The Star in the Window
Select Stories of World War II Veterans
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
BATAAN DEATH MARCH Throughout history there have been many incredible and shameful accounts of “man's inhumanity towards man.” Few have had the magnitude of cruelty and barbarism as exemplified by the Japanese treatment of American and Filipino prisoners of war --preceding, during, and following the infamous Death March on the Bataan Peninsula during World War II. If it had not been for World War II, the Bataan peninsula in the Philippine Islands might still be a little known place on the map of Asia. It was there in Manila Bay in April of 1942 on the island of Luzon in the Philippine Islands, that 78,100 American and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese. Though there had been stories about Japanese atrocities in 1942, it was not until mid-1943 that the leaders learned with great shock about the Bataan Death March. Three American officers had escaped from a prisoner of war camp in the southern Philippines and informed General Douglas MacArthur in Brisbane, Australia. However, it would be another six months before the American public would be made aware of this since it was originally thought that if this information were revealed, the Japanese would have retaliated with further brutality (Falk 204- (This excerpt is from the introduction to the chapter entitled RICHARD COWEN BATAAN DEATH MARCH) "I was on the march off Bataan for sixteen days. I was fed once. There were bodies all along the road. Some bodies were piled around the artesian wells where they had been shot and killed when they broke ranks to get water. I saw men who were too weak to walk buried alive. Others went crazy and ran and screamed - they were clubbed to death or bayoneted.......(.From the notes of Richard Cowen - Bataan Death March survivor.)
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
When a service banner adorned with stars was displayed in a home’s window during World War II, it meant a family member was involved in the war. Some of the soldiers never returned, but those who did come home carried memories and war stories. In The Star in the Window, author Louis C. Langone tells the stories of more than seventy-five WWII veterans who lived in Waterville and Central New York. Langone personally interviewed and listened to more than 100 men and women telling their wartime stories—from bombing missions over Europe to the “island hopping” campaigns of the Pacific to suffering as prisoners of war. The narratives are supplemented with material from books, periodicals, the Internet, press releases, unit histories, and letters, providing a mix of memories and facts. Photographs and community honor rolls are also included. The Star in the Window not only preserves special WWII memories, but also gives insight into the hardships endured and sacrifices made by the veterans of the Central New York area. It provides an opportunity to experience history through the eyes and ears of veterans from the various military branches of service revealing shocking and obscure incidents of the war.
About the Author
Louis C. Langone earned a master’s degree from Syracuse University, taught high school history for thirty years, and served as a navel reservist. He is also the author of Railroad Days: Memories of the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad and Erie-Lackawanna Railway. Langone lives in Waterville, New York.