Catalog

Record Details

Catalog Search



Valor : the astonishing World War II saga of one man's defiance and indomitable spirit / Dan Hampton.

Hampton, Dan, (author.).

Summary:
"Valor is the magnificent story of a genuine American hero who survived the fall of the Philippines and brutal captivity under the Japanese, from New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton. Lieutenant William Frederick "Bill" Harris was 25 years old when captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942. This son of a decorated Marine general escaped from hell on earth by swimming eight hours through a shark-infested bay; but his harrowing ordeal had just begun. Shipwrecked on the southern coast of the Philippines, he was sheltered by a Filipino aristocrat, engaged in guerilla fighting, and eventually set off through hostile waters to China. After 29 days of misadventures and violent storms, Harris and his crew limped into a friendly fishing village in the southern Philippines. Evading and fighting for months, he embarked on another agonizing voyage to Australia, but was betrayed by treacherous islanders and handed over to the Japanese. Held for two years in the notorious Ofuna prisoner-of-war camp outside Yokohama, Harris was continuously starved, tortured, and beaten, but he never surrendered. Teaching himself Japanese, he eavesdropped on the guards and created secret codes to communicate with fellow prisoners. After liberation on August 30, 1945, Bill represented American Marine POWs during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay before joining his father and flying to a home he had not seen in four years. Valor is a riveting new look at the Pacific War. Through military documents, personal photos, and an unpublished memoir provided by his daughter, Harris' experiences are dramatically revealed through his own words in the expert hands of bestselling author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton. This is the stunning and captivating true story of an American hero"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781250275851
  • ISBN: 1250275857
  • Physical Description: 337 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2022.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages [329]-337).
Formatted Contents Note:
Determination -- A Little Piece of Hell -- Twilight Passing -- Red Summer -- Boomerang -- Currents -- Lost Souls -- Odyssey -- Abyss -- The Long Road Home.
Subject: Harris, William Frederick, 1918-1950?
United States. Marine Corps. Marine Regiment, 4th > Biography.
World War, 1939-1945 > Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
Prisoners of war > United States > Biography.
Prisoners of war > Philippines > Biography.
Prisoners of war > Japan > Biography.
Ofuna Naval Interrogation Center (Japan)
Genre: Biographies.

Available copies

  • 6 of 6 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 6 total copies.
Show All Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Cambria County Library 940.54 H313H (Text) 85131001830141 CACM Non-Fiction Available -
Green Free Library (Wellsboro) 940.5472 HAM (Text)
Bookplate: William Reich memorial from Ron Butler
92525455 GFWM Main Room Available -
Knoxville Public Library 940.54 HAM (Text) 30543003742858 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Allentown Public Library 940.5472 HAMP (Text) 34455006906396 Adult Nonfiction 1st FL Available -
Bethlehem Main Library 940.54 (Text) 33062009609125 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Clymer Library B HARRIS (Text) 32596000517069 Adult Biography Available -


Additional Resources