ZigZag Pass

Leon Hesser, a veteran of WWII, relates his first-hand experiences in the Philippines. Hesser went to Luzon as a new recruit, completely unprepared for field combat. He arrived with 838 other soldiers, replacements for the 34th regiment, a unit that had already suffered heavy losses. As the author puts it, most of them were fresh from basic training and "had no experience with each other or in unit training. We had only one week's acquaintance with the regulars of the 34th prior to combat. Squad leaders hardly had time to learn the names of us new men before we headed for ZigZag Pass." His squad was assigned the nearly impossible task of clearing the way through "ZigZag Pass," from one side of the Bataan Peninsula to the other. The author's narrative centers around his first three days of combat, February 3-5, 1945, when he fought with his unit as a rifleman, but he also gives us a lot of background information about the progress of the Allied troops against the Japanese up to that point. After three days of duty as a rifleman, Hesser was assigned to be a medic for his unit, as a replacement for the medic who was wounded. He spent a few weeks training as a medic before being sent to the island of Mindanao. He spent several months there were his unit saw heavy combat. Then he was reassigned to occupy the island of Shikoku in Japan. After the war, Hesser wanted to just forget about his experiences in the Philippines and get on with his life. He did just that, for many years, until he took part in a Veteran's Day presentation to a group of college students. The students were eager to hear his story. He later thought that "maybe I really should write about my experiences," and this book is the result of that. This is a good story, with plenty of first-hand stories and historical background to put everything into perspective, but I thought the narrative was a bit disjointed. The author kept jumping forward or backward into time, going from one place to the next so often that, at times, I had trouble keeping track of the storyline. However, that said, one of the best ways to learn about history is to listen to, or read, first-person accounts of what took place during a certain time period. This book provides a great glimpse into the past and is well worth reading. 4 stars.

I've read many World War 2 accounts by combatants on all sides of the conflict and am often uneasy about the quality of the memory in some accounts or how much is fictionalized to engage the reader. This account of a young farm boy's experiences in the Pacific theatre rings true. Leon Hesser writes with humility and honesty of his experiences in the Philippines and the bloody battle for Zigzag Pass. ZigZag Pass provides an absorbing account, leavened by some humour and interesting asides (he trained with Hugh Hefner amongst others), of the battlefield and how he was saved from likely death as a machine gunner (always a focal point for enemy marksmen in battle) by a chance selection as a medic. A classic account of a farm boy from Indiana who grew up during the depression and survived a brutal conflict to make a real impact in post-war years by spearheading agricultural programs to reduce world hunger.

Leon Hesser saw combat as a medic in the Philippines. "ZigZag Pass" reads like a letter the author wrote to his grandchildren to explain what he did during the war. The book is part World War II history, part combat memoir, and part romance. The book contains powerful images. Two examples: His father works in the cornfields while Leon is far from home. Sometimes the cornfield disappears in a haze of tears, and he has to stop his tractor. There he sits in that lonely field, wondering about his son, Leon. As the book reminds us, during wartime parents suffer the most. When Hesser goes home after the war, the bus drops him off at the station. Still in army uniform, he runs six blocks to his girlfriend's house, his heavy canvas duffel bag bouncing with each step. The book could be classified as a short story. It should have been heavier in personal experience and lighter in World War II history. Nevertheless, I admire the author for writing about difficult memories and for serving our country.

This is a must read for those who are interested in World War II. It is quite candid about events that happened during that period of time in our history. My Father was in the Philippines and a lot of what Mr. Hesser speaks about is some of the same things that he told me as a child. I personally liked the information about General MacArthur and if you are a fan of his, you will appreciate this part of the book also. I liked the mix of the personal accounting of his life and also the history of what he did as a soldier in the Army. This book would also be good gift for a student who is studying that period of history.

The Greatest Generation is a reference phrase describing those who lived, worked, and fought in the era that experienced the atrocities of Adolf Hitler, as well as the tragedies, hardships, and triumphs of World War II. In this age, they are few due to the ravages of mortality. "ZigZag Pass" is a memoir of a World War II veteran and his relationship and life with a girl he met shortly before being shipped off to the Philippines. He talks of his life of a wartime relationship and how his after military career of fighting global hunger, a story of a generation that is dwindling. Wisdom worth hearing because it won't be around much longer, "ZigZag Pass" is highly recommended to any memoir collection focusing on the era.