Bataan Diary [Paperback]

Chris Schaefer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

With Pearl Harbor in shambles, the United States Army surrendered to the Japanese on Bataan, and 70,000 American and Filipino servicemen became prisoners of war. However, about 200 Americans slipped into the jungle to continue the fight and await the return of General Douglas MacArthur. For three years the Japanese hunted these men down, capturing or killing more than half of them.

Bataan Diary is the true story of Frank R. Loyd and a small group of men who refused to surrender to the Japanese. They endured terrible diseases, starvation, and a Japanese manhunt to capture them. Aided by Filipino farmers, they lived by their wits and their survival skills, and they ultimately joined the guerrilla band of Corporal John Boone to help defeat the Japanese.

It is also the story of their families at home in the United States who supported the war effort, worked in government jobs, and raised their families alone, not knowing if their men were dead or alive. Frank Loyd, kept a personal diary throughout his three year ordeal. His wife, Evelyn, kept her own diary and correspondence at home. Bataan Diary follows the stories of Frank and Evelyn Loyd as a central theme, while telling the intriguing story of the prisoners, the evaders, and the guerrillas—the men and women who fought America’s first battle of World War II.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bataan Diary" reads as much like a story as it does a piece of history...the pages fly by. -- The Park Record, Park City, Utah, April 6, 2005. Reviewed by Matt James.

Carefully researched and footnoted, Bataan Diary is nonetheless fast-moving and eminently readable. It even has really good maps. -- Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce, Manila, May 2005. Reviewed by Sara Collins Medina.

Schaefer's book is a valuable addition to the historical literature of World War II, particularly the war in the Pacific. -- The Decatur Daily, Decatur, Alabama, April 17, 2005. Reviewed by Richard McCann

About the Author

Chris Schaefer is a historian and Vietnam veteran with a long family history of military service. He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History and in Computing Sciences, has worked as a business systems consultant for more than twenty years, and has authored many technical papers and presentations. Bataan Diary is his first commercial book. In it he has defined the lives of real people caught up in a terribly brutal war. The result is a true story of struggle, intrigue and deception, as seen by the men and women who lived through it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 434 pages
• Publisher: Riverview Publishing (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976108402
• ISBN-13: 978-0976108405
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #694,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a historian I write books and articles, and give talks about World War II in the Pacific and about the history of the Middle East. I am an Associate Instructor at the Osher Learning Institute at the University of Utah and teach classes on Middle East History and World War II. I also serve as Public Relations Officer for the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society.

My first book was "Bataan Diary," published in 2004, about a group of American soldiers left behind in the Philippine Islands during World War II. This is a really unusual story which follows the lives of families at home in the States as well as the story of the soldiers abandoned in the Philippine jungles during the Japanese occupation. It is, of course, available on Amazon.com.

Last year I completed a documentary screenplay for movie producer Donald A. Plata, named "Forgotten Soldiers." The movie is about the U.S. Army's Philippine Scouts in World War II. The movie has been completd and Mr. Plata plans to enter it into several film festivals during the latter part of 2011 and early 2012, after which we hope that it will be shown to the general public on PBS and the DVD will be available for purchase on Amazon. I am also writing a book, "Forgotten Soldiers," to be released with the movie.

If you are interested in terrorism and other troubles in the Middle East, you will want to read my third book, as yet unnamed, about the treaties that ended World War I and how those treaties have led to our difficulties in the Middle East today. The book is in the latter stages of its research phase, but I am beginning to outline and write the chapters, sandwiched in between the "Forgotten Soldiers" project mentioned above.

Previously, I served for twenty-two years as president and lead consultant at Chris Schaefer & Company, a computer software and consulting firm with clients in North America, Europe, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. In 1998 I was fortunate to be able to hand over the reins of the company and turn my full-time attention to historical research and writing.

I hope you have enjoyed "Bataan Diary," and will find the "Forgotten Soldiers" movie and the Middle East book even more interesting.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Escape, Survive, Organize, January 25, 2005

By 

Malcolm Decker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bataan Diary (Paperback)

This is a must read for WWII historians. Chris Schaefer has written a very honest story from his uncle's diaries and letters between his aunt and uncle during the 1941-1945 period.

The story chronicles the trials of those survivors on the Bataan Death March and the families at home. In addition this is a story of men overcoming starvation, disease and lack of cultural knowledge. In the process these men learn not only about themselves, but the benefactors that save their lives in so many ways.

For the historian who has tried to determine who was in charge of the guerrillas on Luzon, Chris Schaefer has done a masterful job explaining the difficulties and frustrations of the men who tried to unify these loosely run units.

If you want to read a well researched and honest story of a group of men who helped to unite the American soldiers and filipinos in their area of responsibility, then you must read this book.

Malcolm Decker, author, On A Mountainside: The 155th Provisional Guerrilla Battalion Against the Japanese on Luzon.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Survival and Resistance:WWII in the Philippines, January 27, 2005

By 

J. M. Houlahan (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bataan Diary (Paperback)

Chris Schaefer's extremely readable Bataan Diary: An American Family in World War II, 1941-1945 is a well-documented story of resistance and survival during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

Built around the World War II diaries kept by Major Frank R. Loyd and his wife, Evelyn, the book chronicles the difficult struggle of Frank Loyd, half-starved and seriously ill, sheltering in a series of jungle hideouts. Then, as MacArthur's return approaches, he joins the guerrilla war.

Another dimension is added by an occasional chapter detailing the stateside fears and frustrations of Evelyn, not knowing if her husband was still alive, while she immerses herself in supporting the war effort.

However, the book is more than the combined diaries of the Loyds. It also examines the larger war effort in the Pacific and the involvement of other Americans and Filipinos, many of them Philippine Scouts, in the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement on Luzon. It contains interesting information on commando infiltration teams, both Filipino and American, sent in by submarine to help shore up the resistance movement. It also examines in some detail prison camp conditions and the brutal counter intelligence activities of the dread Japanese Kempei-tai.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in a realistic portrayal of survival and resistance during WWII in the Philippines.

J.Michael Houlahan

Editor, Philippine Scouts Heritage Society newsletter

www.philippine-scouts.org

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Then The March, April 1, 2005

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bataan Diary (Paperback)

I have always enjoyed reading about World War two, but most of my reading has been about the war in Europe. That was one of the draws of this book for me. I have read about the Bataan death march, but had never heard of nor read about the American guerilla activities in the Philippines. I also was interested in just what was it like for a military man to be on his own in the jungle fighting the enemy. So it is safe to say that I was excited to dig into the book. Not to give too much away, but I found the book was exactly as billed. Very interesting and entertaining. A well written and easy to read book about a topic that most people do not know much about.

After completing the book the one area that just took my breath away was the story of how the main character and his fellow soldiers lived. What these guys lived through with the near starvation diets and fighting off one horrible disease after another was awe inspiring. Just that fact that they kept after it day after day gives a new meaning to the term persistence. It also made the reader a bit proud at just how much many of these men tried to get back into the war effort. They could have laid low and waited out the war, but many of them kept trying to join one resistance group after another or actively participated in armed conflict.

Anyone that has read about Japanese war crimes will be familiar with the way they treated their prisoners of war, but if you are not familiar with that story then you are in for a shock. How people can be so cold and cruel never ceases to amaze me. It also was sickening to read the way they treated the local population. Overall I really enjoyed the book. It held my interest through the full book. To be honest I was concerned that the parallel story of the main characters wife would be dull to me, but it really added a lot to the story. To read what she was going through back home made the overall story have more meaning. I also liked how the author would give the reader updates as to how the overall war in the Pacific was going. If you are interested in World War Two then this book is well worth the money.