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They Were Expendable (Bluejacket Books)

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This is not a book to read as history, in the sense of seeking facts and figures about an event in the past. "They Were Expendable" is ostensibly an account of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, which gained glory amidst the disaster that was America's defense of the Philippine Islands in the opening months of the war with Japan (December 1941 - May 1942). But this is wartime journalism, and it is replete with inaccuracies and exaggerations, not to mention a few passages that were subjected to military censorship. This must be expected of a book that was written only a few weeks after Allied resistance of the Philippines formally ended in humiliating surrender; William L. White had no way to corroborate or fact-check the stories told to him by the four youthful naval officers he interviewed for this book. But as an emotional record of the early, sometimes despairing days of the war against Japan, "They Were Expendable" is a work of truth and power. This is not so much a slam-bang story of naval warfare as it is an account of the emotional trauma of defeat suffered by a nation accustomed to victory.

White originally wrote the book for "The Reader's Digest," which published a condensed version in its September, 1942, issue, not quite four months after the fall of Corregidor. The full-length book was released several days later and became a huge bestseller (one reason so many used copies are available today). "They Were Expendable" was one of the first pieces of World War II "hardcover journalism" to give firsthand accounts of the U.S. debacle in the Philippines, and it promised no-holds-barred revelations about how and why the United States could have been so badly beaten. Some of what was "revealed" was myth -- tales of spies and sabotage, and exaggerations of Allied numerical inferiority to the Japanese. Nor could White, even if he had wanted to, have gotten away with criticizing Douglas MacArthur or any Washington bigwigs who were in part responsible for the Philippines disaster. Indeed, MacArthur was still the hero of the hour for most Americans, and his association with the motor torpedo boats of Squadron 3 -- they spirited General, family and entourage away from Corregidor after President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to Australia in mid-March, 1942 -- helped hype the book immensely.

But what the book lacks in factual veracity, it makes up for in emotional sincerity. Although White actually wrote the "monologues" that make up the narrative, he based his words on those of four squadron officers who had been ordered to leave the Philippines, to relay their knowledge of torpedo-boat warfare to new PT crews back in the States. Their quiet professionalism comes through loud and clear. Lt. John D. Bulkeley, squadron commander and winner of the Medal of Honor for his leadership aboard the boats, is featured prominently because he had already received a great deal of publicity early in 1942, thanks to MacArthur's press agents on Corregidor

But the heart of the narrative (most of it, actually) is attributed to the squadron exec, Lt. Robert Kelly (later transformed in the movie version into John Wayne's overgrown adolescent, "Rusty Ryan," a portrayal that Kelly came to detest). Kelly not only relates his part in the squadron's combats against the Japanese and MacArthur's departure from the islands, but also tells of his relationship with an Army nurse, "Peggy," whom he met in a Corregidor hospital where he was being treated for a minor injury that turned major. White likely overstated the depth of this relationship - it was really more friendship than romance - but Kelly's grief over the loss of that friendship became a metaphor (okay, stick with me here) for America's loss of the Philippines, and perhaps the loss of an innocent vision of the United States as an invincible military power.

After the war (and after the release, in 1945, of the John Ford film based on the book -- a very personal expression of Ford's own views about the war and the Navy), U.S. intelligence officers and historians discovered that the achievements of Squadron 3 in Philippine waters had been somewhat exaggerated. Japanese ships that the torpedo boat crews claimed as "sunk" were, more often than not, undamaged. (Yes, U.S. torpedoes used early in the war were very unreliable.) As the Pacific war progressed, PT boats became extremely important as inshore gunboats (a role in which Squadron 3 excelled, too) but were employed only occasionally as torpedo platforms.

Despite the wartime inaccuracies, White's restrained writing captures the quiet pride as well as the sadness and frustration of his subjects, young men still grieving over losing their crews and their boats. (About half the squadron personnel, listed at the end of the book, became POWs, and several did not survive the harsh Japanese captivity.) I first read this book at age ten, and I have kept coming back to it for more than thirty years because it has an emotional impact unlike most wartime reportage I've read. Although he covered the war in a different way, "They Were Expendable" puts White on a level alongside Ernie Pyle, with whom he shared the ability to see beyond surface heroics to the melancholy that afflicts all human beings caught up in combat. (If you like "They Were Expendable," find a copy of White's other great book about the early days of defeat in the Pacific war, "Queens Die Proudly.")

This is a classic of World War Two journalism -- again, not for the facts, but for the truth. If you want a factual book on Squadron 3 at war, read the appropriate chapter in Robert J. Bulkley Jr.'s "At Close Quarters." For a book that plumbs the emotional experience of an American defeat, read "They Were Expendable."

Not everyone understands the fact that, if you are in military service, you are expendable. Your commander can order you to sacrifice your life to achieve an objective. You may be ordered to hold off the enemy so your fellow soldiers can escape, or you may be ordered to dive your bomber into an impossible hail of gunfire, but you are expendable. Such was the case for the six 70-foot speedboats of the US Navy's Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three. They were part of the Navy's tiny Far Eastern Fleet in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked with overwhelming force in 1941. It was soon clear that the Philippines would be lost, and the remains of the fleet went to Australia, leaving MTB Squadron Three to help the doomed soldiers on Bataan hold off the Japanese Army for as long as possible. After losing boat after boat in suicidal attacks on Japanese cruisers and destroyers, the remaining boats carried General MacArthur, his wife, his son, and assorted generals and admirals on a perilous trip to the southern Philippines for escape by air to Australia. MTB Squadron Three lost its remaining boats in further attacks on the Japanese and prepared to fight as infantry against the oncoming juggernaut. But four of the officers were ordered to get out on the last planes to leave the Philippines. William L. White, in a magnificent piece of writing, lets the survivors tell their story. It is certainly one of the best stories ever written of World War Two.

