August 27, 2001

What was I doing on August 27, 2001. I don't know. I don't remember.

But I'm sure I was reading. I always am.

I read Hampton Sides' book "Ghost Soldiers" that summer.....an amazing book. It tells the story of American and Filipino soldiers rescuing POWs from the Japanese during WW II, some 500 of them as a matter of fact. It's really an incredible story, especially because the Japanese treated the prisoners in such a barbaric fashion, it's a wonder that any of them had survived long enough to be rescued.

I remember thinking at the time that what made the story so memorable was not just the viciousness of the Japanese and the heroism of the soldiers. It was that the USA and Japan are such good friends now. Would anyone back then have believed it if given a glimpse into the future 50 years later, that such bitter and mortal enemies could become close allies and friends? That out of such chaos and inhumanity something new and better could emerge?

And I remember thinking how easy it is to call those who fought in WWII "The Greatest Generation". Because they were just ordinary people doing extraordinary things, having to fight so far from home, continually suffering terrible losses yet never giving up.

Ghost Soldiers has been made into a movie, "The Great Raid" which is out now.