The Hotel Tacloban: The Explosive True Story of One American's Journey to Hell in a Japanese POW Camp

Since this was a true story of what happened in World War II, I learned lot of our history in that war. Good buy if anyone is a history buff like me.

> > The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading<br>some of<br>> > Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being<br>exposed to<br>> > an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government<br>> > unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that<br>would help<br>> > helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors.<br>> > His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of<br>TIPS<br>> > to HIPS, the<br>> > "other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the<br>60's and<br>> > 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed<br>by<br>> > the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be<br>interrogated,<br>> > i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of<br>25 or<br>> > more intellegence agencies called Phoenix.<br>> > The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland<br>Security, and<br>> > a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a<br>> > possibility with a high probability .<br>> > "You have relatives in the homeland?"<br>> > The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an<br>underage<br>> > soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of<br>> > respect for military rank and where the beginnings of where real evil<br>takes<br>> > us.<br>> > A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest<br>and<br>> > shocking.

The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading some of Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being exposed to an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that would help helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors. His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of TIPS to HIPS, the "other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the 60's and 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed by the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be interrogated, i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of 25 or more intellegence agencies called Phoenix. The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland Security, and a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a possibility with a high probability . "You have relatives in the homeland?" The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an underage soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of respect for military rank and where the beginnings of real evil take us. A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest and shocking. An emotional timebomb ... an appropriate introduction to Douglas Valentines thoughts & writings.

The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading some of Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being exposed to an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that would help helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors. His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of TIPS to HIPS, the "other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the 60's and 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed by the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be interrogated, i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of 25 or more intellegence agencies called Phoenix. The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland Security, and a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a possibility with a high probability . "You have relatives in the homeland?" The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an underage soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of respect for military rank and where the beginnings of real evil takes us. A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest and shocking. An emotional timebomb ... an appropriate introduction to Douglas Valentines thoughts & writings.

Valentine shares with the world his father's tragedy--being in the wrong place at the wrong time, one might say. But he was doing what he thought was right--patriotically defending his country--in the jungle highlands of Papua New Guinea in WWII.Captured by the Japanese, his life spared apparently by his irreverent (unauthorized) sewing of another unit's patch on his uniform (the enemy thought he was an intelligence officer), he ended up the only U.S.soldier amidst Australian and British prisoners in a POW camp on Leyte. The story chronicles his struggle for survival, under terribly inhumane conditions, and the treachery of the POW's ranking officer, a British major. The Major's squealling to the Japanese commander about an escape by Aussies led to their immediate capture and beheading, and to Valentine's father acting to avenge their deaths--and to have nightmares for the rest of his life for his role in the assassination of the cowardly Brit Major. I have read another reader's skeptical review about this--that, horrors, the U.S. government might shred Valentine's fathers personnel file to try to hide the events in the POW camp--named Hotel Tacloban by the inmates. Get real buddy! We now are learning about the tragic events in Korea at No Gun Ri, where GIs machine gunned civilians. The dirty realities in our wars -- that the big honchos in authority in the government -- would rather hide, are thank goodness, being brought to the light of day by authors like Valentine, and Carroll Case (The Slaughter, 1998, isbn 0-9666499-0-7) and Bob King (Spooky 8, 1999, isbn 0-312-20579-1). My only concern is that, as a historian, there are no footnotes.