Valor: The Astonishing World War II Saga of One Man's Defiance and Indomitable Spirit

Dan Hampton

May 2022 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this eBook

Valor is the magnificent story of a genuine American hero who survived the fall of the Philippines and brutal captivity under the Japanese, from New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton.

Lieutenant William Frederick “Bill” Harris was 25 years old when captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942. This son of a decorated Marine general escaped from hell on earth by swimming eight hours through a shark-infested bay; but his harrowing ordeal had just begun.

Shipwrecked on the southern coast of the Philippines, he was sheltered by a Filipino aristocrat, engaged in guerilla fighting, and eventually set off through hostile waters to China. After 29 days of misadventures and violent storms, Harris and his crew limped into a friendly fishing village in the southern Philippines. Evading and fighting for months, he embarked on another agonizing voyage to Australia, but was betrayed by treacherous islanders and handed over to the Japanese. Held for two years in the notorious Ofuna prisoner-of-war camp outside Yokohama, Harris was continuously starved, tortured, and beaten, but he never surrendered. Teaching himself Japanese, he eavesdropped on the guards and created secret codes to communicate with fellow prisoners. After liberation on August 30, 1945, Bill represented American Marine POWs during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay before joining his father and flying to a home he had not seen in four years.

Valor is a riveting new look at the Pacific War. Through military documents, personal photos, and an unpublished memoir provided by his daughter, Harris’ experiences are dramatically revealed through his own words in the expert hands of bestselling author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton. This is the stunning and captivating true story of an American hero.

Ratings and reviews

Exciting, historical true story of Lieutenant Bill Harris of the U.S. Navy. His career, his capture and escape and recapture. How he escaped, his torturous days in the Japanese prison camp and his time after the escape evading the Japanese and trying to get back to his own troops to rejoin the war. The story tells the history of the war over the pacific, in the Philippines'. It tells about both the U.S. Forces and the Japanese. How some Japanese were loyal to the Japanese, but many if not most were willing to help the escaped American's. He almost made it to safety, but a friendly family turned traitor and turned him in to the Japanese to be captured a second time. His story is one of courage and bravery. I liked the after remarks that told a bit of what happened to some of the other men in the story and the Lieutenant. I thank Lieutenant Bill Harris for telling his story so that we might understand this portion of the war. It was both interesting and informative. I did enjoy the story and I learned a lot I did not know. I would recommend this story. The narrator did a fantastic job and every word was understood. The explanation of the terms and language was wonderful. The descriptions of the islands and the scenery as well as the native people was amazing. Thanks to Dan Hampton for writing the story, to John Pruden for the narration, to Macmillan Audio for recording and publishing it and to NetGalley for making the audio book available to me to listen to and review.

About the author

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs and geopolitics, he has also appeared as an analyst on Bill O’Reilly, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Anderson Cooper360. He is the nationally bestselling author of Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing the Demon, Vengeance, Valor, and a novel, The Mercenary.