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Belly of the Beast
by Judith L. Pearson
The true story of a WWII POW who survived a Japanese hell ship
“At 1100 hours on December 13, 1944, the temperature was already well over eighty degrees. Sixteen hundred and nineteen filthy, gaunt men were forced to march four abreast through the dirty streets of Manila...The men staggered, barely able to shuffle one foot in front of another, as they were prodded along by the bayonets of armed Japanese guards...Every single man was emaciated to the point of resembling a walking skeleton.”
So begins the horrific but true story of hundreds of our soldiers, related through the story of one. Judith Pearson takes the reader from pre-WWII days to the end of the war and the release of the POWs who survived. We follow Estel Myers from his youth, as the child of Kentucky sharecroppers, to his years as a Navy hospital corpsman and then a WWII POW. Pearson traces his steps and the history of the war, with detail, factual information and admiration for those who were there. Estel lived through numerous battles in the Pacific, tending the wounds of his fellow soldiers. In 1942, he was on the island of Corregidor when it fell. By the time Myers was captured, there were 78,000 POWs held by the Japanese.
Myers was one of 1600 captives who had been held as prisoners, most for several years. They were marched, then loaded like cattle on the Japanese prison ship, Oryoku Maru. Of these 1600, over 1200 perished while on the ship. They were sick, and many were near death when they began the journey. The horrible conditions were their final torture. For the 300 and some who survived, they were then taken to POW camps in Japan. Many were forced into slave labor in the factories. Through it all, Myers tried to take care of the sick and wounded.
These Japanese ships became known as “hell ships” because of the torturous conditions the prisoners endured. Suffocation, starvation, illness and despair were their constant companions. The stories Pearson relates are painful to read. Even after 60 years, it hurts to know the pain, degradation and disease these young men suffered. Amidst all the horror, Pearson brings us to admire their courage and faith.
All Americans should read the stories of those ordinary soldiers who were destined to give so much for their country. This book is readable and presents both the depths and the heights of the human spirit, from the horrors of war to the strength of the individual prisoners.
Title: Belly of the Beast
Author: Judith L. Pearson
Publisher: New American Library
ISBN: 0451204441
Review written by: Pat McGrath Avery
Reviewer's Rating:8.5
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 1
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