Valor: The Astonishing World War II Saga of One Man’s Defiance and Indomitable Spirit

A U.S. Marine’s daring escape from the Japanese-occupied Philippines is recounted in this dramatic WWII adventure story. Former combat pilot Hampton (Viper Pilot) details how Lt. William Frederick Harris, the son of Marine Corps general Field Harris, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942, escaped captivity by swimming three miles across Manila Bay to Bataan, dodged Japanese patrols, fought alongside Filipino guerillas, and attempted to sail first to China and then to Australia before he was recaptured and taken to a series of POW camps on the Japanese home islands, where he endured beriberi, dysentery, starvation, and torture while teaching himself Japanese in order to spy on the guards. After his camp was liberated in August 1945, Harris witnessed the formal signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. Eager to command his own battalion, he stayed in the Marines, married, and had two daughters before being sent to Korea, where he disappeared during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Hampton skillfully interweaves Harris’s travails with the major events of the Pacific war and draws a nuanced portrait of the dynamic between father and son. The result is a captivating portrait of courage and determination during wartime. (May)