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FUGITIVES

Evading and Escaping the Japanese

by Bob Stahl

The University Press of Kentucky 2001
Lexington Kentucky

$22.50
137 pages

Amazon.com $15.75
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Book review
by Kevin L. Jamison, Esq. 

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          In August, 1941, civilian mining engineer Jordan A. Hammer landed in the Philippines.  Customs inspectors checked his luggage for firearms, and he was off to a mine in the central islands.  Four months later he was scrounging for weapons and attempting to evade capture by the Japanese.  In the course of a year of evasion in the jungles he met many of the future heroes of the guerrilla resistance.  The bulk of the book, however, concerns his escape to Australia in an open boat.  Even on arrival at a friendly coast, survival hinged on a fortuitous encounter with Aborigine Homes Guards, waiting for the Japanese with spears and boomerangs.  Hammer's party brought out the first hard evidence of a resistance movement in the Philippines.

          The author has gone to great pains to confirm Mr. Hammer's memories of his evasion and voyage.  Numerous maps help keep the reader oriented.  While there is a wealth of geography, there is a paucity of detail about the individuals involved.  The work is of primary interest to instructors on escape and evasion among native peoples.  It also adds some details to our knowledge of the early Philippine resistance.