Parade of the Dead: A U.S. Army Physician's Memoir of Imprisonment by the Japanese, 1942-1945

by John R. Bumgarner

Book Overview

The grisly procession of dead had grown alarmingly...men who had endured the terrible ordeal of Bataan, who were 10,000 miles from home, and who then died in the most miserable conditions. For me, as a doctor, the most distressing thought was that they could have been saved, almost without exception, by proper diet and medical care.Imprisoned by the Japanese in 1942, Lieutenant John Bumgarner, U.S. Army Medical Corps, attempted to care for the survivors...

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786401311
• ISBN13: 9780786401314
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

repeating

An interesting book although a little short on pages. He tends to repeat himself rather a lot and there is little character building of people he talks of. One was not left with the real feel of camp life.

holy smokes

Just finished the book, and it's pretty hard to put into words what I feel. If I were Japanese, I would be ashamed, humiliated, and very concerned that my culture could/?can reach the depths of depravity that Dr. Bumgarner so matter-of-factly describes. The treatment of their POWs is almost beyond belief, as is the fact that any of the prisoners survived at all. The book is well-written and engrossing, with a physician's eye for detail. No exaggeration nor hyperbole creeps in -- none are needed -- the story speaks for itself. You'll read the book and wonder "Could I have lived through this?" I'm sure it was not pleasant for the author to dredge up these remarkably clear memories and write about them, but we owe him a debt of gratitude for doing so.