Hunt for the Bamboo Rat by Graham Salisbury

Author:Graham Salisbury [Salisbury, Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-97970-4
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2014-09-08T16:00:00+00:00

In March 1942, General MacArthur was ordered to relocate to Australia. The situation in the Pacific had gone from bad to worse.

MacArthur pulled General Wainwright out of Bataan to take his place on Corregidor, leaving another general, Edward King, to fight on in the peninsula. Zenji felt bad for General King. What courage he and his men must have.

Freddy and Zenji watched as General MacArthur and his staff fled Corregidor in a torpedo-armed attack craft called a PT boat.

“He didn’t look happy to leave,” Freddy said.

“Would you?”

“No. Feel like I was running away.”

“You heard his speech. He said he’d return. I believe it.”

“So do I.”

Zenji cleaned his glasses. They headed back to their quarters silently.

In early April, U.S. forces on the peninsula were very close to being overrun. The news was all over the tunnel, and men were short on patience, snapping at this and that.

“We’re next,” Freddy said. “They’ll be coming to take Corregidor.… Glad I still got my pistol.”

Zenji looked at Freddy blankly, at a loss for words.

“They’re closing in, brother,” Freddy said. “You got any civilian clothes with you?”

Zenji had left pretty much all he had in Manila when they evacuated. Now he had only what he could grab from the supply room: two pairs of khaki pants, and shirts with no insignias.

“I’m in the same boat,” Freddy said. “Only saved one civilian shirt.”

They agreed that they were probably just days from getting their heads chopped off. They joked about it, but deep inside, Zenji was paralyzed with fear.

Freddy said, “See if someone will issue you a .45. You need something.”

“No, Freddy. I’m telling you. They come ashore, ditch that thing.”

“Pssh.”

“I’m serious. If they catch you with a weapon they’ll shoot you. They won’t think twice. It would infuriate them to see a Japanese fight against other Japanese.”

“We’ll see.”

And they would, because General King and his forces were quickly overcome and captured. The Bataan Peninsula was now entirely in Japanese hands.

Corregidor was next.

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