Some Survived: An Eyewitness Account of the Bataan Death March and the Men Who Lived Through It

by Manny Lawton, John Toland (Introduction)

Manny Lawton was a twenty-three-year-old Army captain on April 8, 1942, when orders came to surrender to the Japanese forces invading the Philippine Islands. The next day, he and his fellow American and Filipino prisoners set out on the infamous Bataan Death March--a forced six-day, sixty-mile trek under a broiling tropical sun during which approximately eleven thousand men died or were bayoneted, clubbed, or shot to death by the Japanese. Yet terrible as the Death March was, for Manny Lawton and his comrades it was only the beginning. When the war ended in August 1945, it is estimated that some 57 percent of the American troops who had surrendered on Bataan had perished.

But this is not a chronicle of despair. It is, instead, the story of how men can suffer even the most desperate conditions and, in their will to retain their humanity, triumph over appalling adversity. An epic of quiet heroism, Some Survived is a harrowing, poignant, and inspiring tale that lifts the heart.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Biography, War, Military Fiction

295 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1984

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book held me in thrall of the bravery and determination of American soldiers under the very worst of conditions and proves that the will to live is the strongest of all senses. Written by a survivor of the Bataan Death March who then became a slave laborer in Japan and Korea until the end of the war, this eyewitness account of the horrors is not easy to read. The inhumanity of what the author and his compatriots suffered and lived through is almost beyond belief........many died, many went insane but many held on to the hope that they would be freed one day. With no communications to the outside world, they were unaware of what was happening militarily but never gave up believing that the Allies would win.

The author relates stories of many of the men....some who lived and some who died.....so this isn't exactly a biography of one man but of many. It is not for the faint of heart as much of the information is extremely graphic though not egregious. I would recommend this book to the WWII buff.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandfather survived the death march and I found it fascinating to read about. Unbelievable that this torture really happened.

[Steve Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manny Lawton was a twenty-three-year old Army captain. On April 8, 1942 he received orders to surrender to Japanese forces invading the Phillipine Islands. The next day he and his fellow American and Filipino prisoners set out on their infamous Bataan Death March. It was a forces 6 day, 60 mile trek under broiling tropical sun. During the march approximately eleven thousand men died. Many were bayoneted, shot, or clubbed to death by the Japanese. As terrible as that was it was only the beginning. This book isn't a chronicle of despair. It's the story of how men can suffer through even the most desperate conditions, and in their will to retain their humanity, triumph over adversity.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried more than once while reading this book - for those who lived through this truly horrific experience, for those who endured the atrocities for as long as possible and died during their captivity, for the families and friends who had no idea what was happening to their loved ones who were POW's, and I cried because it truly humbles me and awes me as to the strength of the human mind and spirit and what can be endured. It makes me feel like a sissy as I go through my own trials; it inspires me to try harder to cheerfully endure. The great majority of the men who survived prison camps had a strong faith in God - they never stopped believing, and never stopped encouraging and supporting their fellowmen. As an appendix, there are copies of the paperwork regarding the trials of the Japanese war criminals, which I found very interesting. Manny Lawton did a remarkable job of remembering names and giving credit to all those he knew and came in contact with. A moving account. A favorite passage from the book (and I'm sorry if it is a tiny spoiler):

"That night [sometime between Jan. and Mar. 1945] Captain Henry D. Leitner, my closest friend, passed away. His death was more than another sadness for me. It shocked and stunned and left me feeling alone and abandoned. I had become so accustomed to seeing men die - by bullet, bomb, by disease, starvation and exposure, thousands of them in every cruel way - that I thought I was hardened against sentiment, emotion and tears. But now I buried my face in my blanket and wept.
Something went out of me that day with Henry's death; something of the poetic beauty of thought and feeling, of kindness and consideration and understanding which comes with true friendship. But he left me with memories of occasional laughter and of helping each other through tough times, of sharing what was scarce and of looking ahead to the future with hope. Most important, his death broke away the defensive shell which I had built around my mind and heart to steel me against the hurt of tragedy. In the midst of my sorrow I felt solace in the rediscovered ability to shed tears and to mourn the loss of a friend. Whatever else might happen, I was surviving as a human being."

