Manila had fallen and MacArthur had retreated with the famous words, "I shall return."
Many thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to march in atrocious conditions from Bataan to various prison camps with huge numbers dying along the way.
Yet the Imperial Japanese Army was not able to subdue all of its enemies.
A motley group of American and Filipino soldiers escaped into the depths of Mindanao and began to form a new force that would fight with coordinated guerrilla tactics against the occupying forces.
Charles "Chick" Parsons, who previously had been in charge of the naval docks of Manila, led his men to cause terror among the Japanese as they stuck time and again in hit-and-run raids.
Endlessly spying on the Japanese forces they became the eyes and ears for MacArthur's forces who were preparing to retake the Philippines.
Parsons became instrumental in organization of the guerrilla movement as they moved ammunition, medicine and arms from under the noses of the Japanese, installed coast watchers and radio stations, evacuated American and Allied personnel and civilians, and undertaking secret submarine missions to the Philippines.
Travis Ingram drew much of the material for this book directly from Parsons who frequently interjects through the book with his own opinion of certain situations.
This is the remarkable story of the man that MacArthur described as "the bravest man I ever met" and deserves to be read by all who wish to find out more about individual acts of heroism that took place in the most trying of circumstances.
