Blessed Are the Merciful

Blessed Are the Merciful, Our Forgotten Soldiers, is about the men and women who suffered on Bataan and Corregidor, in the Philippines, during WWII.  They waited for help from the U.S. which never came.  The U.S. was fighting a war in Europe and didn't have the resources to help.  Then they ordered MacArthur to Australia.  The men are forced to walk the infamous Death March, in which the Japanese slaughtered 12,500 men in a 64 mile walk.  I also wanted to show that women were at the front lines rendering aid when possible and were sent to an internment camp after Corregidor surrendered.  They starved just as the men did.  However, many men were sent on Hell Ships and deposited in Japan and Manchuria and forced, even in the winter to work in their tropical clothing.  Many didn't even have shoes, and of course many died.  The Japanese even set up a medical testing camps much like the Germans did to the Jews.  They were testing spraying death spray on the enemy.  There is a romance in it for romance lovers and many quotes, as well as poems and a very touching letter by a 19 year old poet soldier who died after he sent the home to his parents.  Instead of railing against the cruelty of the Japanese, he praised the heroism of his fellow soldiers.  It is very touching, and I never have a dry eye when reading it. The Forgotten Soldiers comes directly from quotes made by rescued prisoners who kissed the beach and told the Americans, "We thought you forgot we were even here."  It was one of five books chosen during the year to be showcased at the Frankfurt World's Fair.   I hope you will check it out!