Helpful Score: 1
I really can't remember, after all my years of reading World War II history, encountering a detailed account of the recapture of Corregidor. I know there are a few out there, but most WWII books usually just mention the island's recapture without giving many details. This book fills in all those details and more. Reading the book makes me wonder why Hollywood never did a WWII movie about it. It was a fantastic battle with plenty of action. Sadly, the casualties on both sides were high.
The biggest problem with the book is the map of Corregidor. It is very detailed, but even with a magnifying glass I had a hard time reading the names of the areas being fought over. As a result, I seldom looked at the map.
One interesting mistake the author makes is calling Japanese naval infantry "Imperial Japanese Marines." It's obvious the author is an army guy. The Japanese didn't have marines, instead they called their sailors trained as infantry---Special Naval Landing Forces. They were tough-fighting troops. Still, like Japanese army troops, they liked to kill themselves instead of going down fighting. And in this battle, they did it by the hundreds, sometimes in huge explosions. More than once the author remarks only the Japanese knew why they did what they did.
Finally, the author mentions the U.S. Army Air Corps bomber units which participated in the 1945 American pre-invasion bombardment of the island. He mentions that one of the B-24 bomber groups was the 22nd, which had the nickname "Red Raiders." Well, a radio operator and gunner in one of those planes was my father. I still have his flight records, and they list the Corregidor raid and several others in the Philippines. Dad flew 36 missions before his plane was shot down behind Japanese lines in China. I owe my existence to the Chinese guerrillas who got him and the rest of the crew out.
The biggest problem with the book is the map of Corregidor. It is very detailed, but even with a magnifying glass I had a hard time reading the names of the areas being fought over. As a result, I seldom looked at the map.
One interesting mistake the author makes is calling Japanese naval infantry "Imperial Japanese Marines." It's obvious the author is an army guy. The Japanese didn't have marines, instead they called their sailors trained as infantry---Special Naval Landing Forces. They were tough-fighting troops. Still, like Japanese army troops, they liked to kill themselves instead of going down fighting. And in this battle, they did it by the hundreds, sometimes in huge explosions. More than once the author remarks only the Japanese knew why they did what they did.
Finally, the author mentions the U.S. Army Air Corps bomber units which participated in the 1945 American pre-invasion bombardment of the island. He mentions that one of the B-24 bomber groups was the 22nd, which had the nickname "Red Raiders." Well, a radio operator and gunner in one of those planes was my father. I still have his flight records, and they list the Corregidor raid and several others in the Philippines. Dad flew 36 missions before his plane was shot down behind Japanese lines in China. I owe my existence to the Chinese guerrillas who got him and the rest of the crew out.
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