Escape from Bataan: Memoir of a U.S. Navy Ensign in the Philippines, October 1941 to May 1942

by Ross E. Hofmann, David L. Snead, Anne B. Craddock

U.S. Navy Supply Corps Ensign Ross Hofmann had no idea what was in store for him when he arrived at Cavite Naval Base in October 1941. Two months later, Japanese forces struck the Philippines, destroying the base and forcing U.S. personnel to retreat to Bataan. There, Hofmann joined a makeshift unit of Army Aircorps ground personnel, U.S. Marines, U.S. sailors, U.S. Naval ground battalions and Filipinos to fight a Japanese force that landed nearby.

In March 1942, with the fall of Bataan imminent, he traveled to Cebu to run supplies through the blockade of Bataan and Corregidor. Soon after his arrival, the Japanese landed on Cebu, forcing the Americans to retreat again. Hiking through jungles and crossing dangerous waters in barely seaworthy vessels, Hofmann avoided capture and reached an American base in Mindanao.

He received orders to establish a seaplane base on Lake Lanao. As Japanese troops landed nearby, two seaplanes returning from Corregidor stopped to refuel, one of them hitting a submerged rock on take-off. In a harrowing race against the enemy advance, Hofmann and others worked feverishly to fix the plane and escape before the Japanese converged on Lake Lanao. This memoir recounts Hofmann's experiences in vivid detail.

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227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2016

Reviews

[Chris Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a good perspective on what one junior naval officer went through serving in the Philippines from the time just before the war started, up through the Japanese invasion of the islands that ended in his escape. Very little has been written about what the average military person went through during these times and this book gives good insight to that. I would say this is a must read for anyone that has an interest in World War II history.

[Dustin Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Memoir About World War II

Interesting memoir of World War II. A fairly fast read about the early part of the United States involvement in the war in the Pacific. The author, a Navy supply officer, was involved in the defense of the Philippines from before the Japanese attack up through the fall of the islands. This is his account of that operation.

[Blair A Ohler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anti-Army and that detracted from the story.

I would have liked the book if we could have gotten over the dislike for the General and overall dislike for the Army. This was supposed to be about a Navy Officer’s fight and escape from very hostile areas during the war.

[kathryn elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

School reading requirement 🙈 not usually my choice for reading material. Interesting story from a world war 2 veteran, just not as engaging as the books I typically read