Fall in Love with a Forgotten Hero of World War II: A First Steps...

Only ten hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they also bombed Luzon, Philippines. Ten days later enemy troops swarmed ashore, bent on swiftly annihilating General MacArthur’s ill-prepared defenses, commandeering the country’s natural resources, and subjugating its people.

By pure happenstance, Murphy avoided the pitiful surrender to the Japanese of 70,000-plus Fil-American troops there in April 1942, and he avoided the infamous Bataan Death March that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Instead, he opted to defy the surrender order and, with three companions, take his chances in the Igorot mountain country.

An obstinate, outspoken rebel, incurable romantic, amateur philosopher, and stoic executioner, Murphy was never captured, never wounded. He not only survived for three years behind enemy lines, he helped create a 22,000-man guerrilla army that harassed the Japanese, provided invaluable intelligence to MacArthur’s island-hopping army, and played a significant role in the battles fought during the waning months of the war, all while cultivating and maintaining, by whatever means necessary, continued support and loyalty among the Igorot headhunters of North Luzon.

“Minch achieves the rare feat of both appealing to military historians and endearing casual readers with personal, human interest stories,” critiqued David Aretha, editor of 'World War II Chronicle'. “Colonel Murphy’s firsthand accounts of the war on Luzon will be ‘gold’ to Pacific Theater historians looking for primary source material. He didn’t just write eyewitness letters; he wrote with the detail and perspective of a journalist and the literary flair of a novelist. I can envision historians quoting extensively from this book.”

For further information, interviews, media kit or proofs please contact:

Suzanne Parrott at First Steps Publishing
541-961-7641 or contact@firststepspublishing.com
Book sale date: November 23, 2018

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