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MWSA Book Review

Manila Bay Sunset: The Long March Into Hell

Authors: Billy D. Templeton

Publisher:  River Road Press

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A WWII POW and Death March Survivor – A Story of Personal Triumph and Courage

Author Billy D. Templeton’s World War II memoir “Manila Bay Sunset: The Long March Into Hell” is a very personal look into what it was like for those who survived being captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. He is a hero no matter how much the author underplays his tale of survival. His war experiences as a young man changed his life forever in ways most people may not fully understand. There are just not many people alive today who could put themselves into his shoes and emotionally go where he has been. It was a path that lead him to hell and back. He talks about things that no matter how many years have gone by will always be a part of his spirit and a part of what makes him who he is today.

Templeton takes us across the Pacific as we follow the exploits of his younger self just before the outbreak of World War II. He is a young crew member of a B-17 bomber that heads to the Philippines for duty. His arrival there is just weeks before Pearl Harbor. We learn a little about the kind of man he was before the war and get some glimpses as to what his life was before he was on a forced death march and before he spent the best years of his life cruelly imprisoned by the Japanese. The real story is about his survival and how he manages to endure things that would have killed lesser men. His will to live comes through with great passion.

The author does a good job of sharing events and creating the images that allow the reader to feel and not just read about what he endured. He gives insights to how he felt and how he hurt. His compassion for his fellow POWs comes through as well as his anger at his captors; several in particular who were exceptionally cruel and mean. You can feel his story inside you as you read the words. They reach down into you as you try to absorb the extent of abuse, and inhuman acts that he had to witness. There is just no way you are not moved by his story.

The ending of his book does not bring the comfort or warmth you wanted to read about as an American. It is hard to learn how callous and insensitive our nation was to him and others when he came home. His home town at least honored him but there wasn’t much of any kind of spiritual or emotional support for our ex-POWs. They were set free to roam America and make their own lives as best they could.

The book is hard hitting and engrossing. The MWSA gives this book its top rating of FIVE STARS.