Savage Sniper: A World War II Thriller by David Healey

Author:David Healey [Healey, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Intracoastal Media
Published: 2023-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

They settled down to wait and observe. There had been some hope that they could sweep in, quickly defeat the Japanese guards, rescue the prisoners, and be on their way.

No such luck. They could see now that those hopes had been overly optimistic. They were outnumbered by the garrison, and the camp appeared well defended. Also, they had not anticipated that the prisoners would be in such rough shape. Even after they were liberated, the journey back to Ormoc would be slow and difficult for these weakened, malnourished men.

“All right, men. It looks as if we can’t just overwhelm the guards,” Lieutenant Steele said. “We’ll have to figure out another way to crack open this particular nut.”

The lieutenant had called a powwow in the shade of a large Malabulak tree; the cotton-like fibers from the seed pods of these trees were used as the filling known as kapok in life jackets. Father Francisco listened intently to what the lieutenant had to say, then relayed the information to the Filipino guerrillas. Their blank faces did not reveal their thoughts once they were informed of the situation. They simply nodded in acceptance.

Deke appreciated the Filipino fighters’ commitment to rescuing the prisoners, the bulk of which were Americans. After all, he supposed that these men all had homes and land that they would prefer to fight for, not to mention families to get back to, but here they were standing up to the Japanese in every way. They were damn good men and tough customers.

“I would almost say that at this point we should simply wait for the Japanese to be finished here on Leyte,” Father Francisco said. “It can’t be that much longer.”

Steele shook his head. “That’s a nice thought, Padre, but we don’t have that much time. The Japanese might not be finished for weeks or months. They seem to have plenty of fight left in them.”

“You make a good point, Lieutenant.”

“Besides, you saw yourself what kind of treatment the prisoners are getting here. I’m not leaving those men in those conditions one hour longer than necessary. The Japanese have already put enough of them in that boneyard.”

“Let me start shooting a few of them, Honcho,” Deke urged. “I can even up the odds.”

The lieutenant shook his head. “Much as I’d like to turn you loose, Deke, I just can’t do that. If the Japanese think they are under attack, there’s no telling what they might do to the POWs. I’m willing to bet that they don’t plan on leaving any of the prisoners alive.”

Deke nodded, as did everyone else. They had already been briefed by Major Flanders back at division HQ about the fate that had befallen POWs at other camps. Vengeful enemy guards had simply executed them rather than see them freed.

“Then what do we do, Honcho?” Philly asked.

“We watch, observe, and figure out a plan.” The lieutenant paused. “Hopefully we’ll figure something out by tomorrow morning at the latest. The longer that we sit out here in the woods, the better our chances of being detected.

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