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book. But if your faint of heart avoid it. It is a very sad and disturbing book. This book was written very well, I felt great sadness while reading it. The pain and suffering that the POW's went through was unimaginable. For years we have heard about the cruelty of the Nazis on their prisoners in the concentration camps. From reading this I have found that the POW's in the Philippines by the Japanese received the same cruelty.

I find it disgusting what mankind can do to mankind.

[Liz Sieloff simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Another story written by a man who went through 3 1/2 years of hell. I can't believe and/or fathom how these men survived.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I had just finished reading The Nazi Officer's Wife, which is a tale of survival in another theater of World War II. Both were accounts of trying to live through almost impossible situations mentally and physically, but while The Nazi Officer's Wife had more of a mental aspect in that the heroine needed to hold it together to pretend she was someone else, Some Survived brought attention to the physical limits humans could handle. I truly find it hard to believe anyone could have survived the conditions Manny Lawton experienced, much less recover and write a book. I am most certain that I would have died. If the lack of food, extreme temperatures, or exposure did not kill me, I think I would have been too pessimistic to make it in such abominable conditions. Those who did not think positively in these situations were more likely to die. This is also seen in the movie Unbroken about a similar tale of survival within the Japanese POW camps. When the plane goes down near the beginning of the movie, the guy who is pessimistic from the start is the one of the three who did not make it. I used to think Unbroken was hard to watch, but I found Lawton's story much more horrifying. If you can stand vicariously living through Japanese internment, I recommend this book as a vivid account of a history that should never be repeated. I only gave this book four stars because it felt odd to me to give a book about human suffering a full five-star rating. I also want to give readers a heads-up that the Bataan Death March takes up only a portion of the book, and I am not sure that the various men mentioned throughout the work all participated in the March.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long, difficult read. Manny was the only true constant because of his survival after 3.5 long years as a POW. I don’t remember the exact number but somewhere around 85% of the members of the original Death March passed by the time the war ended. Examples of bravery and cowardice, of survival and death, kindness and cruelty were on page after page. I won’t go into detail but of all of the deaths that were reported in this telling, the most gruesome came towards the very end, a mere couple of months before their liberation; a man perished from wet beriberi. I hope to someday forget the passage and so I will not recount it here. I’m not sure when this was published but my only true complaints was the using of quotes for certain dialogue. When it was the Japanese speaking, all words with L’s were changed to R’s. For example “anyone who doesn’t admit to this wirr be punished.” (Wirr in place of will.) The other was the use of the word negro/negroes. Both seem pretty shocking to be in a book that I thought was published in the 80s or 90s but I could be wrong on the publication date. And perhaps the changes made to the Japanese quotes are related to the extreme torture he received at the hands of many, so many, Japanese military men.

Regardless of these two issues, it was…a worthwhile read.

[Jim Somerville · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is not for the faint of heart. A friend of my parent's survived the Bataan death march which prompted me to read this account. I have read many books about WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and this is one of the most gut wrenching, sordid, and inhumane of the lot. It is unfathomable that anyone survived the brutality of the Bataan march but this story needed to be told. It is a testament to the toughness, strength, character, and will of those men of the greatest generation. The only reason I gave this four stars is for the graphic nature of the story itself. It is not a reflection of the writer.

[Douglas Fugate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This eyewitness account is very disturbing to say the least. Graphic descriptions of starvation, abuse - both physical and mental, brutality, and humiliation. A book where the stench of death is almost on every page.
Sometimes heroes are not found on the battlefield. These men fought back the only way they could - by surviving and assisting others to survive as well.

Not a pleasant read, but I highly recommend it to any and all who may have "thought" they knew about the Bataan Death March and subsequent treatment. A Real Eye-opener of a read.

[Rick Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book to learn about the eight Clemson soldiers that were participants in the death march. Col Skardon (103 years old) is still living and hosted a memorial walk this year called the Clemson 8 in their honor. I also was pleased the find Thomas Patrick mentioned. Thomas was part of the pursuit squadron stationed in the Philippines on December 8, 1941. When they could no longer fly, the remaining pilots fought with the infantry until their surrender. Unfortunately, Thomas died on the. Oryoku Maru. The books tells a tragic story of death and survival.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Not too graphic, but enough to understand the horrors these POWs went thru. The book without too deep a study shows the good and bad that happens to people under horrific and long term situations. Some rise and and some don't, some give up and some face every day with " I will beat this". The book is well written and one I could not put down till I finished it.

