Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account Of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Quotes
"Told with skill and intelligence, this is the story of a stirring and heroic rescue operation in World War II."
"An anguished look into a pit of despair and an examination of the power of the human soul to create, destroy—and endure."
"A riveting tale of American courage and heroism."
"Chock-full of dialogue, anecdotes, and meticulous detail."
"Hard to put down, engrossing to read, and impossible to forget."
"Few stories are as gripping as the one that Sides tells here."
"The Japanese were just the Enemy. I had no idea what would happen when I finally met them face to face."
"The tide of the war was turning fast—everyone knew it."
"For weeks and months, the skies had droned with Mitsubishi engines."
"Life in the Orient is easygoing with emphasis on the mañana and siesta ethic."
"We staggered like drunken men... Our bodies had been whittled away, our eyes looked like burned-out sockets. We were scarecrows."
"I didn’t pray in any particular tradition. I just prayed for myself, for my friends. Prayed for the strength to make it through this."
"It did something to us... Our minds were full of questions that didn’t seem to have answers. The anger burned us up inside."
"You’re not supposed to pray for results... But sometimes you can feel a presence."
"The most grueling part of the Ranger training was conducted near their camp site on a steep hill that came to be called Misery Knoll."
"The Japanese unrealistically expected the starved and diseased Filipino-American forces to meet the Imperial Army’s norms for marching."
"The sight of [water] was unbearable—the thought of it, the thought of not having it."
"I was the victor, Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma did not feel victorious."
"The guards were falling behind their deadline. Abraham could see the urgency lining their faces, could hear the mounting frustration."
"General Homma had always considered Joson one of his most capable officers."
"General Homma spoke fluent English. He had traveled in America and was a great lover of American movies."
"The plan had two fatal flaws, however, flaws which would not become fully apparent until several days after the surrender."
"I acquired a deserved reputation for having a not very discriminating palate, even by Bataan’s low standards of cuisine," Bank said. "I would eat anything that wouldn’t eat me first."
"I have always said that with Mother praying for me, I don’t see how anything but safety could accompany me through this war."
"I only hope that this letter will find all of you in good health."
"I will never give you any arguments but will agree with you on every subject."
"This war is demoralizing. It is really bad that I am here, but if I wasn’t here some other boy would be in my place."
"You always wanted to keep away from the guards as much as possible and never give them an opportunity to hit you."
"I thought we were going to be roasted alive."
"The burial crews had to be especially careful when handling the bodies of those who had died from wet beriberi."
"News of every kind seemed to race across the countryside, if not at electric speed, then close to it."
"I don’t have the vocabulary to describe O’Donnell, and I don’t think anybody does."
"You never wanted to have too many attachments, because you were always afraid your friends were either going to leave on some work detail—or die."
"In matters of discipline and reward, Colonel Mori preferred to rule the camp as a single organism."
"If a single American attempted to break out, all nine of his comrades would be executed along with the culprit."
"The human body, it seemed, was full of trapdoors and trick connections that were now slowly revealing themselves."
"What organs are the first to play out when a certain mineral is withheld?"
"Their fingernails grew brittle and developed strange textured bands that, like growth rings in trees, reflected times of relative plenty or abject dearth."
"The mammary tissues swelled not with the bloated unsightliness of beriberi edema but with a shapely femininity."
"Often their encounters were so bizarre as to be comical."
"Rumormongering was an assiduously practiced sport around camp."
"For the first time the prisoners were able to gather news reports about American successes on Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and elsewhere in the Pacific."
"I had begun to think that we in here were the Forgotten Men."
"It’s good to know someone like you. You deserve more gold medals than all of us in here together."
"I got bananas with the rest... I'll try to repay you someday, somehow."
"You’ve done more for the boys’ morale in here than you’ll ever know."
"When I got your letter I came to life again."
"We thought, well, it’s going to be over in just a week or two."
"With some consistency, the Japanese decided to give our chaplains half-ration because 'they just talk and no work.'"
"The degree to which a society is civilized can be judged by entering its prisons."
"We were all in it too deep to think about quitting."
"If you ever saw redheaded Bob Taylor grapple with the devil in a Sunday morning arena, you’d give him a ration and a half."
"Sometimes people rise to greatness, and you never can predict who will."
"After two hours, she settled a little deeper into the water as if nestling down to sleep, and there she rested."
"It seemed impossible that a body could accrue mass and girth so quickly."
"This first step seemed like a move of Promethean audacity."
"A bucket was placed under the dying animal to collect every ounce of blood."
"The war was radically tilting in their favor."
"A fly-killing campaign is now very much in need."
"We were surrounded and entirely defenseless."
"The Japanese stated there would be severe punishment if this order is not obeyed."
"We couldn’t imagine it, a whole animal for five hundred people."
"The air force chose to paint the aluminum-alloy skin a matte black."
"Our best estimate was that he wouldn’t last half a kilometer."
"We were more alert than ever to the old saying that every animal is most vicious when he’s backed into a corner."
"We worried that if the Americans started firing artillery in our direction, we’d be sitting ducks."
"It was quite a startling sight to see those skeletons stand up and make brave attempts at clogging and Highland flings."
"We followed the progress of the American troops down the length of Luzon."
"The idea of an aerial decoy was a little unusual."
"We kept our heads down and headed for the main gate."
"The adrenaline was flowing, the battle was raging, it was dark outside."
"We were a walking skeleton, but I was ready to fight the enemy."
"Twists of smoke rose from some of the rear quarters and sheds, and the tang of singed thatch hung in the air."
"The stream of inmates emerging from the main gate had thinned to a trickle and then stopped altogether."
"The barracks smelled of sweat and coconut oil and human grime."
"It was nearly pitch black in there except for the faint glow of the ashes."
"Captain Prince was spooked by the moonlit desolation of the American compound."
"Visible for miles in all directions, Prince’s crimson flare was the definitive signal every Ranger, Scout, and guerrilla was supposed to recognize."
"Aside from any Japanese survivors, Prince was, he felt sure, the last one out."
"Rose was an elderly civilian who had lived in Toronto and was believed to have served as a postal worker in Shanghai before the war."
"The prisoners felt as though they were traveling in a protective envelope."
"Soldierly pride prevented many of the prisoners from accepting the assistance they genuinely needed."
"The men had ideal weather for a march—cool and clear and dry, with a sugaring of stars."
"The longer the break, the harder it was to get everyone moving again."
"Mucci’s miles stretched into more miles," said Abie Abraham.
"They were running on stolen fuel, without which, they now understood, this long trek would not have been possible."
"We regarded them as heroes. They regarded us as heroes. It was a mutual admiration society."
"As far as we were concerned, they were gods."
"If only we could have given some of that stuff to those buffaloes," one Ranger said.
"The prisoners jumped from their oxcarts and sought protection in the surrounding rice paddies."