Belly of the Beast: POW's Inspiring True Story Faith Courage Survival Aboard Infamous WWII Japanese

the best book i have read so far on this subject.i felt i was living every moment, but so glad i was not. a true testimony to the spirit of human courage and endurance. and a valuable insight to the inhumanities of mankind.

Author Judith Pearson has written a riveting tale about the improsonment and ultimate mistreatment of American POWs by the Japanese. The story centers around Estel Myers, a young man who joins the Army as a corpsman. After serving a tour in China, Myers was assigned to the Philippines shortly before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Japanese invaded in mid-December, 1941, and Myers was taken prisoner by the Japanese.Myers suffered for two years in a Japanese prison camp with very little food or water, but his ultimate punishment was soon to follow. The Americans had turned the tide against the Japanese,and were fighting their way back to re-capture the Philippines. Realizing this, the Japanese began loading their POWs on "Hell Ships"; grossly overloaded freighters; for the long voyage to prison camps in Japan. Myers was loaded aboard the ship Oryuku Maru with approximately 1,600 other POWs. Only about 400 arrived in Japan alive. Myers survived the sinking of the Oryuku Maru as well as transfers from two other Hell Ships before reaching Japan. The conditions on the ships were much worse than in the camps. Each man was allotted approximately 1/4 cup of rotten rice per day, along with a tiny amount of water. Men were unable to sit or lay down in the holds of the ships due to the massive overcrowding. Sanitary facilities amounted to a bucket lowered by the Japanese. The death rate was astounding. In the later stages of the voyage, as many as fifty men were dying per day.Upon reaching Japan, many of the men were put to work on docks, in coal mines, or building defense shelters. Many died, but some, including Myers, managed to survive to be liberated by the Americans. Myers eventually succumbed years later due to the toll taken on his body by the Japanese.This is an eye-opening book. The atrocities committed by the Japanese are unbelievable, and it is a miracle that Myers managed to survive for so long. Read this fine book and live the life of a POW.

The deeper I got into this book, the more involved I became with the men who suffered so horribly. I have done my own research and asked many questions about the POW experience under the Imperial Army, because my father suffered along with Estel Myer and the others. Belly of the Beast is an accurate portrayal of part of my father's journey. He survived the Bataan Death March, imprisonment in the Philippines, the 3 hell ships mentioned in the book, and further imprisonment in Japan and Manchuria. He came back to the United States, only to succumb to the ravages caused to his body several years later. This is riveting, unvarnished truth, and only one story of many which prove to us that freedom comes with a steep price. One very good way to honor these men, who suffered so much, is to remember their stories and share them with others, so no one forgets --- ever!

Belly of the Beast is a good history lesson for those who never knew how the p.o.w.s suffered at the hands of the enemy. I was happy to see the author stated facts from information she obtained and now the truth about the war is out and not sugar coated . Although this is a great tribute to my father, I pray that people will realize that our freedoms are not free. That my father and other great men paid a high price for our country and for us. This author did a great justice to all the men and women of WW2!

So compelling, I couldn't put it down! In these hard times, Belly of the Beast is a wonderful testament to the enduring human spirit. This is a riveting account of a horrific ordeal suffered by many, yet made personal by the author as she follows one man, Estel Myers, through his capture and barbaric treatment as a POW. It's a great history lesson, as well as a gut-wrenching read.