BOOK REVIEW – Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines
By John Gordon, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2011).
Reviewed by Captain Roger F. Jones, U.S. Navy (Retired)
This is a book well worth reading from several standpoints. First, the role of the Navy and Marine Corps in the defense of the Philippines in World War II, as compared to the Army, is not generally well known, and the author does an outstanding job describing how essential the Sea Services were in the courageous albeit doomed defense of Bataan and Corregidor, particularly in view of their limited armament, supplies and personnel. Second, it documents how General MacArthur and his staff failed to integrate Admiral Hart and his forces into the defense of Manila Bay and Bataan, with significantly adverse consequences. While it is incontrovertible that the much larger and better armed Japanese armed forces would be able to conquer the Philippines at the onset of the war, the speed with which they accomplished this goal was in large part due to the Army’s lack of readiness and the inappropriate defense plans of MacArthur and his staff. Nevertheless, despite heavy losses, the heroic efforts of the Philippine and American military delayed the Japanese war machine long enough for the US to build up and deploy its military in the Pacific arena and go on the offensive. The most famous and decisive of these early actions was the battle of Midway, which took place just one month after the surrender of Corregidor.