W.L. White's They Were Expendable is a good book and an equally good movie. It's the true story of John D. Bulkelley and the men of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3. In the dark early days of World War II, the United States was far from being prepared for World War II. Our forces were woe- fully inadequate. It was with this obsolete force that we went to war against Japan. The Asiatic Fleet was obsolete. Its ships were flush-decked four-pipers that were armed with inaccurate torpedoes, the Army had its share of problems as well. The only plane available to the Army in the Philippines was the Boeing P-26 Peashooter which, by 1941, was obsolete. The Army didn't have any maps had to use road maps put out by Richfield Oil. When Douglas MacArthur received orders to evacuate the Philippines for the safety of Australia, it was Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 that got him there.

early accounts of WWII in the Pacific. Interesting for what it says & how it says it. Written almost entirely in dialogue, as if it were a transcription, which it is not. Like Casey's "Torpedo Junction," attempts to tell the truth about how the war was going, despite wartime censorship. An easy read, with large type in the 1942 edition. Manifests the Navy's colonial-style racism prior to WWII & some officers' impatience with it. One of the best "first person" reports available.

If it weren't for the Naval Institute Press, this 1942 book wouldn't be available. It's not heavy reading; you could finish it in 2 days just reading it on the subway and before you go to bed, but it's a powerful reminder of the desparate state of affairs in the Pacific and in the U.S. in the days following the destruction of the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor. See the film of the same name. The director, John Ford, had the good sense to incorporate the dialogue wholesale into his really terrific 1945 movie.

Really done well "They Were Expendable" was the best book I have read about the Navy during WWII so far. First hand account and good author make this a well done book. Grade:A+

This book is a narrative. The author simply sat down and listened to US Navy MTB officers in 1942 and recorded their story of action in the Philippines in 1941 & 42. It is a page turner.

Two good points about this book. First it was first published during WWII (my copy is 1942). Many books about WWII were written post WWII and that means the books have 20/20 hindsight. Reading a book from the period perhaps gives a better perspective of how people saw the war while it was happening.

Second, one of the officers telling the story explains how the newspapers back home give a sort of glorified image of the war that was very different from the reality he experienced. If we better understand the reality, then we can better appreciate what our veterans sacrificed for us.

With books printed during WW.2 you will have to accept, that the quality of the paper used for the production of the book is a far cry from what you would expect to-day.
This small iritation is by far overruled by the joy you feel to receive a rather unusual book -- at all-

Hans Elfelt Bonnesen

I first read this book in 1955 when I was 14 and my uncle died and I was given many of his books. This copy was published in 1942 and given to my uncle by my mother (his sister) the same year. He was serving as an infantry officer in the South Pacific on Guadalcanal, New Guinea and the Phillipines. I have been reading a number of these old books again and have been enjoying them a lot. This was a particularily good book, one of the best. It was an unusual book in that it was a 200 page narrative with no chapters. There were no maps, no pictures just the words (as transcribed by White) of young men who had just come through an amazingly heroic adventure. The lost of practically all their supplies early in the war limited what they could accomplish and their frustration was evident. The did mostly patrolling as their offensive capabilities were pretty limited. Since this book was written shortly after the events and subject to military censorship no doubt things were left out or other things were magnified. Their sinkings of a number of Japanese large ships were well overstated as determined by post war analysis. But that in no way takes the bit away from the absolute heroism of these few men in their 70 foot long wood boats with little more than their speed to protect. They gave the Japanese fits all out of proportion to their size and capabilities and accomplishments.

My only very minor criticism was that it was sometime difficult who was doing the talking, Bulkelly or one of the other officers.

Readers of World War II history will find this book well worth the time.

I picked this up after reading "MacArthur's Escape" by George W. Smith, because I wanted a more primary account. If you have ever seen the John Wayne movie "They Were Expendable" you have seen the essence of this story. The movie does a good job of following the interwoven narrative given in the book. Of course, the movie is a fictionalized account, but the story in the book is anything but fiction. A few things about White's book: First, it was written and published during the war. As a result, it ends up with a very inconclusive feel. Nobody knew how it was going to end, and victory was anything but certain. The U.S. had just suffered two devastating blows with the attack of the fleet at Pearl Harbor, and the defeat of U.S. forces in the Phillipine islands. Also, it was published before anyone knew what Japanese attrocities were going to be perpetrated against Allied prisoners of war---not the least of which being the Bataan Death March (with the torture and murder of untold numbers of captive Americans), which would unfold right after the chapter of the war that is described in this book was concluded; the men quoted in this book have no idea what is in store for those with whom they fought. There is no way anyone could have anticipated it. A second key point is that, this book is short. It is about a 200 page account. While the movie translated into a 2 hour and 15 minute screen extravaganza, the book seems to fly by. Third, there are NO chapters in the book. It is simply 200 pages of continuous narrative of the events as remembered by several members of the MTP squadron assigned to the Phillipines at the beginning of the war. I loved this book. It has an emotional immediacy that can probably only come from reading the personal account of someone who has just lived the story. If you are really interested in knowing about World War II from beginning to end, this is a very worthwhile account; it gives you a feel for what it was like for Americans when victory was anything but assured. The story is emotionally raw, and also lacks the luxury of 20-20 hindsight for verifying the accuracy of each battle action described. The book simply consists of the account of what the guys who were actually there can recall. The book also helps to drive home how devastated the nation was when it's military, in a peace-time posture, badly undermanned, and equipped with ancient (World War I vintage) equipment because of a decade of budget cutting, was the victim of a premeditated sneak attack by a hostile enemy.