Hell's Guest
July 12, 2012
July December 7th started
like any other Sunday in the service -- a day off. I slept in which
means I didn’t have breakfast and was going to a later mass at the
Chapel. Well, the next thing that I heard was a lot of noise so I
jumped out of bed to see what was going on. As I was running to the
window someone said that we were being attacked by the Japs. After being rudely
awakened from a sound sleep I ran to the balcony in my shorts where I had an
excellent view of the harbor. Looking up, I could see large
formations of aircraft going to other targets. As I turned my head to look over
the harbor, the Jap torpedo planes and dive-bombers had a nice clean run at the
Battleships. Watching them drop torpedoes and bombs I could feel the percussion
of the explosions as they annihilated everything on Battleship row…Some of the
men on the ships were firing back, but it was a losing
battle. Without any opposition, the Japs had everything going their
way. It was damned sad. The clear air that was over the harbor was
now being encompassed with smoke, and the clean water was now turning black
with oil. *
Enter:
Hell’s Guest
Glenn Frazier was a young
man, angry… and with one reckless act, needed to just get away. Lying about his
age, he entered the service. Not long after he arrived in the Philippines, the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the entire world was in a bitter war for
freedom.
After the attack at Pearl,
they were told to prepare for the Japanese to attack the Philippine Islands.
The soldiers worked as quickly as possible, getting the barges unloaded (ammo)
before the bombing started.
…As the day went on, we
watched again as more waves of bombers hit Clark Field, Subic Bay, Nichols
Field, Cavite Naval Station, and Corregidor. We weren’t sure what other targets
had been hit, but we knew—with the Japanese flying around wherever they wanted,
and with no opposition—we were in deep trouble. **
Frazier writes about
several skirmishes and work details. His honest approach to what the soldiers
did and how they lived, fought, and felt toward their fellow American’s, the
Filipinos, and the Japanese may not necessarily be sugar-coated, but the reader
knows they are real.
At the Bataan location,
they took down the flag and buried it in a sealed container intending to return
and fly it again. Almost escaping with a fellow Army buddy, the Japanese caught
them laying low. The loss of the battle, the devastating surrender, brought him
to the empty feeling of shock that they had been captured and what was later
called the infamous Bataan Death March had begun.
Our soldiers became
slaves to the Japanese’s every whim and Frazier was now Hell’s Guest. They were
treated horribly, inhumanely, without passion. Frazier doesn’t hold back but
gives the reader the truthful story of American courage and strength for those
who did and did not survive the Japanese POW camps.
A Japanese officer gave
Frazier the chance to speak any final words before his execution. When the
officer didn’t understand what he said, Frazier was asked to repeat his words:
“He can kill me but he
will not kill my spirit and my spirit will lodge in his flesh for his entire
life! The Americans are coming and any Japanese who kills an American without
just cause will have their spirit haunt them forever!”**
Hell’s Guest is written
by Col. Glenn Frazier. It has been featured in Ken Burns’ documentary “The War”
and may become a movie in the future. It is a story that will fill any reader
with a multitude of emotions. Frazier’s honesty about himself and the devastating
and horrifying experiences led him to admit that he needed to forgive. The
story was healing, not only for himself but also for anyone who reads his story
with an open mind.
The book is available on
Amazon.
Visit Col. Frazier’s
website
http://hellsguest.com
** Quotes from Hell’s
Guest by Col. Glenn Frazier
* H P Lawrence WWII
Memoirs I Was Just a Radioman
Thank you for taking the time to visit with me and read my
blogs.
Comments are always welcome.
Have a good moments day,
Pam
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