 | My Father’s Captivity$21.95 USD + $5.87 shipping & Qualifies for bundled shipping The book's 320 pages feature an enthralling narrative, 140 illustrations, and the text of 60 original documents that tell the story in the words of those who lived it on the home front as well as the battlefront. The notes, bibliography, and index summarize more than 30 years of research and writing. Printed in the USA. Categories: Al Young, Book & My Fathers Captivity Ships to US (including APO, FPO & DPO) and Worldwide. Economy, Priority, Express, & Local pickup shipping options are available at checkout. In Stock Now - Product ships in 1 to 3 days (Serial No. 0.09.0050.010) |
Haunted by darkness surrounding his childhood in the aftermath of his father's captivity as a Japanese POW during World War II, a young boy embarks upon the journey of a lifetime. My Father's Captivity is the story of what the boy discovered about captivity, endurance, and healing.
In the aftermath of his father's captivity as a Japanese POW during World War II, the sunshine and happiness of the author's childhood were surrounded by darkness so dreadful that no one at home dared talk about it. His quest to learn about what happened to his father in that darkness became the journey of a lifetime, and the book became a story not only about his father's captivity, but about endurance and healing.
The intensely personal narrative steps inside the mind and heart of 20-year-old Alfred Young who enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in May 1939. Two days later, he said goodbye to his parents at a railway platform in Oklahoma City. By late summer he was stationed at Clark Field, Philippine Islands, where he eventually flew B10 bombers as a gunner. By 1941, still at Clark Field, Alfred was an experienced bombardier and navigator flying B18s.
After the attack at Clark on December 8th, all that remained of his B18 were two wing tips and a tail. His crew was re-assigned to another bomber and scheduled for a mission two days later, but when Alfred reported to the captain he was bumped from the flight because the mission had been changed to reconnaissance: An intelligence officer in the 19th Group took Alfred's place in the nose of the plane. In the thin shadows of a pale sunrise, Alfred watched from the ground as his crew disappeared into the clouds. He never saw them again.
From the evacuation of Clark to abandonment and surrender on the island of Mindanao, and from Bilibid Prison to the hold of a Hellship bound for Moji and Osaka, Alfred survived strafings, bombings, bayonets, disease, and allied torpedoes. He endured more than three years of slave labor, starvation, beatings, disease, and brutality. Near war's end he watched his friends perish in the bombing holocaust that devastated Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Tokyo, placing his life in jeopardy from the rage and caprice of his captors.
While engulfed in hopelessness, he found the treasure of the ages, a treasure so dear that he was afterward wont to say that he would willingly--even knowingly--endure captivity again just to have the treasure. My Father's Captivity is not just a story of survival, nor is it merely a cataloging of cruelties; it is instead the story of finding that treasure.
 PeopleView the index of 2,774 people associated with events pertaining to the book. |  PhotosView photographs and accompanying commentary for 374 images pertaining to the book. |  DocumentsView the online library of 307 original documents pertaining to the book. |
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