The Rescue: A True Story of Courage and Survival in World War II - Softcover

Smith, Steven Trent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471423513 ISBN 13: 9780471423515

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2003

Synopsis

Praise for The Rescue "Steven Trent Smith grapples boldly with several big subjects: the Japanese occupation of the Philippines; the capture of Japan′s ′Z Plan′ (the decisive–battle strategy for destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet); the rescue by submarine of forty Americans stranded in the Philippines; the climactic Battle of the Philippine Sea. Meticulously researched and well written, The Rescue ties these elements together into an epic that is emotionally engaging from start to rousing finish." –Martin Russ, author of Breakout and The Last Parallel "Smith′s thoroughly researched, detailed account of the brave American and Filipino guerrillas on Negros Island in the Philippines will do much to introduce readers to this little known aspect of World War II in the Pacific. . . . This is a fascinating story well told." –Elizabeth Norman, author of the award–winning We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese "The Rescue is a delightful journey with the gallant few who resisted the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and who shaped the larger events wh ich led to victory in the Pacific. Smith′s brilliant research and unique storytelling make this account a must for all who enjoy history and a grand adventure." –Peter Huchthausen, author of October Fury "With a photojournalist′s eye for action and detail, Steven Trent Smith′s The Rescue is a remarkable achievement. The incredible mission to save forty Americans stranded in the Philippines reads more like a work of fiction. . . . A must–read for all those interested in one of the great secret submarine operations of World War II and all action adventure fans alike!" –Richard P. Henrick, author of Crimson Tide and Nightwatch

About this title

Review:

"Excellent book... Smith deserves praise for telling a long and fairly involved story without becoming tiresome. The level of drama has its peaks and valleys, but "The Rescue" is a thrilling book." (Associated Press)

On May 22, 1944, the U.S. submarine Crevalle was instructed to go to the remote Philippine island of Negros to pick up some Americans and Filipinos and take them to Australia. Following Pearl Harbor, navy subs regularly landed spies and saboteurs, as well as ammunition, supplies, and medicines for the guerillas. In 1944, the Crevalle was sent to Negros to pick up 25 people but ended up with 40, including 21 women, 12 children, and seven escaped American POWs. Smith, an Emmy–award winning freelance television photojournalist with a passion for history, begins his study with a long account of the prewar lives of the missionaries at Stilliman University in Negros, the sugar planters, the Filipino Americans, and the soldiers stationed in Panay and Negros. He describes the Japanese invasion and how the civilians coped with living in the jungle over two years before their rescue by the Crevalle, which also picked up a crate of important secret Japanese documents taken from a captured Japanese admiral. Smith′s account of the long, hellish journey to Australia is eminently worth reading and, though perhaps overlong, is a fascinating book that belongs in every public and academic library.
(Library Journal May 2001 –Stanley L. Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY)

"The Rescue is a delightful journey with the gallant few who resisted the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and who shaped the larger events which led to victory in the Pacific. Steven Trent Smith′s brilliant research and unique storytelling make this account a must for all who enjoy history and a grand adventure."
(Peter Huchthausen, author of Hostile Waters and the upcoming Wiley book October Fury: Cuban Encounter)

Television journalist Smith retells a rousing story of WWII resistance to Japanese occupation of the Philippinnes, with emphasis on the American players.
The events he chronicles took place on Negros Island, the fourth largest island of the Philippines. In addition to its Filipino population, the island housed a number of American missionaries, sugar plantation managers, educators, and businessmen, most of whom retreated into the mountainous interior after the Japanese occupied the seaside towns. Smith delves into their backgrounds, explaining how they escaped American POWs, joined the resistance forces carrying out hit–and–run operations against the Japanese. It didn′t take long for the occupying forces to start reprisals, with a vengeance, and the evacuation of noncombatants was undertaken at great risk to the them an dthe submarine crew of the USS Crevalle. In a parallel story, Japanese plans for the "Decisive Battle" of the Pacific had fallen into the hands of James Cushing, an American leader of the resistance movement on the Philippine Island of Cebu, and these too had to be picked up by the submarine. Smith sets a gentle course for the early pages, providing a wealth of biographical details to give readers a stake in the story, then gets pumping when the action starts in earnest. The writing is trim and unornamented, at times resembling that of a not–so–true adventure magazine (Cushing′s "exploits were the stuff of legend"), but this works fine for the stirring events at hand. Smith closes with the Battle of the Philippines Sea, giving readers a sense of the importance of the Crevalle′s cargo.
Wartime adventure draped with thrills and romance.
(Kirkus Reviews&/i; , March 15, 2001)

A television photojournalist who has covered the Iranian hostage crisis, the hunger strikes in Northern Ireland, the shooting of Pope John Paul II, various Olympics and Charles and Diana′s wedding, Smith has also won four Emmy awards for producing public service announcements. He breaks into print with a taut tales of a forgotten rescue mission in 1944. When the Philippines fell to the Japanese in May 1942, more than 40 Americans living on the island of Negros abandoned their homes and fled inland. Most were missionaries, Silliman University faculty and their family members, who endured two years of hardship as they moved from place to place in the jungles and mountains, evading Japanese patrols sent to capture them. Protected by sympathetic civilians and watched over by vigilant Filipino resistance fighters, these Americans were finally evacuated in May 1944, as the Allied offensive came closer to the islands. But the evacuation by submarine––the U.S.S. &i; Crevalle&/i; ––was only part of the drama. On the last day of March 1944, two Japanese flying boats carrying Adm. Koga Mineichi and his staff crashed in a severe storm. The admiral, in command of the Japanese fleet, had just completed top secret plans to counter the next American offensive, these plans washed up on a beach on neighboring Cebu island and quickly found their way to the American commander of the resistance. When Crevalle evacuated the civilians, the plans went along, with mixed results in influencing the Battle of the Phillippine Sea in June 1944. Smith evaluates the two admirals and the resulting controversy. (May 18)
Forecast: While the subject matter here is certainly intriguing, given Smith′s journalistic exploits, one wonders whether a memoir can be far behind this well–reported story. Based on firsthand accounts supplied by surviving refugees and submariners, Smith′s account will engross buffs, but won′t reach beyond that market.(Publishers Weekly&/i; , April 30, 2001)

"The story of the escape and rescue of those american expatriates is a testament to the courage and strength of civilians caught in the war at its start."(U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings)

"Excellent book... Smith deserves praise for telling a long and fairly involved story without becoming tiresome. The level of drama has its peaks and valleys, but "The Rescue" is a thrilling book." (Associated Press)

"The story of the escape and rescue of those American expatriates is a testament to the courage and strength of civilians caught in the war at its start." ( U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings)

"Smith′s account...is eminently worth reading, and though perhaps overlong, is a fascinating book that belongs in every public and academic library."
(Library Journal, May 2001)

"...wartime adventure draped with thrills and romance".
(&i; Kirkus Reviews&/i; , March 15, 2001)

About the Author:

STEVEN TRENT SMITH is a five–time Emmy Award—winning freelance TV photojournalist and the author of Wolf Pack: the American Submarine Strategy That Helped Defeat Japan ( Wiley). He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0471423513
• ISBN 13: 9780471423515
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340