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Bataan Diary: An American Family In World War Ii, 1941-1945

已有 233 次阅读2025-11-3 13:00 |个人分类:学习笔记|系统分类:转帖-抗日

Chris Schaefer

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.

https://www.amazon.com/Bataan-Diary-Chris-Schaefer/dp/0976108402/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3FA04EYLQN1DX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tEpSyw7cbc8aLolzw7StaHRy0riEKf4l3QCmr6gKiFfGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.A84y8S2ZM1Q-q5vVE2TUZRKVITEJI24-O4AuJUQk33g&dib_tag=se&keywords=Bataan+Corrigidor&qid=1762145796&sprefix=bataan+corregidor%2Caps%2C212&sr=8-3

Bataan Uncensored, published in 1949, is the first-hand account by U.S. Army Colonel Ernest Miller of his experiences in the battle for Bataan, his subsequent surrender and participation in the infamous "Death March," followed by imprisonment at Camps O'Donnell and Cabanatuan, and finally transfer to a labor camp in Japan on a cramped, fetid "Hell Ship." Upon their arrival in the Philippines, Miller, commander of an armored National Guard unit from Minnesota—the 194th Tank Battalion—and his troops are soon thrown into the thick of the fighting in a desperate attempt to slow the Japanese take-over. The U.S. And Philippine armies, grossly unprepared for the massive Japanese invasions, do not have a chance of victory, compounded by their obsolete equipment, lack of fuel and food, and a chaotic command structure. Once in captivity, the struggle to survive begins, hindered by always inadequate food, no medicines to treat raging diseases such as malaria and dysentery, and beatings at the hands of sadistic guards. As the author states, by war's end, 75% of his battalion did not return to the United States. Unlike other works dealing with the U.S. military in the Philippines in the Second World War, Bataan Uncensored realistically portrays the experiences of the soldiers but also identifies critical weaknesses in American policy and tactics that greatly affected the outcome of the battle. Included are 11 pages of maps.