Customer Reviews

My Hitch in Hell: The Bataan Death March (World War II Commemorative)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the fifth book I have read about the Bataan Death March, and it is, without question, the best of the bunch. It is written with heart-wrenching stories so vivid you can almost feel the rifle butt slamming into your face too. You almost feel the heat of the tropical Philippine sun as the sick and dying men make their ill-fated trek out of Bataan. And you can almost smell the death in the air.

Tenney does an excellent job of caputuring the unadulterated abuse suffered at the hands of the Japanese. The story culminates with the cruelest irony of all when Tenney finally returns home after three-and-a-half years of daily atrocities so horrific we almost become numb to them. Almost. I won't ruin the end of the book for you and if you don't want to know, don't read the inside jacket cover.

But DO read this book. The pages turn themselves.

I just can't figure out why this book hasn't been made into a movie. The story of the plight of the men in the Pacific theater during WWII has yet to be accurately told. Steven Spielberg! Listen up!

As a survivor of the Bataan Death March, I can vouch for the authenticity of MY HITCH IN HELL. There is not a word of exagerration in this absorbing account of the conditions and events in the Japanese Prison Camps. Too little is known about the slave labor imposed on men who were literally dying of malnutriton and all the accompanying diseases such as beri beri, dysentery, malaria, and scurvy.The toll from accidents in the Japanese coal mines was even greater.

At present the veterans such as myself are in their late seventies or early eighties and now dying off at an alarming rate.

MY HITCH IN HELL at least tells the story of their experience while some of us can have the satisfaction of knowing that our sacrifice will not be forgotten completely.

"My Hitch in Hell" is a hard-hitting story of one man's survival as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. Lester I. Tenney narrates his own story of the cruelty he suffered with a tone of courage and hope. Tenney was captured by the Japanese in 1941 and forced on the infamous Bataan Death March. Following that, he was used for slave labor until liberated in 1945. Tenney describes in vivid detail the inhumane and evil behavior of his captors and guards, and how he managed to cling to hope in a place where hope died for most men. This is not a scholarly work, but it is educational and enlightening. Tenney manages to tell his story in a deeply emotional and personal manner without resorting to a tone of hate and recrimination. By doing so, he accomplishes the near-impossible: living through a nightmarish experience and still being able to discuss it rationally. This is an engrossing story that reflects personal history at its best.

I remember hearing about the Bataan Death March in high school. I remember hearing some men where killed during the march. Little did I know! This fantastic book brings the real story and the real horror to light. It's sobering to know that less than 1 in 10 Americans survived their captivity. However, this book is not just about the famous march. Afterall, the march was just the beginning of a four year ordeal for the POW's. Mr Tenney's book also tells what happened to him after the march. He was made to work in the coal mines of Japan under extremely dangerous conditions. His descriptions of the treatment of POW's by the Japs is beyond brutal. How he ever survived is a testament to his will to leave.

One more thought about this book. Through all of Mr Tenney's four years of hell, his book is also a story of hope. His story of how he survived is an inspiration to all. The last chapter about his life after liberation from the camp is heartwarming and tragic at the same time.

An uncompromising story of the war in the Philippines, the drama of the fighting on Bataan, and the dreams, goals and anguish of a survivor of the Infamous Bataan Death March. The survivors returned with their heads hung low, and arrived back into the United States quietly, anonymously, without any fanfare or banners waving to welcome them home. There were no acknowledgments of any kind for these brave survivors of a vicious enemy. This is a first person account of horror, survival and dreams of one young soldier. This is not a racorous book, but it is not a pleasant story. It's a realistic story of man's fight for survival while keeping his ideals intact. Tenney's searing wartime experiences of the past and his gracious acceptance of the young Japanese of the present, bring a unique perspective to the current debates over Japan's wartime culpability, the morality of the atomic bombs, and American-Japanese relations today.

My review is based on reading the book and my father's account, (also a former P.O.W. of the Bataan Death March), of the Death March. The book was very easy to read but very hard to put down. My wife and I read this book at the same time. We read it in record time. Mr. Tenney wrote the book in a descriptive way that left the reader feeling ill at times and angry at the Japanese for what and how they treated the prisoners. I don't know how any of the prisoners survived!! I wonder what kind of inhumane society could teach their soldiers (the Japanese) to act in such a tortureous way. I give this a five star rating.

As a survivor of the Bataan Death March, I can vouch for the authenticity of MY HITCH IN HELL. There is not a word of exagerration in this absorbing account of the conditions and events in the Japanese Prison Camps. Too little is known about the slave labor imposed on men who were literally dying of malnutriton and all the accompanying diseases such as beri beri, dysentery, malaria, and scurvy.The toll from accidents in the Japanese coal mines was even greater.

At present the veterans such as myself are in their late seventies or early eighties and now dying off at an alarming rate.

MY HITCH IN HELL at least tells the story of their experience while some of us can have the satisfaction of knowing that our sacrifice will not be forgotten completely.

As the son of former POW I understand more fully what hell and torture my father experienced after reading "My Hitch In Hell" As a young boy, I was often awakened as my father screamed for help, still imprisoned in his nightmares. Although spared the indignity of the Bataan Death March, my father was captured on the island of Corregidor, shipped to Japan and incarcerated for 3 1/2 years at a camp in Fukuoka. Lester Tenney's description of his experience reminds the reader in graphic detail that war is hell, and makes me more thankful for my freedom at the cost of so many!

This book is a tough read because of the graphic nature of the brutality the POWs and filipinos suffered. Still I wrote this review to reinforce the many other positive reviews here. Lester Tenney tells a very personal story that includes in the telling his own journey of understanding of the cruel treatment he suffered. I would recommend this book for any adult, who can take the detailed descriptions of prisoner abuse.

This book is at the top of my favorite's list of "personal narratives" of the appalling treatment of American and Filipino POWs by the Japanese. Lester Tenney is a true product of his time; depression-era, pre-war America. How fate casts him into the hands of the US Army and his Japanese captors is fascinating. Tenney does a fine job keeping his story factual but letting the emotions seep through. One of many such tales, but a good one