The December Ship - by Betty B Jones (Paperback)

About the Book

On December 14, 1944, the Oryoku Maru, or "December Ship," was attacked by U.S. Navy planes who had no way of knowing 1,619 Allied POWs were on board. One of those prisoners was Lt. Arden R. Boellner. Through letters, documents, and interviews with survivors, this is an account of Lt. Colonel Arden R. Boellner's tour of duty, his capture at Mindanao, life in Japanese POW camps in the Philippines, and the horrors of the "December Ship" that led to his death. Numerous photos, some published for the first time, show life inside the camps.

Book Synopsis

On December 14, 1944, the Oryoku Maru, or "December Ship," was attacked by planes of the U.S. Navy, who had no way of knowing 1,619 Allied POWs were on board. One of those prisoners was then-Lieutenant Arden R. Boellner. Through letters, documents, and interviews with survivors, this is an account of Lt. Colonel Boellner's World War II tour of duty, his capture at Mindanao, life in Japanese POW camps in the Philippines, and the horrors of the "December Ship" that led to his death. Numerous photographs, some published for the first time, show life inside the camps.

Review Quotes

"numerous photos...an astonishing book that will serve as a memorial to the author's father and the thousands of American troops that suffered capture, imprisonment and all-to-often, death in the Philippines and the Pacific theatre"-Midwest Book Review; "a daughter's tribute to her father...a graphic and gripping reconstruction of his imprisonment based on letters, interviews, books and journals...contains revealing photos from Japanese POW camps"-Military Review; "far better written and far better observed than most personal narratives. Illustrations are not only plentiful, but pertinent"-The Cellar Book Shop.

About the Author

The late Betty B. Jones lived in Scottsdale, Arizona.