf of books about the Filipino resistance to the Japanese in World War II---many of them published in 1945-46 and not republished since---I was already familiar with the "Soldier" and the "Spymaster" mentioned in the title, but not the "Singer." It's amazing what ordinary people can do when they set their minds to resisting tyranny. The Filipino resistance was the greatest guerrilla resistance in history, but it came at a price. The Japanese didn't care who they killed, and one out of every 20 Filipinos died during the Japanese occupation of their country.
So I was very happy most of the book concentrated on Claire, the Singer. What puzzled me was how later she claimed to have done more than she did, especially when what she did was so impressive that if she had been in the military she would probably have earned our nation's highest award for bravery. But not every hero is perfect. And it's a sad story that many Filipinos who fought and suffered to help win the war for the U.S. never received any awards or payment.
I had some problems with the book. Early on the author portrays General MacArthur as a brilliant organizer and commander. Many historians consider him to have been an egotistical commander who was lucky to have escaped the Philippines and not be court martialed. In the book, the author has MacArthur knowing the Philippine Army wasn't ready for war, but that is not what he kept telling the U.S. military. The author also has him moving great stocks of food and medical supplies to Bataan, when he actually left most of that in Manila. That food and medical supplies would have saved the lives of so many Filipinos and American soldiers, but the evidence was that MacArthur really didn't care about them, as he proved often during the war.
Not many Americans know MacArthur only spent one day on Bataan where the fighting went on for months. The general who actually commanded the fighting troops on Bataan was Edward King. Meanwhile MacArthur lived and ate well on Corregidor. While King eventually received the Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts on Bataan, MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for sitting on his butt, issuing proclamations and getting to Australia safely. You gotta wonder.
If all this sounds like a rant, it is, but it doesn't even begin to cover MacArthur's misdeeds. I'm a military veteran myself and I have a problem with military types who have grandiose reputations they don't deserve. Claire, the "Singer" in this book's title risked her life daily for almost two years, was imprisoned, tortured and had to fight in the courts to get even a small sum of what she spent to help the imprisoned American POWs and civilians. Many of those who unselfishly helped her were cruelly tortured and killed.
And for those of us who are complaining about the price of food in the supermarkets during this period of inflation, at least the food is there. So many American POWs and interned civilians and Filipinos were living on what today's complainers are throwing out and would actually refuse to even feed their pets.
So I was very happy most of the book concentrated on Claire, the Singer. What puzzled me was how later she claimed to have done more than she did, especially when what she did was so impressive that if she had been in the military she would probably have earned our nation's highest award for bravery. But not every hero is perfect. And it's a sad story that many Filipinos who fought and suffered to help win the war for the U.S. never received any awards or payment.
I had some problems with the book. Early on the author portrays General MacArthur as a brilliant organizer and commander. Many historians consider him to have been an egotistical commander who was lucky to have escaped the Philippines and not be court martialed. In the book, the author has MacArthur knowing the Philippine Army wasn't ready for war, but that is not what he kept telling the U.S. military. The author also has him moving great stocks of food and medical supplies to Bataan, when he actually left most of that in Manila. That food and medical supplies would have saved the lives of so many Filipinos and American soldiers, but the evidence was that MacArthur really didn't care about them, as he proved often during the war.
Not many Americans know MacArthur only spent one day on Bataan where the fighting went on for months. The general who actually commanded the fighting troops on Bataan was Edward King. Meanwhile MacArthur lived and ate well on Corregidor. While King eventually received the Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts on Bataan, MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for sitting on his butt, issuing proclamations and getting to Australia safely. You gotta wonder.
If all this sounds like a rant, it is, but it doesn't even begin to cover MacArthur's misdeeds. I'm a military veteran myself and I have a problem with military types who have grandiose reputations they don't deserve. Claire, the "Singer" in this book's title risked her life daily for almost two years, was imprisoned, tortured and had to fight in the courts to get even a small sum of what she spent to help the imprisoned American POWs and civilians. Many of those who unselfishly helped her were cruelly tortured and killed.
And for those of us who are complaining about the price of food in the supermarkets during this period of inflation, at least the food is there. So many American POWs and interned civilians and Filipinos were living on what today's complainers are throwing out and would actually refuse to even feed their pets.
