FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS · FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Publicity Contact: Kaitlyn...
3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Publicity Contact: Kaitlyn Kennedy; 212-207-7745; [email protected] RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II By Bruce Henderson William Morrow is proud to publish RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II (William Morrow Hardcover; 978-0062325068; March 31, 2015; $27.99) by #1 New York Times bestselling author Bruce Henderson, which tells the incredible true story of one of the greatest military rescues of all time: the World War II prison camp raid at Los Baños in the Philippines that occurred on February 23, 1945. This year marks the 70 th anniversary of the rescue making it the perfect time to highlight Henderson’s new book. As the U.S. victory in the Pacific drew nearer, desperate Japanese soldiers guarding the civilian prisoners -- most of them Americans -- at the Los Baños Internment Camp became increasingly sadistic and began starving, beating and killing their captives. Fearing the loss of countless more lives if these men, women and children were not rescued soon, General Douglas MacArthur personally gave the 11th Airborne the dangerous mission of freeing them from deep behind enemy lines in a heart-pounding race against the clock. For readers of Unbroken, Lost in Shangri-La, and Ghost Soldiers, #1 New York Times author Bruce Henderson’s latest book proves to be a thrilling work of narrative nonfiction which introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who endured unthinkable horrors, as well as the young soldiers who risked their lives to try to save the beleaguered prisoners. There’s Lt. Col. Henry Muller and Sgt. Terry Santos, tireless raid leaders who played a huge role in the rescue; Dr. Dana Nance, the camp’s only physician, who saved countless lives and carefully catalogued the brutal treatment of the prisoners by the Japanese so that the world would one day know what had taken place; Margaret Sherk and Jerry Sams, whose love story began as prisoners of war; Dorothy Still, a U.S. Navy nurse who made use of what little was available to provide medical care to the stricken even as the camp's death rate began to soar, and Ben Edwards, a Pan Am mechanic who risked his life to escape from camp and try to reach U.S. lines with vital information. These heroic characters come alive as Henderson describes their time and trials at Los Baños-- days they came to believe could be their last. (The full cast of characters and their photographs may be found on the author's website.) Early Praise for RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS “Rescue at Los Baños will swell your chest. You’ll pull for the starving civilians inside the Japanese prison camp and cheer for the heroes who’ll risk their lives to save them. By deftly weaving together the stories of the resolute captives and their brave liberators, Bruce Henderson’s powerful account has earned a place on the top shelf of World War II nonfiction narratives.” -- Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La “Bruce Henderson has told a wonderfully exciting story of one of war’s greatest rescues with verve, style, and panache. I didn’t even stop for coffee during my reading: it was so classically unputdownable.” -- Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Men Who United the States
Transcript of FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS · FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Publicity Contact: Kaitlyn...
! !!!FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Publicity Contact: Kaitlyn Kennedy; 212-207-7745; [email protected]
RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid o f World War II
By Bruce Henderson
William Morrow is proud to publish RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid o f World War II (William Morrow Hardcover; 978-0062325068; March 31, 2015; $27.99) by #1 New York Times bestselling author Bruce Henderson, which tells the incredible true story of one of the greatest military rescues of all time: the World War II prison camp raid at Los Baños in the Philippines that occurred on February 23, 1945. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the rescue making it the perfect time to highlight Henderson’s new book. As the U.S. victory in the Pacific drew nearer, desperate Japanese soldiers guarding the civilian prisoners -- most of them Americans -- at the Los Baños Internment Camp became increasingly sadistic and began starving, beating and killing their captives. Fearing the loss of countless more lives if these men, women and children were not rescued soon, General Douglas MacArthur personally gave the 11th Airborne the dangerous mission of freeing them from deep behind enemy lines in a heart-pounding race against the clock. For readers of Unbroken, Lost in Shangri-La, and Ghost Soldiers, #1 New York Times author Bruce Henderson’s latest book proves to be a thrilling work of narrative nonfiction which introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who endured unthinkable horrors, as well as the young soldiers who risked their lives to try to save the beleaguered prisoners. There’s Lt. Col. Henry Muller and Sgt. Terry Santos, tireless raid leaders who played a huge role in the rescue; Dr. Dana Nance, the camp’s only physician, who saved countless lives and carefully catalogued the brutal treatment of the prisoners by the Japanese so that the world would one day know what had taken place; Margaret Sherk and Jerry Sams, whose love story began as prisoners of war; Dorothy Still, a U.S. Navy nurse who made use of what little was available to provide medical care to the stricken even as the camp's death rate began to soar, and Ben Edwards, a Pan Am mechanic who risked his life to escape from camp and try to reach U.S. lines with vital information. These heroic characters come alive as Henderson describes their time and trials at Los Baños-- days they came to believe could be their last. (The full cast of characters and their photographs may be found on the author's website.)
