Valor, Dan Hampton
Valor, Dan Hampton
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Valor
The Astonishing World War II Saga of One Man's Defiance and Indomitable Spirit

Author: Dan Hampton

Narrator: John Pruden

Unabridged: 12 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/03/2022


Synopsis

Valor is the magnificent story of a genuine American hero who survived the fall of the Philippines and brutal captivity under the Japanese, from New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton.

Lieutenant William Frederick “Bill” Harris was 25 years old when captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942. This son of a decorated Marine general escaped from hell on earth by swimming eight hours through a shark-infested bay; but his harrowing ordeal had just begun.

Shipwrecked on the southern coast of the Philippines, he was sheltered by a Filipino aristocrat, engaged in guerilla fighting, and eventually set off through hostile waters to China. After 29 days of misadventures and violent storms, Harris and his crew limped into a friendly fishing village in the southern Philippines. Evading and fighting for months, he embarked on another agonizing voyage to Australia, but was betrayed by treacherous islanders and handed over to the Japanese. Held for two years in the notorious Ofuna prisoner-of-war camp outside Yokohama, Harris was continuously starved, tortured, and beaten, but he never surrendered. Teaching himself Japanese, he eavesdropped on the guards and created secret codes to communicate with fellow prisoners. After liberation on August 30, 1945, Bill represented American Marine POWs during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay before joining his father and flying to a home he had not seen in four years.

Valor is a riveting new look at the Pacific War. Through military documents, personal photos, and an unpublished memoir provided by his daughter, Harris’ experiences are dramatically revealed through his own words in the expert hands of bestselling author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton. This is the stunning and captivating true story of an American hero.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

About Dan Hampton

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs and geopolitics, he has also appeared as an analyst on Bill O’Reilly, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Anderson Cooper360. He is the nationally bestselling author of Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing the Demon, Vengeance, Valor, and a novel, The Mercenary.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shirley on May 01, 2022

The World is for the Strong Exciting, historical true story of Lieutenant Bill Harris of the U.S. Navy. His career, his capture and escape and recapture. How he escaped, his torturous days in the Japanese prison camp and his time after the escape evading the Japanese and trying to get back to his own......more

Goodreads review by Beary Into Books on May 03, 2022

Rating: 4 This is a true story about Lieutenant William Frederick “Bill” Harris who got captured during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942 and didn’t return home until 1945. How Bill kept his courage after everything he went through is so inspiring. Giving up was not an option for him; he kept str......more

Goodreads review by Jena on March 14, 2022

Most of us bracket the war in the Pacific in World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the atomic bombs dropping on Hiroshima and Nagaski in 1945. We also remember the iconic photo of the flag of the United States being planted on the rugged rocks of Iwo Jima. What happened i......more

Goodreads review by Ron on December 28, 2021

A truly inspirational book on the hardships endured by our servicemen in captivity during WW2. The brutality they faced was horrendous, but they still managed to overcome these obstacles. A great tribute to the soldiers fighting all around the world. I really enjoyed this book and would hope you do......more

Goodreads review by Mary on May 19, 2022

Dan Hampton's new book, "Valor," is the true story of Marine Lieutenant William Harris and his exploits in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Having been deployed to the Philippines from China just weeks before Pearl Harbor, Harris fights valiantly at Corregidor before being taken prisoner when th......more