Lost in Shangri-la: The True Story of a Plane Crash into a Hidden World
Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Hardcover
This was certainly an entertaining story, although it got off to a sad start due to the death of so many on what was suppose to be a "fun trip." I knew a number of planes were lost in New Guinea during the war, but was astounded to read the number was over 600, mostly due to non-combat causes.
I did find three interesting errors in the book.
1) The author claims the "7th Marine Division" fought in Okinawa. There was never such a division, and the author must have confused a mention of the 7th Marines (a regiment of the 1st Marine Division) for a division. This is a rather common mistake made by writers who do not have an adequate understanding of the Marine Corps.
2) The author relates how one Filipino paratrooper, Corporal Ramirez, was captured on Bataan and was part of the Bataan Death March, but escaped and left the islands by getting on a hospital ship in Manila which was bound for Australia. When you consider the Japanese had captured Manila before they captured Bataan, this obviously never happened.
3) On page 153, the author describes a "walkie-talkie" as a 35 pound, two-way radio the size of a small suitcase. Yet on page 187 there is a photo of the "walkie-talkie" which is actually hand-held and is just a bit larger than some of the "mobile phones" of the 1990s.
Finally, as you read the book, you are told several times how a combat-ready Filipino paratrooper unit wasn't used in the invasion of the Philippines. I suspect this was because General MacArthur and his cronies didn't want the Philippines 'liberated' by the Filipinos. Despite many islands being under control by Filipino guerrillas, MacArthur "invaded and liberated" each using American Troops, despite orders from the American Chiefs of Staff not to waste resources doing this. This way he got the credit for 'liberating' all the Philippines without any help from the Filipinos. This tells you something about the man.
I did find three interesting errors in the book.
1) The author claims the "7th Marine Division" fought in Okinawa. There was never such a division, and the author must have confused a mention of the 7th Marines (a regiment of the 1st Marine Division) for a division. This is a rather common mistake made by writers who do not have an adequate understanding of the Marine Corps.
2) The author relates how one Filipino paratrooper, Corporal Ramirez, was captured on Bataan and was part of the Bataan Death March, but escaped and left the islands by getting on a hospital ship in Manila which was bound for Australia. When you consider the Japanese had captured Manila before they captured Bataan, this obviously never happened.
3) On page 153, the author describes a "walkie-talkie" as a 35 pound, two-way radio the size of a small suitcase. Yet on page 187 there is a photo of the "walkie-talkie" which is actually hand-held and is just a bit larger than some of the "mobile phones" of the 1990s.
Finally, as you read the book, you are told several times how a combat-ready Filipino paratrooper unit wasn't used in the invasion of the Philippines. I suspect this was because General MacArthur and his cronies didn't want the Philippines 'liberated' by the Filipinos. Despite many islands being under control by Filipino guerrillas, MacArthur "invaded and liberated" each using American Troops, despite orders from the American Chiefs of Staff not to waste resources doing this. This way he got the credit for 'liberating' all the Philippines without any help from the Filipinos. This tells you something about the man.
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