Early Pra is e fo r RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS “Rescue at Los Baños will swell your chest. You’ll pull for the starving civilians inside the Japanese prison camp
and cheer for the heroes who’ll risk their lives to save them. By deftly weaving together the stories of the resolute captives and their brave liberators, Bruce Henderson’s powerful account has earned a place on the top
shelf of World War II nonfiction narratives.” -- Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La
“Bruce Henderson has told a wonderfully exciting story of one of war’s greatest rescues with verve, style, and
panache. I didn’t even stop for coffee during my reading: it was so classically unputdownable.” -- Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Men Who United the States
!
! !!! Weaving together insights from personal interviews, diaries, memoirs, and archival research, RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS tells the timeless story of a group of prisoners of war of all ages and both genders who overcame hardship with courage and resilience, and of the young American and Filipino fighters who risked everything to save them. The Los Baños raid would become one of the greatest triumphs of that war or any war; hailed, years later, by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell as “a textbook operation for all ages and all armies.”
About the Author: BRUCE HENDERSON is the author of more than twenty nonfiction books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller And the Sea Will Tell and the national bestseller Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War. An award-winning journalist and writer, his work has appeared in Playboy, Esquire, Reader’s Digest and other periodicals. Henderson has taught writing and reporting at USC School of Journalism and Stanford University. He lives in Menlo Park, California. He can be found on the web at BruceHendersonBooks.com.
Early Praise for RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS
“Rescue at Los Baños hits the drop zone. Extensively researched and extremely well-written, Bruce Henderson’s riveting account of the historic events of 23 February 1945 finally does justice to the
greatest airborne operation in U.S. military history.” --John D. Lukacs, author of Escape from Davao
“An epic survival story of men and women held captive in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines until their remarkable rescue by U.S. paratroopers and Filipino guerrillas three years later.
Fast-paced and compelling, Rescue at Los Baños is as gripping as any suspense novel.” --Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter and Reclaiming History
“Riveting…Bruce Henderson does it again with his account of the prisoners at Los Baños. I felt
their agonies, sacrifices, and exhilaration. Any reader would love this account of individuals triumphing over seemingly impossible obstacles.”
--John Wukovits, author of Hell From the Heavens: The Epic Story of the USS Laffey and World War II’s Greatest Kamikaze Attack
“The agony and anguish for the Japanese-held Los Baños internees – all civilians and including
children and small babies – is almost beyond belief. The raid by U.S. paratroopers that set them free is breathtaking.”
--Bill Sloan, author of Undefeated: America’s Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
“Exciting…Bruce Henderson has managed to pull one the most daring rescue missions in military history out of obscurity and turn it into a solid book of passion and fascinating detail. He has done his readers – and military history buffs in general – a great service. Rescue at Los Baños is a welcome
and long-overdue addition to the literature concerning World War II in the Pacific.” --Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret), author of Contra File and other Shake Davis novels and
Hollywood military adviser
*Video footage of the raid available upon request*
!
Freed internees on Mamatid beach.
Credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps
"I Shall Return." MacArthur keeps his promise on October 20, 1944, at Palo, Luzon.Courtesy
MacArthur Memorial
Credit: Courtesy MacArthur Memorial
Earning "Jump Wings."
Credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps
!
Liberated internees boarded on a truck for New Bilibid Prison; food, freedom, and home.
Credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps
!