[Terah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very hard to read yet hard to put down. I wish every American would read this book to get a full understanding and appreciation of what those who served in World War II sacrificed for our freedoms today.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eyewitness account of the horror and suffering during the Bataan Death March April 1942 followed by twenty eight months of slave labor and his ordeal aboard ship as they were evacuated to Japan in 1945.

[Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Clemson grad this is a must read. Can’t fathom the hell these men went through. The Death March was only the beginning of their torture. A great read for the WWII history buff.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Embodies the strength of the human spirit

Emotional and gut wrenching account of one man’s remembrance of his time at war. A must read for anyone interested in the war.

[Donald Paulsrud · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for specifics, this is not the book for you. It is very general about almost everything that happened and there is not anything new or revealing in this book.

[James Baynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book. I truly could not stop reading it. It’s very well written.

[Mark Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s definitely a story here, but I think it would’ve been better served had the author worked with a cowriter. At times the book is like a newspaper article and just states facts. I’m aware the author is a survivor of this ordeal, but the writing just isn’t compelling enough to drive the story.

[John Gage · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I read the part about my grandfather Warrant Officer Martin "Gus" Binder, as told by author Manny Lawton and Sergeant Philip Brodsky; I felt my grandfather roll over in his grave. First, if Brodsky had a broken hand, it wouldn't have been from hitting another prisoner for stealing his rice. The prisoners ate the rice the split second they got it. Brodsky made my grandfather seem like a blithering coward, and made himself seem like he was never in fear. First, the author should at least do enough research to see that my grandfather's name is not Charles Bender! He survived 41 months as a Japanese POW, the Death March of Bataan after being captured from the USS Pigeon and many months in Cabanatuan Camps, only to be on the Arisan Maru and survive with another 7 or 8 men out of 1800. My grandfather never spoke a bad word about the Japanese even though he had a right to hate them. He had a distinguished Naval career of 20 years, and never had anything but great things to say about his fellow captives. He enjoyed life and was thankful for it until his death in 1985. Shame on this portrayal.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good,solid read, but not superb. It is incredible what humans are capable of doing to others, and what we are capable of persevering. We should all read some accounts of what happened during this time so we don't forget. This is a good one. That said, it doesn't capture the brutality and terror with quite the same vividness and urgency as Laura Hildenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. And while the basic story is really good, I felt like their were parts that were extraneous .

[Thomas Arn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book telling one man's story on his experience in World War II's Bataan Death March in the Philippines. It goes into extreme detail the horrors that mankind can stoop to do to other men. It also shows the strength that some men have to continue to strive to live through the worst of situations. Several thousand men were captured and after three years of extreme torture and imprisonment only a few hundred survived.
The only real negative thing about this book is that there is some bad language written in a few spots.

[Dayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my high school teachers went through the Bataan "Death March" and was in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and we often asked him about his experiences. He was honored on the television show, "This is Your Life" and I was curious to know if he was mentioned in this book. The experience of this author and others that he relates is beyond horrific. He tells of the beatings and deprivations with studied, quiet heroism and we see how the survivors retain their humanity through it all.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is really hard to believe how inhumanely American soldiers were treated by the Japanese! Well written and hard to put down while at the same time you really don't want to know any more... We have no idea how much we owe our military! I would highly recommend this book to anyone, history buff or not.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly well-written and engaging; this story is impossible to put down. At once horrifying and inspiring-it is an historical and emotional account of the POWs who lived through the Death March as well as the atrocities that followed.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It's a story of human depravity, barbarous cruelty, and desperate measures to stay alive. But because of its excellent writing, riveting stories and astonishing acts of kindness, Some Survived is one of my favorite WWII books.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a very detailed experience of what Manny Lawton went through during the Death March, 3 Hell Ships and his time in O'Donnell and Cabantuan, among other POW camps.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The horrors and hardships these men endured is difficult to comprehend, even after reading accounts like this. But it leaves little question that fighting that war was necessary.

[Karynparry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful personal account of the Death March and the struggles that followed. It's amazing how much one person can go through.